Operational Sentinel patrols the Strait of Hormuz, yet regional rivalries and the international coalition’s makeup could escalate tensions.
By Gregory Clough and Morgan D. Bazilian*
Renewed conflict in the Strait of Hormuz pushed the United States to establish an international coalition for maritime security to ensure safe passage of shipping traffic and guarding against further disruption in oil supplies. While such security coalitions have been successful in the past, applying the same approach in the Middle East may not improve conditions and may even exacerbate tensions.
‘Attack’ on ship towing South Korean drilling rig threatens vital shipping routes, Saudi spokesman says.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen said Iran-aligned Houthi rebels hijacked a vessel south of the Red Sea.
Saudi Arabia‘s state-run Saudi Press Agency quoted coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki as saying on Monday that Houthis seized the ship while it was towing a South Korean oil drilling rig on Sunday.
MaritimeSecurityNews: This is a significant roll of the dice by al Houthi rebels. As war weariness sets in on both sides, it has been suggested that this incident is an attempt by Houthis to show Saudi Arabia how difficult it can still make life for them. South Korean media outlets have suggested that three vessels were hijacked/seized by Houthi rebels and have dispatched their anti-piracy Cheonghae unit to the region, which will focus minds in Yemen, given their reputation.
Maritime security in the Red Sea remains perilous, with Iran reporting attacks which are unverified independently and the ongoing threat posed by Houthi naval mines and SVBIEDs. A persistent threat to a major shipping lane will not go unchallenged by other countries in the region as well as the USA. I hope the al Houthis appreciate just how risky this gamble may prove to be. Image below via OCEANUSLive.org, who carry the initial UKMTO report.
India and Oman will conduct the 12th edition of bilateral maritime exercise ‘Naseem Al Bahr’ in the Arabian Sea next month, as both countries are aiming to further increase interoperability between the two navies and enhance maritime security.
The scope of Naseem Al Bahr this year will include besides professional interactions, operational activities at sea across the spectrum of maritime operations.
The legitimate government asked Chair of the Redeployment Coordination Committee (RCC) and head of the United Nations Mission to Support the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA) Abhijit Guha to “open humanitarian corridors in the city of Hodeidah,” an informed Yemeni source told Asharq Al-Awsat.
The government explained that it requested to open the corridors because of the presence of government-controlled areas in the city, although Houthi militias rule most of it, the source said Thursday.
Multi agency cooperation remains the only way to address maritime crimes as it sends a strong and unified message to pirates and other organized criminals to cease their illegal trade.
Speaking during a Regional meeting on “Capacity Building Coordination for Enhanced Maritime Security in the West Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden and Donor Forum”at a Mombasa hotel, defense Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo said progress has been made to enhance Maritime domain awareness through multi agency collaboration.
“I have observed directly the benefits that have accrued from the Maritime code of conduct appended in Djibouti by member states geared towards near eradication of piracy,” said Omamo.
Ince Gordon Dadds partner Carrie Radford and senior associate Lucy Espley comment on the extraordinary Brillante Virtuoso case
In 2011, the 1992-built Suezmax tanker Brillante Virtuoso was within Yemeni waters waiting for a security team. A small boat approached carrying seven armed persons. The master allowed them to board, apparently believing they were the security team. The ‘security team’ hijacked the ship and within hours set the vessel on fire. The ship was abandoned, the crew was rescued by a passing ship and Brillante Virtuoso was later sold for scrap.
The vessel’s owner, Suez Fortune Investments Limited, and mortgagee bank, Piraeus Bank AE, brought a claim on the vessel’s war risks policy for a constructive total loss, totalling US$77M, claiming that the loss of the vessel was caused by piracy or hijacking.
Piracy, armed robbery, drug smuggling and human trafficking are some of the major challenges faced in the Indian Ocean waters, according to members of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).
Speaking at a Press conference on the sidelines of the 19th meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) that concluded in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, Khurshed Alam, secretary of the Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs and deputy secretary-general of the IORA, said almost 40,000 ships are passing through the waters of Indian Ocean daily.
Bakana Boat Drivers Union, an umbrella body of boat operators in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers state, has called on the state government to deploy Navy and Marine police to waterways as a way of curbing sea piracy in the state.
Chairman of the union, Alabo Benson Yellow, made the appeal while speaking to newsmen in Port Harcourt on the recent boat attack that led to the killing of three passengers at Bille Jetty by pirates, at the weekend.
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – Somalia will announce plans in December for its first ever oil and gas licensing round, its oil minister said on Tuesday, as the frontier market looks to attract new investment after decades of civil strife.
At least three mortar bombs were fired last month at Mogadishu’s international airport, the latest attack in a wave of violence that has afflicted the Horn of Africa nation since clan warlords overthrew a dictator in 1991.
In 2010, the Indian Ocean waters were a no go zone for merchant ships. Pirates ruled the waves and often, ships plying the lucrative and historic trade route would find themselves in the wrong hands.
But as the lawlessness went on, one group of pirates found themselves on the wrong end of the gun barrel one night in September 2012. On this day, their seawater-beaten Kalashnikovs met their match and by the time dawn broke, most of them lay dead, with others scattered in the high seas.
Maritime Security News 