Milsatcom Pirate Busted Here in the US

Looks like a person here in the US has been busted for allegedly transmitting on 296.550 MHz illegally by the FCC. This is the uplink frequency to the 255.550 MHz downlink that is part of the UFO Quebec bandplan, a known heavily used freq by Portuguese speaking pirates. The individual named below was caught using a Kenwood TM-261a mobile transceiver on 296.550 MHz.



Below is the FCC Notice of Official Unlicensed Operations issued to
Agnaldo Aparecito da Silva Alves in Pompano Beach, Florida.

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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
ENFORCEMENT BUREAU
SOUTH CENTRAL REGION
Miami Office
P.O. Box 520617
Miami, FL 33152

August 12, 2010

Agnaldo Aparecito da Silva Alves
Pompano Beach, FL

NOTICE OF UNLICENSED OPERATION

Case Number: EB-10-MA-0046
Document Number: W201032600064

The Miami Office received information that an unlicensed radio station on 296.55 MHz was allegedly operating in Pompano Beach, FL. On June 3, 2010, agents from this office confirmed by direction finding techniques that radio signals on frequency 296.55 MHz were emanating from your residence in Pompano Beach, FL. During the inspection of the equipment, you admitted to owning and operating the equipment used to transmit on 296.55 MHz. Upon completion of the inspection, you voluntarily relinquished a Kenwood transmitter, model TM-261A, to the agents.

Radio stations must be licensed by the FCC pursuant to 47 U.S.C. S: 301. The only exception to this licensing requirement is for certain transmitters using or operating at a power level or mode of operation that complies with the standards established in Part 15 of the Commission's rules, 47 C.F.R. S:S: 15.1 et seq. According to the Kenwood manufacturer specifications, at its lowest setting, the Kenwood radio, model TM-261A, was capable of operating with approximately 5 watts of power. Operation of the radio at this output power exceeds the limits for operation under Part 15 of the Commission's Rules ("Rules") and therefore required a license.
In addition, pursuant to the Table of Allocations, the 267-322 MHz Band is allocated solely for Federal Government Use. As a non-governmental entity, you are not eligible to receive a license to operate in the 267-322 MHz Band.

You are hereby warned that operation of radio transmitting equipment without a valid radio station authorization constitutes a violation of the Federal laws cited above and could subject the operator to severe penalties, including, but not limited to, substantial monetary fines, in rem arrest action against the offending radio equipment, and criminal sanctions including imprisonment. (see 47 U.S.C. S:S: 401, 501, 503 and 510).

UNLICENSED OPERATION OF THIS RADIO STATION MUST NOT RESUME

You have ten (10) days from the date of this notice to respond with any evidence that you have authority to operate granted by the FCC. Your response should be sent to the address in the letterhead and reference the listed case and document number. Under the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. S: 552a(e)(3), we are informing you that the Commission's staff will use all relevant material information before it to determine what, if any, enforcement action is required to ensure your compliance with FCC Rules. This will include any information that you disclose in your reply.

You may contact this office if you have any questions.

Michael Mattern
Resident Agent
Miami Office

Attachments:
Excerpts from the Communications Act of 1934, As Amended Enforcement Bureau, "Inspection Fact Sheet", March 2005 47 C.F.R. S: 2.106.

The Great Brazilian Sat-Hack Crackdown

Brazilian satellite hackers use high-performance antennas and homebrew gear to turn U.S. Navy satellites into their personal CB radios. Photo: Divulgação/Polícia Federal

There is a followup to a story I first broke on this blog on March 19
http://mt-milcom.blogspot.com/2009/03/39-brazilian-milsatcom-pirates-arrested.html, Wired has a nice story on their site with the picture above, which is one of the Brazilian pirate milsatcom ground station antennas.

Here is a link to the Wired article
http://www.wired.com/politics/security/news/2009/04/fleetcom

Thanks to Chris Parris, MT Federal File columnist for passing along the info above. For more good stuff from Chris be sure to visit his blog online at http://mt-fedfiles.blogspot.com/.

Pirate Attack Foiled by Ship's Crew, Defense Officials Say

By Gerry J. Gilmore, American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON - A ship taken by pirates off the coast of Somalia this morning is now presumed to be under the control of its crew again, Defense Department officials said.

The cargo ship Maersk Alabama was attacked by pirates early this morning and presumed hijacked, according to information provided by U.S. Naval Forces Central Command. The vessel was en route to Mombasa, Kenya, when it was assaulted about 300 miles off Somalia's coast, officials said.

The Maersk Alabama is home-ported in Norfolk, Va., and has a crew of about 20 U.S. nationals, John Reinhart, president and CEO of the ship's owner, Maersk Line Ltd., told reporters today.

Reinhart said his company is contacting the crew's family members. He declined to confirm the ship's retaking by its crew, or to release the names of crew members.

The Maersk Alabama's crewmembers were trained to deal with pirate attacks, Reinhart said.

Pentagon officials noted there were four would-be hijackers, at least one of whom was captured by the ship's crew.

Pirates who attack merchant ships traveling off the coast of Somalia are difficult to deter because of the large area in which they operate, according to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters today that he didn't want to comment on possible actions that could be taken in response to the Maersk Alabama's apparent hijacking.

However, Whitman said the piracy issue "is not going to be something that is solved in a purely military way or in international waters."

"This is going to have to be something that is addressed broadly by the international community," Whitman continued, "It's going to have to be addressed diplomatically, militarily (and) legally."

The complexity of the piracy issue requires taking "a very broad approach to addressing it," Whitman added.

Pirates operating off the coast of Somalia have attacked five vessels over the past week, according to news reports, not including today's attack on the Maersk Alabama.

Navy Vice Adm. William E. Gortney, commander of Combined Maritime Forces based in Bahrain that oversees anti-piracy efforts in the region, provided an updated advisory notice to regional merchant shipping in a news release issued yesterday.

"We synchronize the efforts of the naval forces deployed to the region," Gortney said in the release. "However, as we have often stated, international naval forces alone will not be able to solve the problem of piracy at sea."

Piracy "is a problem that starts ashore," Gortney added.

And, despite the increased naval presence in the region, Gortney's notice said, because of an area of water that's four times the size of Texas, ships and aircraft are unlikely to be close enough to provide support to vessels under attack.

In view of the pirates' activity, merchant mariners should be highly vigilant when traveling through Somalia's coastal region, the release stated.

The release noted that a number of merchant vessels transiting the waters off Somalia have successfully employed evasive maneuvers and other defensive tactics to thwart attempted pirate attacks.

For example, a Panamanian-flagged vessel employed evasive maneuvers and fire hoses to thwart an attempted pirate attack, according to the release.

New Counter-Piracy Task Force Established

From Commander, Combined Maritime Forces Public Affairs

MANAMA, Bahrain (NNS) -- The Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) established Combined Task Force 151 (CTF-151) Jan. 8 specifically for counter-piracy operations.

Naval ships and assets from more than 20 nations comprise the Combined Maritime Forces. U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Terence "Terry" McKnight has been named the commander of the new task force which will be fully operational by the middle of January.

The CMF created the Maritime Security Patrol Area (MSPA) in the Gulf of Aden in August of 2008 to support international efforts to combat piracy. Coalition efforts included CTF-150 assets patrolling the area with ships and aircraft. However, the charter for CTF-150, established at the outset of Operation Enduring Freedom, was for the conduct of Maritime Security Operations (MSO) in the Gulf of Aden, the Gulf of Oman, the Arabian Sea, Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. Operations included the deterrence of destabilizing activities, such as drug smuggling and weapons trafficking.

The establishment of CTF-151 will allow CTF-150 assets to remain focused on those activities, giving CTF-151 the ability to focus solely on the counter-piracy mission.

"Some navies in our coalition did not have the authority to conduct counter-piracy missions," said Vice Adm. Bill Gortney, CMF commander. "The establishment of CTF-151 will allow those nations to operate under the auspices of CTF-150, while allowing other nations to join CTF-151 to support our goal of deterring, disrupting and eventually bringing to justice the maritime criminals involved in piracy events."

Gortney highlighted the reduction in piracy events in the region due to merchant mariners' proactive measures. He also continued to caution that the efforts of coalition and international navies won't solve the problem of piracy.

"The most effective measures we've seen to defeat piracy are non-kinetic and defensive in nature. The merchant ships have been doing a great job stepping up and utilizing these methods to defeat piracy attempts. That's a great first step. But the problem of piracy is and continues to be a problem that begins ashore and is an international problem that requires an international solution. We believe the establishment of CTF-151 is a significant step in the right direction."

CTF 151 is a multinational task force that conducts counter-piracy operations in and around the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and the Red Sea and was established to create a lawful maritime order and develop security in the maritime environment.

Super Tanker Attacked in Arabian Sea

The Liberian-flagged oil tanker MV Sirius Star is at anchor Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008 off the coast of Somalia. The Saudi-owned very large crude carrier was hijacked by Somali pirates Nov. 15 about 450 nautical miles off the coast of Kenya and forced to proceed to anchorage near Harardhere, Somalia. U.S. Navy photo by Aviation Warfare Systems Operator 2nd Class William S. Stevens (Released)

MANAMA, Bahrain (NNS) -- A Liberian-flagged very large crude tanker, Sirius Star (IMO No. 9384198/ Callsign A8NA7), was attacked more than 450 nautical miles southeast of Mombasa, Kenya, Nov. 15.

The ship is owned by the Saudi Arabian-based Saudi Aramco and is operated by Vela International. The crew of 25 includes citizens of: Croatia, Great Britain, Republic of the Philippines, Poland and Saudi Arabia.

This attack comes amid a decrease in the rate of successful pirate attacks on merchant vessels off the coast of Somalia. Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) data analysis has shown that the combination of both military and civilian involvement in the area has reduced the percentage of successful piracy attacks from 53 percent in August to 31 percent in October.

"Our presence in the region is helping deter and disrupt criminal attacks off the Somali coast, but the situation with the Sirius Star clearly indicates the pirates' ability to adapt their tactics and methods of attack" said Vice Adm. Bill Gortney, commander, Combined Maritime Forces.

"Piracy is an international crime that threatens global commerce. Shipping companies have to understand that naval forces can not be everywhere. Self-protection measures are the best way to protect their vessels, their crews and their cargo."

Out of 15 recent pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden, at least 10 involved ships operating outside the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) recommended traffic corridor or failing to employ recommended self-protection measures, making them more vulnerable to a successful attack.

"Most notably, none of the vessels had embarked security teams. Embarked security teams would have prevented these successful attacks," said Gortney. "Companies don't think twice about using security guards to protect their valuable facilities ashore. Protecting valuable ships and their crews at sea is no different."

To put the challenge into geographic perspective, the area involved off the coast of Somalia and Kenya as well as the Gulf of Aden equals more than 1.1 million square miles. That is roughly four times the size of the U.S. state of Texas or the size of the Mediterranean and Red Seas combined.

In response to a noticeable increase in piracy attempts, the Combined Maritime Forces directed Aug. 22 the establishment of a maritime security patrol area (MSPA), a moveable area overlaying the IMO's recommended traffic corridor. Merchant mariners have been actively encouraged to travel through the IMO-designated traffic corridor and employ reasonable self-protection measures to deter piracy attempts.

"The sea is the lifeblood of our global economy, and it is appropriate the coalition, NATO and other international partners work together to address this problem," said Royal Navy Commodore Tim Lowe, deputy commander, Combined Maritime Forces. "The reduction in the rate of successful piracy attempts shows that the coalition's efforts to deter and disrupt piracy while supporting the shipping industry as they implement appropriate self-protection measures is working."

In addition to coalition naval forces, ships and aircraft from several other nations, including a NATO task force, are operating in the region. Their ranks are soon to be augmented by an European Union force of an undetermined composition. While no formal agreement exists between the navies, communication has been constant and effective to ensure optimal use of assets in a unified goal.

"While a military force cannot solve the problem, the solution lies ashore, we welcome the assistance of additional forces," said Lowe. "The long-term solution to piracy requires an international and interagency response. More forces allow us to address this issue and 'hold ground' while also continuing our ongoing maritime security operations in the area."

As it is evident with the attack on Sirius Star, increasingly daring attacks are being conducted by Somali pirates on a variety of merchant vessels. On Nov. 11, a United Kingdom warship successfully thwarted a pirate attack on a Danish shipping vessel and boarded the pirate ship responsible. During the course of the boarding, the team engaged the pirates in self-defense resulting in a number of fatalities. Such incidents highlight the complications associated with operating in this environment and the need for a permanent and effective land-based solution to the security situation in the region.

Coalition maritime forces conduct maritime security operations under international maritime conventions to develop security, which promotes stability and global prosperity in the maritime environment. These operations complement the counterterrorism and security efforts of regional nations.

Somali Pirates Strike Again

Pirates holding the crew of the Chinese fishing vessel FV Tian Yu 8 guard the crew Monday, Nov. 17, 2008 as the ship passes through the Indian Ocean. The ship was attacked Nov. 16 in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility and forced to proceed to an anchorage off the Somali coast. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jason R. Zalasky (Released)