Smart thinking and quick maneuvering by Captain Mike Tolley, of Waldoboro, saved the MV Harriette from being captured by Somali pirates on Nov. 2. The MV Harriette was 360 nautical miles east of Mombasa, Kenya when two skiffs filled with five to six pirates each attempted to hijack the 700-foot ship.
Tolley ordered his men inside, then stood on the bridge wing and called out orders to evade the pirates. The MV Harriette drew fire from AK 47’s, but fortunately the fire missed Tolley by about 10 feet, striking a nearby lifeboat. The pirates tried to board the vessel using ladders, but Tolley made evasive maneuvers to keep the pirates off his ship.
The incident was the first time a U.S. flagged ship has come under attack by Somali pirates. There have been 306 pirate attacks in the region between January and September 2009. None of the 21 officers or crewmembers were injured in the Harriette incident.
“US Flag ships on these missions are not allowed to carry firearms on board, so the only way to defend the ship is to evade capture, or risk being held captive and ransomed, said Tolley’s wife Kim. “AMO (American Maritime Officers) union is pushing for more security (either Navy or private) for US Flag ships in the area off the horn of Africa.”
“It was a pretty hairy experience,” Kim said. “They usually try to avoid Somali, but they had to pass through on their way to their second port.”
The attack occurred “not even a day out of Mombasa. It is our worst nightmare. He has been in those waters before with no problems,” Kim added.
“They first thought they were jumping whales, but as they got closer they saw they were two skiffs filled with armed men. Their first intentions were to get on board. There were six pirates in each boat.” Kim said, adding the Harriette is a “little slow. So he changed tactics and ran right at them. Two skiffs came along side.”
The pirates reportedly came as close as three feet to the Harriette.
“Every time they tried to throw the ladder, he (Tolley) would move the ship, or he would change speeds or change direction. The pirates started firing at him, but they missed by about 10 feet. They showed the RPG’s but did not fire. He kept maneuvering, so they got in his wake. He then gunned it and sped away,” Kim said.
Soon after the attack, a Norwegian ship came under attack in the same region.
“It is the first time a U.S. ship had come under attack by pirates. It’s the first time the U.S. ship had that close of a call,” Kim said.
Kim heard about the incident while at work at the Damariscotta Montessori School, in Nobleboro. “He called me at work and said, I just wanted to call and say I’m OK, I’m safe,” Kim said.
AMO Currents, the official online periodical of American Maritime Officers quoted AMO National President Tom Bethel saying, “We’re all, of course, relieved that nobody onboard the Harriette was hit or harmed in the attack. The rapid response of the officers and crew to thwart the attack reflects the caliber of American merchant mariners on the job.
“We’re very proud of master, Michael Tolley. His actions saved the ship and the crew,” said John Belle company security officer of Sealift Inc.
The Harriette had just discharged U.S. food aid at the Kenyan port of Mombasa, where it had been since Oct. 20, and was enroute to Mumbai, India when the attack occurred. The ship is owned by Sealift Inc, which operates a fleet of 12 ocean-going ships, most of which operate in the U.S. Flag Liner Service. They are one of the largest transportation contractors of U.S. Government Food Aid cargoes, according to the Sealift Inc website.
Tolley’s account of the incident in his official report reads, “At 0745 the pirates were visually seen at four nautical miles and coming in fast. On the radar at 2.5 nautical miles the lookout reported them as whales jumping. I ran from the phone to the bridge, hit the alarm, and steering the vessel, turned right for them. The ABWS says we bumped one of them but I’m not sure. They rounded up and tried to board the vessel with a ladder. I was out there on the bridge wing calling out orders so they couldn’t get the ladder onto the main deck. Right 10… left 5 rudder amidship…142 reverse. My adrenalin was pumping. When they were unable to get the ladder over the main deck, one skiff turned toward the bridge wing held up a RPG (rocket propelled grenade). Then two points abaft the beam at 50 feet off they fired 15-20 rounds with an AK-47 and then again 15-20 rounds. Speed had been increased to max revs SOG 14.4 knots. We turned into sea and gave them a bumpy ride and eventually lost one skiff at 0800 followed by the second skiff giving up at 0805. The life boat took a few hits and the house below the wing. A navy report stated the “Harriette sustained damage to the bridge and port wing,”
Tolley graduated from Maine Maritime Academy in Castine in 1993 as a Master Mariner, which allows him to captain any ship in any ocean in the world. He joined the Navy after graduating and ironically served on a Navy ship off of Somalia after “their government fell,” Kim said.
After his hitch with the Navy, Tolley began sailing for Sealift Inc in 2000. He typically sails out of the port of Houston, Tx. and is gone for five to six months at a time.
“It is one of my worst nightmares to have him and the ship captured and held for ransom,” Kim said. “It is really nerve-racking. My first instinct was to bring him home, but it’s what he does and he loves what he does.”
