‘Explosion’ on Iranian oil tanker off Saudi coast – reports

An explosion has caused a fire on an Iranian tanker near the coast of Saudi Arabia, Iranian media say.

The vessel, from Iran’s national oil company (NOIC), was 60 miles (97km) from the Saudi port city of Jeddah when the incident took place, reports said.

The ship’s two main storage tanks were said to be damaged, causing an oil spill into the Red Sea, but no-one was injured.

NOIC claimed the vessel was hit by missiles, but did not provide evidence.

Iran’s national tanker company (NITC) said the fire had been put out and the oil spillage reduced to a minimum, according to the news site Iran Front Page.

Iranian state TV identified the ship as the oil tanker Sinopa. The maritime vessel tracking firm Tanker Trackers said the tanker was regularly used to ferry oil to the Syrian government, despite international sanctions.

The incident came amid heightened tension between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Last month, 18 drones and seven cruise missiles hit a major oil field and processing facility in Saudi Arabia, which blamed Iran for the attack.

And US officials said Iran was responsible for attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf in June and July, as well as attacks on another four tankers in May.

Iran denied involvement in all the incidents.

Source: bbc.co.uk

The ‘Sabiti’ oil tanker after the attack, on Oct. 11th Source: National Iranian Tanker Co.

High Court: “Pirate Attack” was Attempted Fraud

In a ruling issued Monday, the High Court of London ruled that the tanker Brillante Virtuoso was irreparably damaged not by pirates, as her owner and banker claimed, but by a group of conspirators. Justice Nigel Teare found that the owner’s claims of piracy were improbable, and he reached the “firm conclusion” that the attackers intended to destroy the vessel, that they had the assistance of the master and chief engineer as they went about the task, and that the owner orchestrated the scheme in order to defraud his insurer.

On July 6, 2011, Brillante Virtuoso was drifting off Aden, awaiting a team of unarmed security contractors before transiting Bab el-Mandeb. A small boat approached carrying seven masked, armed men. The men informed the crew that they were “security,” and they came aboard with the master’s permission. (The disputants in the case agreed that the boarding party’s members were likely current or former Yemeni Coast Guard or Navy servicemenbers.) They ordered the crew to the day room, and escorted the master to the bridge and the chief engineer to the engine room.

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Source: maritime-executive.com

Sailors from USS *Philippine Sea* rescue the crew of the *Brillante Virtuoso*

150 kg heroin from Pakistan seized, fifth haul in 3 months

They added that in the latest case Indian security agencies detected the boat on September 30 about 500 nautical miles or 926 km off the Kochi coast.

Sudhi Ranjan Sen

At least 150 kg heroin worth millions of dollars was on Saturday seized in a joint operation of coast guards of India, the Maldives and Sri Lankan from a boat on his way from Pakistan days after it was detected in international waters in the India-Ocean Region (IOR) off Kerala’s Kochi coast, according to officials aware of the development.

The officials said it is the fifth haul of drugs shipped from Pakistan through the sea that has been recovered over the last three months. The Sri Lankan Coast Guard seized 140 kg heroin from a vessel registered in Iran in July 2019 in a similar coordinated operation.

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Source: hindustantimes.com

India starts sharing maritime data

Dinakar Peri

Information Fusion Centre — Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) was set up last year

The Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) set up last year has started functioning as an information sharing hub of maritime data and “cuing incident responses” to maritime security situations through a collaborative approach, Navy sources said.

At the just concluded Goa Maritime Conclave (GMC), National Security Adviser Ajit Doval had offered countries in the IOR use of the facility to track movement of vessels on the high seas.

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Source: thehindu.com

CTF150 (FS Nivose) Achieves Major Drugs Bus in Arabian Sea

A French warship, representing Combined Task Force 150 (CTF 150) seized a huge amount of hashish from a rogue dhow on Wednesday 25 September. The dhow had been tracked for a short period and did not respond to requests from the warship, FS NIVOSE, on her intentions. Highly trained French sailors, in military rigid inflatable boats, conducted a boarding and in the subsequent search, over 2.5 tonnes of the illegal narcotic was discovered and subsequently destroyed.

Commodore Ed Ahlgren Royal Navy, the Commander of Combined Task Force 150, said, ”This substantial seizure clearly and unequivocally demonstrates the true value and significant impact of CMF operations on those malign actors who choose to use the sea for their unlawful purposes. The French warship, FS NIVOSE, operating in Direct Support of the joint UK and French CTF 150 Command, has sought tenaciously those who wish to do us harm and incite instability in both this region and further afield. Thanks to their efforts, they have disrupted a vital flow of funding to nefarious organisations and I congratulate the crew of FS NIVOSE on their success and wish them good hunting for their forthcoming operations.”

CTF 150 is a great example of how the cooperation between international maritime members of the CMF can work together to achieve the common goal of deterring or catching those who risk being a part of illegal narcotics smuggling.

Source: combinedmaritimeforces.com

Bags of Hashish onboard the captured Dhow

Operation King Crab عملية “كِينْك كراب” – (يعني “سلطعون الملك”)

Operation ‘King Crab’ led by CTF 151 has successfully ended using assets from 9 nations. It involved a concentrated effort over four days, with increased counter-piracy patrols, air reconnaissance and visits to merchant vessels and local dhows. Information sharing and boarding exercises also took place. Rear Admiral Yu said: “Ultimately we all have the same goal of promoting security and stability in the region to legitimate seafarers by defeating piracy. Operations such as ‘King Crab’, greatly increase our ability to do this.”

Source: combinedmaritimeforces.com

CTF151 Boat Crews approaching friendly Somali fishermen

The threat of Houthi unmanned explosives-laden boats

by Shay, Shaul (Dr.)

The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted and destroyed an unmanned explosives-laden boat launched from Yemen by the Iran-aligned Houthi group on September 19, 2019, an incident that could further increase regional tensions after the attack on Saudi oil installations. Since 2017, in fact, there have been several reports of attacks or discovery of these unmanned explosive vessels in the country.

“The coalition’s naval forces detected an attempt by the terrorist Houthi militia backed by Iran to carry out an imminent act of aggression and terrorism south of the Red Sea using an unmanned, rigged boat … launched from Hodeidah province,” coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki said in a statement. Malki said that the foiled attack represented a threat to regional and international security and the safety of maritime routes and international trade. He did not specify the intended target.[1]

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Source: ict.org.il

Safety in the Red Sea corridor can’t be taken for granted

by Omar S Mahmood

The Red Sea and the adjacent Gulf of Aden face many potential threats to free movement, ranging from the presence of non-state armed groups (such as the Houthis in Yemen) and organised crime outfits, to ongoing territorial disputes and environmental concerns. Yet maritime traffic has largely gone undisrupted in recent years.

The hitherto safe passageway of the Red Sea should not be taken for granted though, and the area has attracted significant geopolitical interest. New initiatives concerned with the shared maritime space are being conceived, including a Red Sea Forum championed by Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The African Union (AU) and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) are also taking a greater interest. All these actors aim to address a perceived gap in management of the Red Sea space.

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Source: issafrica.org

Royal Navy guardians protect 7m tonnes of shipping in Gulf

Over seven million tonnes of British shipping – the equivalent of around 20 wartime convoys – have been guided safely through the Strait of Hormuz by the Royal Navy.

HMS Montrose, her sister frigate HMS Kent and destroyers HM Ships Duncan and Defender – have accompanied British flagged and registered merchant ships in and out of the Gulf amid tensions with Iran.

Grateful seafarers have labelled the Royal Navy vessels ‘guardians of the Gulf’ for their efforts providing protection in the narrow waters separating Iran on the north shore and Oman and the UAE since the beginning of July.

The warships, plus their helicopters, have been used to accompany and watch over merchant shipping to ensure they can pass into and out of the Gulf safely, keeping international trade – especially oil and natural gas – flowing in the face of threats.

Most recently HMS Kent has borne the burden of patrols, spending three weeks in the strait, providing safe passage for in excess of 800,000 tonnes of shipping.

“We are a close-knit team and I am extremely proud of what my sailors have achieved over the last few months,” said Commander Andrew Brown, HMS Kent’s Commanding Officer.

The ship uses her Wildcat helicopter to scour hundreds of square miles of the Gulf for any signs of danger – merchant shipping needs accompanying through an area twice the size of Wales.

“Controlling our helicopter in such a busy area of the world can at times be extremely stressful,” said Leading Aircraft Controller Lewis Jackson. “The constant training we receive enables us to do our job in a calm and safe manner and at an extremely professional level.”

Beyond the physical and mental challenges of the escort mission, the 200-plus sailors and Royal Marines aboard the warships are still contending with demanding temperatures – in the high 30s Celsius by day – even at the end of September.

HMS Duncan, which returned to Portsmouth at the weekend, made 29 runs through the Strait, watching over 1,287,209 tonnes of merchant shipping.

Commander Tom Trent said his ship’s company found the mission challenging but also “very rewarding. We had emails from the ships we helped thanking us for getting them through safely.

“Protecting shipping is what the Royal Navy has done for hundreds of years. The whole operation is a reminder of how critical the Royal Navy is.”

Operations in the Strait of Hormuz to protect British shipping continues on a daily basis.

Source: royalnavy.mod.uk

EU NAVFOR Somalia MPRAs Fly In Support of CTF-151 Focused Operation

This week, EU NAVFOR Somalia Operation ATALANTA’s German Maritime Patrol Reconnaissance Aircraft supported a multi-national counter-piracy operation led by Combined Task Force 151 (CTF 151) in the Gulf of Aden.

The assets involved in Focused Operation “King Crab” were from nine different nations, and included the Republic of Korea Ship (ROKS) Kang Gam Chan; the Japanese Ship (JS) Sazanami and the Royal Navy of Oman Vessel (RNOV) Al-Dhafreh in support.

The operation was a concentrated effort that spanned over four days and saw the counter-piracy task force and its partners undertake increased counter-piracy patrols and maritime engagement visits to merchant vessels and local dhows. The participating assets also partook in joint training and boarding exercises.

The exercises also reinforced the importance of information-sharing amongst the wide combination of counter-piracy partners.

“Ultimately we all have the same goal of promoting security and stability in the region to legitimate seafarers by defeating piracy and criminal attacks,” said Commander CTF 151, Rear Admiral Byeong-Ju Yu, ROKN. “Focused Operations such as King Crab greatly increase our ability to do this.”

Operation ATALANTA’s MPRAs have now returned to regular operations, patrolling the Indian Ocean, Gulf of Aden, Red Sea and Arabian Sea alongside other EU NAVFOR naval Assets.

Source: eunavfor.eu