We cover piracy, armed robbery at sea, IUU fishing, maritime cyber security and maritime security issues.
Seafarers’ charity Stella Maris (Apostleship of the Sea) has expressed concern over the effect that piracy continues to have on seafarers’ physical and mental wellbeing, ahead of Sea Sunday on July 14.
The charity has emphasised that seafarers’ safety and pastoral support remains paramount when their ships are targeted or attacked by pirates.
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Source: hellenicshippingnews.com
Aziz El Yaakoubi, Mohamed Ghobari
DUBAI/ADEN (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s military in Yemen has moved in to secure two strategic Red Sea ports and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait after its leading ally the United Arab Emirates substantially reduced its presence there, four sources familiar with the matter said.
The UAE has drawn down its numbers in some parts of Yemen, where it had set up large bases amid a four-year-old multi-layered war that is widely seen as a proxy battle between regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran.
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Source: reuters.com
The UK has raised the threat to British shipping in Iranian waters in the Gulf to the highest level – where the risk of attack is “critical”.
The step was taken on Tuesday, amid growing tensions in the region.
On Wednesday, Iranian boats tried to impede a British oil tanker in the region – before being driven off by a Royal Navy ship, the MoD said.
Iran had threatened to retaliate for the seizure of one of its own tankers, but denied any attempted seizure.
The Department for Transport said it regularly provided security advice to UK ships in high-risk areas.
The threat level means British ships are advised not to enter Iranian waters, BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Beale said.
Boats believed to belong to Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) approached the British Heritage tanker and tried to bring it to a halt as it was moving out of the Gulf into the Strait of Hormuz.
HMS Montrose, a British frigate shadowing the BP-owned tanker, was forced to move between the three boats and the ship, a Ministry of Defence spokesman said.
He described the Iranians’ actions as “contrary to international law”.
Guns on HMS Montrose were trained on the Iranian boats as they were ordered to back off, US media reported. The boats heeded the warning and no shots were fired.
Last week, British Royal Marines helped the authorities in Gibraltar seize an Iranian tanker because of evidence it was carrying oil to Syria in breach of EU sanctions.
A spokesman for the Royal Gibraltar Police said they had arrested the captain and chief officer of the Iranian tanker on Thursday, on suspicion of breaching EU sanctions, but neither had been charged.
The BBC has been told British Heritage was near the island of Abu Musa when it was approached by the Iranian boats.
Although Abu Musa is in disputed territorial waters, HMS Montrose remained in international waters throughout.
Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt said the government was concerned by the incident and urged the Iranian authorities to “de-escalate the situation”.
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt added the UK would monitor the situation “very carefully”.
Prime Minister Theresa May’s official spokesman said the government was “committed to maintaining freedom of navigation in accordance with international law”.
A spokesperson for the US State Department condemned Iran’s actions and said that Washington would continue to work closely with the UK.
Morgan Ortagus said: “We commend the actions of the Royal Navy in ensuring freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce through this critically important waterway.”
Commander of the US Fifth Fleet Vice Adm Jim Malloy described the incident as “unlawful harassment” and said the fleet would continue to work closely with the Royal Navy to defend “the free flow of commerce”.
The navy of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps has denied claims it tried to seize the tanker, Iranian news agencies reported. IRGC’s navy said there had been no confrontation with any foreign vessels in the past 24 hours.
Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the UK made the claims “for creating tension”.
“These claims have no value,” Mr Zarif added, according to the Fars news agency.
Why are UK-Iran tensions escalating?
The relationship between the UK and Iran has become increasingly strained, after Britain said the Iranian regime was “almost certainly” responsible for the attacks on two oil tankers in June.
Tensions grew after the seizure of an Iranian oil tanker by authorities in Gibraltar, assisted by British Royal Marines.
On Thursday an Iranian official told the BBC the seizure was “unnecessary and non-constructive escalation by the UK” and called for the tanker, Grace 1, to be released.
An Iranian official previously said a British oil tanker should be seized if Grace 1 was not released.
On Wednesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called the UK “scared” and “hopeless” for using Royal Navy warships to shadow another British tanker in the Gulf.
“You, Britain, are the initiator of insecurity and you will realise the consequences later,” Mr Rouhani said.
The Royal Navy has a frigate, four minehunters and a Royal Fleet Auxiliary support ship already stationed in a permanent Naval Support Facility in the region, at Mina Salman in Bahrain.
This is enough to provide reassurance, but probably not to deal with a crisis, BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Beale said.
Ministers would now have to consider sending another Royal Navy ship to the region – but this could further escalate tensions with Iran, our correspondent said.
Foreign Office officials said they were keeping the UK’s military posture in the region under constant review but insisted they did not want to see tensions escalate.
Source: bbc.co.uk
Iranian boats tried to impede a British oil tanker near the Gulf – before being driven off by a Royal Navy ship, the Ministry of Defence has said.
HMS Montrose moved between the three boats and the tanker British Heritage before issuing verbal warnings to the Iranian vessels, a spokesman said.
He described the Iranians’ actions as “contrary to international law”.
Iran had threatened to retaliate for the seizure of one of its own tankers, but denied any attempted seizure.
Boats believed to belong to Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) approached the British Heritage tanker and tried to bring it to a halt as it was moving out of the Gulf into the Strait of Hormuz.
Guns on HMS Montrose, the British frigate escorting the tanker, were reportedly trained on the Iranian boats as they were ordered to back off. They heeded the warning and no shots were fired.
The BBC has been told British Heritage was near the island of Abu Musa when it was approached and harassed by the Iranian boats.
Although the island is in disputed territorial waters, HMS Montrose remained in international waters throughout.
A UK government spokesman said: “Contrary to international law, three Iranian vessels attempted to impede the passage of a commercial vessel, British Heritage, through the Strait of Hormuz.
“We are concerned by this action and continue to urge the Iranian authorities to de-escalate the situation in the region.”
Quoting the public relations office of the IRGC’s Navy, the Fars news agency said, in a tweet, the IRGC “denies claims by American sources” that it tried to seize British Heritage.
“There has been no confrontation in the last 24 hours with any foreign vessels, including British ones,” the IRGC added, according to the AFP news agency.
Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the UK made the claims “for creating tension”.
“These claims have no value,” Mr Zarif added, according to Fars.
The relationship between the UK and Iran has become increasingly strained, after Britain said the Iranian regime was “almost certainly” responsible for the attacks on two oil tankers in June.
Last week, British Royal Marines helped the authorities in Gibraltar seize an Iranian oil tanker because of evidence it was heading to Syria in breach of EU sanctions.
In response, an Iranian official said a British oil tanker should be seized if its detained ship was not released.
Iran also summoned the British ambassador in Tehran to complain about what it said was a “form of piracy”.
On Wednesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani mocked the UK, calling it “scared” and “hopeless” for using Royal Navy warships to shadow a British tanker in the Gulf.
HMS Montrose had shadowed British tanker the Pacific Voyager for some of the way through the Strait of Hormuz, but that journey had passed without incident.
“You, Britain, are the initiator of insecurity and you will realise the consequences later,” Mr Rouhani said.
The UK has also been pressing Iran to release British-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe who was jailed for five years in 2016 after being convicted for spying, which she denies.
Source: bbc.co.uk
RIYADH (Reuters) – Naval forces from the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen foiled an attempted attack on an unidentified commercial ship in the southern Red Sea on Monday by the Iran-aligned Houthis, which the group denied.
Spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki said the Western-backed military alliance had destroyed an unmanned boat laden with explosives which the militants had used for the attack, Saudi state news agency SPA reported without providing more details.
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Source: reuters.com
A report by Bloomberg says that a British oil tanker is staying in the Persian Gulf in fear of being seized by Iran in retaliation for an Iranian tanker impounded by the British and Gibraltar authorities since July 4.
The mid-size oil tanker capable of carrying one million barrels of oil was reportedly moving toward one of Iraq’s oil terminals when it changed course and is currently anchored close to Saudi Arabia.
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Source: en.radiofarda.com
Informed sources in Iran have dismissed the fabricated news of the seizure of a British oil tanker in the Persian Gulf, IRIB News Agency reported.
Earlier in the day, certain journalists and observers tracked the movement of the UK-flagged supertanker ‘Pacific Voyager’ in the Persian Gulf, and reported that it has “suspiciously” come to a halt in the middle of the Persian Gulf.
The reports were also dismissed by a United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) official, who told Reuters the oil tanker was “safe and well”.
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SAS Drakensberg (A301) arrived on station in the northern sector of the Mozambique Channel this week for a duty tour that will see anti-piracy and anti-crime taskings executed.
This is not the first time the 32-year-old fleet replenishment ship has been deployed on Operation Copper, the ongoing bilateral anti-piracy operation involving Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states Mozambique and South Africa.
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Source: defenceweb.co.za
Despite a U.N.-backed ceasefire agreement, fighting between Houthi rebels and government forces has resumed on the south side of the port city of Hodeidah, Yemen. Pro-government militia leaders told Xinhua that Houthi units had shelled several neighborhoods, damaging homes and destroying part of a hospital.
Under the terms of an agreement negotiated in Stockholm last December, Iranian-backed Houthi rebels were to withdraw from the port, and Saudi- and UAE-backed Yemeni government forces were to pull back from their positions surrounding the city. Houthi security units at the port have transferred control to the Yemeni Coast Guard, but the head of the UN mission in Hodeidah, Lt. Gen. Michael Lollesgaard, said last month that considerable work remains to demilitarize the port complex.
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Source: maritime-executive.com
‘If other countries have clear information, I am sure the international community will easily listen to them,’ says Emirati foreign minister on Wednesday
The United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan said on Wednesday that no country could be held responsible for the latest attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf.
Speaking during a press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow, Al-Nahyan said his country needs “clear and convincing evidence” regarding the recent attacks that targeted four vessels off the UAE coast last month, including two Saudi oil tankers.
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Source: middleeasteye.net
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