When my wife and I decided to take our family sailing around the world, we wondered about our safety while sailing and how to keep our family safe from Pirates.  I did a lot of research and this is what I learned.

Do You Need to Worry About Pirates When Sailing? Piracy statistics worldwide are down, but these numbers may not represent the entire sailing community so yes, you do need to be concerned about pirates when sailing in certain areas and there are a number of things you can do to prepare your boat and crew and minimize any risk from being harmed or pillaged by pirates.

2019 Deadly Encounter for Cruising Family near Panama

As recent as May of 2019, a family from New Zeeland were attacked by pirates and the father, Alan Culverwell, was killed. This violent assault happened in the San Blas Islands in Panama’s Bocas Del Toro region. It is believed the pirates were a group of fishermen from one of the nearby islands. Panamanian officials claim to have arrested three individuals for the crime. The family was anchored alone in a remote anchorage.

Know the hotspots for Pirates

Known hotspots for pirates are mostly in areas where governments are in turmoil and/or near a failed government and in areas of great poverty. When traveling, do your research ahead of time. Websites like noonsite.com, which I reference often are excellent sources of information for cruisers and sailors. Some of the known hotspots for pirates over the last several years are, but not limited to:
1. Venezuela
2. Nicaragua
3. Asia
4. Africa
5. Middle East

Definition of Piracy

Piracy is defined as the practice of attacking and robbing ships at sea, typically involving violence. Pirates of the past like the infamous Blackbeard and Captain Hook have been sensationalized by movies and books such as the Pirates of The Caribbean series starring, Johnnie Depp, and some were even sponsored by countries. Modern-day pirates are quite different.

Modern Day Pirates

Pirates of today are often fishermen from countries or regions of extreme poverty and failed or failing governments. Modern day pirates drive fast boats and are typically heavily armed, often with automatic weapons. They take items that they can easily sell like personal items, computers, smart phones, cash, credit cards, navigation equipment and dinghy’s and dinghy motors. They also take hostages to exchange for cash.

Modern Pirate booty (what pirates take)
1. Personal goods (cash, credit cards, jewelry)
2. Navigation equipment
3. Computers and smart phones
4. Dinghy and dinghy engines
5. People (kidnapping for a ransom)

How to Avoid Pirates

Stay away from known pirate destinations. This one seems obvious and can be simple for pleasure cruisers, but when crossing from one area to another, it may not be possible to completely avoid know hotspots.

Keep Plans and Route to Yourself. When in port or in a marina, it is best to keep your plans to yourself. The more people that know where you are going and how you are planning to get there, the higher the risk of an incident. Discuss your plans only with closely trusted companions or boats traveling with you and never give out the route you are planning to take.

Get Local knowledge about the area. Without giving away your sail plan, ask at the marina about things to avoid in the area. Local knowledge is often way ahead of forums and posted information. Local knowledge is also helpful in areas where the charts may not be up to date or accurate.

Research before you leave. Research on Noonsite and US Government Website and safetyandsecurity.net. As mentioned previously research, research, research. Information is valuable and the more you know about the area where you are setting sail from and where you are going and all points in between, the easier it is to steer clear of any potentially dangerous areas. It may mean altering your course or adding hours or days to a trip, but getting there safely is more important than taking a short cut through sketchy areas.

Stay alert. Pay attention to boats that are around you and even more attention if a boat appears to be taking the same course as you. Sometimes seeing a potential threat ahead of time allows you to take preventative measures that may deter a would be pirate.

Change course. If you notice a suspicious boat, alter your course. Watch to see if the boat alters its course. If it does, alter your course again. Watch and react. If the suspicious boat alters its course again, you need to put your security plan in action.

Have a written security plan. It is best if you have a written plan of action for such events as a suspicious boat following you, a boat that approaches or attempts to board and a hostile situation. Do your homework and discuss your plan with your crew. Make sure everyone on board is aware of the plan and knows what to do when situations arise.

Sail at night. When on a passage from one island to another or when sailing through sketchy areas or near hotspots of pirate activity, it may be best to sail at night. Of course I’m not suggesting sailing close to land where there are reefs and other hazards. I’m talking about crossings out at sea. There are typically fewer boats out at night and you are harder to spot if you sail dark.

Sailing dark. Turn off your lights at night and only use red lights for short periods of time if you need light. White lights at night will illuminate your vessel for miles and miles making you an easy target.

Sail offshore (not near land). Chances are the closer you are to land, the higher the risk of meeting a pirate. The farther offshore, the fewer boats. The fewer boats, the lower your risk of encounter. It’s also much farther and most pirates are going to take the easy targets. Plus when sailing dark, you don’t want to be near land where you could hit another boat, reef or other obstacle.

Turn off AIS. In addition to sailing without lights, turn of AIS and any other navigation equipment and electronics that will identify your location to potential pirates. It is unusual that a ship will also be sailing dark so your chances of hitting one is slim.

Travel in Groups. Pirates are going to look for the easy targets. By traveling in groups, you decrease your chance of being targeted. It is also a way for your to get a message to others in your group about potential pirate attacks so they can call for help.

Pull your dinghy behind your boat. Pirates often approach from the rear so pulling a dinghy behind your vessel can help to be a deterrent by making it more difficult to board.

Zig Zag. By zig zagging, especially in heavy seas, it can be difficult for approaching pirates to approach and board your boat. When pulling a dinghy in addition to zig zagging, it makes it even more difficult to board your boat.

When in doubt, radio for help. Don’t wait until it’s too late to radio for help. Once you have identified a potential threat, radio it in. At the least, the vessel that is the threat may hear and leave the area. It may also buy you time by getting a head start on getting help. Now start zig zagging to make it even longer until your vessel can be boarded.

What to do If Boarded by Pirates

Don’t fight back. In most cases the pirates are going to be heavily armed. If you aren’t sure, then assume they are heavily armed. Let them have whatever they want. You can replace your stuff. You and your crew only have one life.

Treat Every Occurrence Seriously. As stated previously, you need to treat every threat and occurrence seriously. This can be a matter of life or death. Make sure you are aware of your environment.

Radio for Help. Radio early and often. Once again, it is better to be safe than sorry. Getting a jump on a potentially dangerous situation may get help headed in your direction in time to prevent an attack.

Keep a handheld VHF in Bunk. On overnight passages and when you are at anchor, it is good to have a hand held VHF in your bunk or stateroom so you can call for help if something happens while you are sleeping and the navigation station is not accessible.

Guns. Having a gun on board is a personal decision. Many experts say that guns may not be a good idea because chances are your attackers will have bigger and better guns and more guns than you. Think about an AK47 type assault weapon against a pistol. If you do have a gun you only show it when you are ready to use it and ready to kill your invader. Keep in mind, it may be very hard to hit a target on a boat that is moving and rocking in the waves all while you may be shaking from being scared, nervous or with your adrenaline pumping.

Declaring Your Weapons. The other drawback to guns are having to declare and check them in and out of every country that you travel to and through. Failure to declare your weapons may mean a lot of trouble for you if caught. If you do declare and the weapons are confiscated, it may be a hassle to have to travel back to your point of entry to retrieve them (as you most likely won’t check out of the same port where you checked in).

Pepper Spray (Bear Spray). Many experts DO recommend having pepper spray onboard. It may be easier to spray your attackers in the face and eyes with pepper spray so you can execute your escape. It is also more difficult for a pirate to shoot a moving target when they can’t see.

Tear Gas. Tear gas, like pepper spray may be good to have onboard. With tear gas, you can fog your vessel. This might work good if you aren’t in a position to hit them in the face with pepper spray. Having both tear gas and pepper spray may be the ideal situation.

Panic Room. Have a panic room on board. An area where you are hard to find. Perhaps there is an area behind a panel or wall large enough for you and your crew to hide to wait it out until the authorities arrive. Have a portable VHF available and ready in the space.

Reinforced Entrance (steel bars). Having a reinforced entry is a deterrent if your boat is layed out in such a way. Most monohulls will have an entry that can be reinforced enough to buy you more time or long enough for help to arrive. Better yet, the pirates may give up if they can’t penetrate.

Keep fake credit cards and small amount of cash and decoy jewelry. Give the pirates what they are after by keeping smaller amounts of cash and jewelry in an accessible area. Hopefully, this is what the pirates are after and they leave you unharmed.

Store valuables in hidden compartments / safes. Because a vessel is so vulnerable to not only an attack by pirates, but a boarding while you are out diving or exploring. Don’t hide all in only one place. Scatter them around the ship and behind secret panels.

Stay Informed About Pirate Attacks

Noonsite is an excellent resource for sailors. It is a free website that has a very comprehensive list of pirate encounters listed chronologically and by region. It lists violent encounters and non-violent thefts. You can check it out at noonsite.com.

Safetyandsecurity.net is another free website for sailors that references pirate attacks in the Caribbean.

Other Crimes Against Cruisers

Pirate attacks often make the news and get everyone riled up (as they should) but are really quite rare. More common crimes against sailboats are theft while at anchor and in marinas. Marinas typically have more security, but theft can still happen. The common criminal and many Caribbean locations is a teenager that swims or rows over to your unattended boat at anchorage, sneaks on board and steals whatever is easily accessible.

Dinghy Theft

Dinghy thefts are the on the rise throughout the Caribbean and Virgin Islands and also in southeast Asia. It is recommended that your dinghy and motor be locked at all times when not being used or within your sight. At night, store your dinghy on the davits or on board and lock into place. Dinghys left tied up to the boat, make for an easy target and an expensive and inconvenient lesson. Dinghys tied up to an unattended dinghy dock for an extended period of time are also easy targets for thieves, especially in theft hotspots. Don’t be lazy and let your guard down.

Security Alarms for Boats

Security Alarms for boats are being used more and more by cruisers. There are a number of alarms available on the market specializing in boat security. Gost is one company that makes security alarms specially for boats. The ghost alarms link up to visual and audio alarms and also will send an alert via cell phone to alert you of an intrusion. In many cases, the sound of the loud audio alarm will scare away intruders while you are at anchor. They can even dispense a fog which disorients and leaves a DNA marker on clothes, skin and items being stolen. For a low cost solution to scare away would-be thieves, Amazon has some lower cost alarms including some of the house alarms that can work on a boat.

Reported Piracy Incidents

2019 May on the Coast of Panama. A New Zeeland family was attacked by armed pirates at approximately 2am while at anchorage in Bocas del Toro province, Portobelo Bay and Linton Bay. The father and mother were attacked. The father died. The mother survived, despite being wounded by a machete. The kids were locked in the cabin and kept safe.  According to the Panamanian authorities, the pirates were found and were arrested.

2019 April near Honduras. A yacht traveling from Roatan, Honduras to Isla Providencia in Colombia was swarmed by 25 pirates and four boats. The crew of the boat from Canada, locked themselves in the cabin. The boat was boarded and pillaged. They took electronic, navigation and diving equipment along with the sails. No injuries were reported.

2019 March near Venezuela. Two fishermen were kidnapped by pirates from Venezuela. The pirates placed ransoms of five thousand and ten thousand dollars. It is not sure why one had a higher price than the other. Both men jumped overboard in an effort to escape, but only one has been found after swimming to an oil platform. The other one is still missing.  

2019 February near Venezuela. Five fisherman were released after a week in captivity; the Venezuelan pirates demanded a ransom of $90,000, several boat engines, gold jewelry and 10 cell phones, according to the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian.

2019 Jan Two cousins were kidnapped while out fishing off the coast of Trinidad’s Moruga district. The Venezuelan pirates first demanded $40,000 for their release, but bumped that down to $20,000 and five iPhones.

News of pirate attacks were the courtesy and/or referenced via noonsite.com and safetyandsecurity.net as well as the US Government websites.