France Hands Over Command of CTF 150 to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Captain Riviere of the French Marine Nationale handed over Command of CTF 150 to Rear Admiral Alfaqeeh of the Saudi Royal Naval Force in a virtual ceremony.

The CTF 150 (Combined Task Force 150) mission is to disrupt criminal and terrorist organisations and their mandated related illicit activities by restricting their freedom of manoeuvre in the maritime domain. The task force’s activities deny criminal and terrorist organisations a method of conducting operations or moving personnel, weapons or income-generating narcotics and charcoal.

Speaking via video link at the conference, Captain Riviere said, “I was very fortunate to be able to draw the CTF 150 team from not only France, but also the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates, building a combined, diverse and effective staff made up of professionals from three very capable nations.”

“To my team, I thank you for your committed support, your hard work, and determination in making these four months a success.”

This was the eleventh occasion that the French Marine Nationale has Commanded the task force to support CMF’s maritime security mission in the region, continuing to support 17 ships and operations at sea throughout the global COVID-19 pandemic.

After four months of leading CTF 150, Captain Riviere passed the baton onto Rear Admiral Alfaqeeh of the Saudi Royal Naval Force, who has an accomplished military record spanning almost thirty years. He has commanded ships and squadrons, and has served tours in the West Fleet, as well as experience commanding in a coalition.

Rear Admiral Alfaqeeh said: “It is such a great opportunity to work and represent my country with such a professional and enthusiastic team. Our team members come from Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United States.

“We will all do our best to execute and accomplish the Task Force’s mission in collaboration with a coalition of ships from multiple countries.”

During the virtual ceremony, Vice Admiral Malloy, Commander of Combined Maritime Forces, congratulated Captain Riviere and his team: “Captain Riviere, you and everyone under your leadership should be proud of your lasting contribution to global security.

“As the eleventh French Officer to lead this CTF, you represented your country with operational excellence, dedication and integrity, and we are grateful for your leadership and your wisdom.”

He went on to welcome the Saudi-led task force: “Admiral, under your leadership, I have no doubt that CTF 150 will maintain a high level of vigilance and excellence required to set the watch, assuring the merchant community of our unblinking commitment while deterring illicit activity in our area of operations.”

France is handing over its eleventh Command of CTF 150. This will be the Saudi Royal Naval Force’s second Command of the Task Force.

Source: combinedmaritimeforces.com

Coast Guard, not concession, solution to insecurity of nation’s waters — Borha

By Godfrey Bivbere MARITIME Consultant and former general manager of the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, Christopher Borha, has said only the establishment of a Coast Guard is the permanent solution to the problem of piracy on the nation’s waters. Borha said that several attempts made in the past to curb the problem of piracy and armed robbery on the nations had failed because the Federal Government is taking the wrong approach.

In an exclusive chat with Vanguard Maritime Report, Borha who is also Head Analyst of C.A. Borha Management and Economic Services, stressed that the personnel for the Maritime Coast Guard should be drawn from the Nigerian Navy, the Marine Command of the Nigerian Police and other government agencies with security responsibilities.

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Source: vanguardngr.com

NIMASA indicates turnaround in maritime security

By Cynthia Alo The Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh, has described the conviction of three persons in connection with vessel hijack on the Gulf of Guinea, as a signal that Nigeria is on the right path in the war against piracy and other crimes on the nation’s waterways.

The Federal High Court in Port Harcourt had, two days ago, convicted the persons who were accused of involvement in the hijack of an Equatorial Guinean flagged vessel named, MV ELOBEY VI, off Equatorial Guinea’s coast on March 21, 2020.

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Source: vanguardngr.com

Security Contractors Convicted Under New Nigerian Anti-Piracy Law

A Nigerian court has completed its first ever convictions using the nation’s new anti-piracy law, and the defendents have been sentenced to a five-figure fine. There is a twist, however: according to Nigerian media, the accused are not pirates as traditionally conceived, but rather the local employees and managers of a global private security company.

Last month, nine individuals affiliated with the Lagos branch of a UK-based global security company were charged in connection with the boarding and maritime kidnapping incident aboard the ro/ro ferry Elobey VI. The men were accused of involvement in a criminal conspiracy that resulted in the abduction of three crewmembers from the vessel off Equatorial Guinea on March 21. The captives were released in mid-May after the payment of a $200,000 ransom.

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Source: maritime-executive.com

ReCAAP issues July report on piracy and maritime crime in SE Asia

In July 2020, six incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships were reported in Asia. Of the six incidents, one was a piracy incident and five were armed robbery against ships.

There was no report of abduction of crew in the Sulu-Celebes Seas and waters off Eastern Sabah, Malaysia in July 2020. However, the abduction of crew for ransom remains a serious concern as demonstrated by the Warning issued by the ReCAAP ISC on 2 July that five Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) members were planning to conduct abduction of crew from ships passing by Tawi-Tawi and Sabah waters.

The ReCAAP ISC is also concerned about the continued occurrence of incidents on board ships while underway in the Singapore Strait. Three incidents were reported in July 2020. With these, a total of 19 incidents were reported in the Singapore Strait during January-July 2020 comprising 15 incidents occurred in the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS), two incidents in the precautionary area, one incident in the westbound lane of the TSS and one incident just outside (south) of the TSS.

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Source: recaap.org

To download the report, please click here.

Op-Ed: A Simple Deal on Embarked Guards Could End West African Piracy

By Jakob Voight

On July 17, 2020, the tanker Curacao Trader was boarded by pirates at a position about 210 nautical miles from Nigerian shores. 13 Russian and Ukrainian seafarers were abducted. Two weeks before, the freighter Kota Budi was boarded about 200 nm from Nigerian shore. What is particularly noticeable about these attacks is the location: when looking at the statistics for 2019, it appears that the average distance of confirmed pirate attacks was 62 nm from shore, with only seven attacks at positions more than 100 nm from shore. In 2020, the average distance of confirmed pirate attacks was 75 nm, and there have already been several pirate attacks at positions more than 100 nm from shore.

Despite the improvement of the regional cooperation demonstrated in the response to the Hai Lu Feng 11 attack in May, despite the arrival of new maritime platforms, despite the use of surveillance systems like the Deep Blue project in Nigeria, it is obvious that pirates are a permanent threat off West Africa. The increase of pirates’ operational range is not a surprise for informed observers. This trend was seen in the Indian Ocean between 2004 and 2010, when Somali pirates reached almost to the west coast of India. This evolution is not due to chance – it’s simply the search for “soft locations,” areas where no means of coercion prevent the act of piracy or react quickly enough to intervene in a boarding or kidnapping. West African pirates thus demonstrate their capacity for adaptation.

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Source: maritime-executive.com

PRO-9 activates task force to combat organized crime groups

By Leah Agonoy

PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur – The Police Regional Office (PRO-9) has activated “Task Force Pink Panther” to boost security in “risk areas” and address threat groups in the region. Brig. Gen. Jesus Cambay Jr., PRO-9 director, who led the activation of the task force Monday, said the unit will consist of five task groups to secure the region’s coastlines.

In an interview Tuesday, Cambay said the task force will consist of policemen, soldiers, and personnel from other line agencies, especially those engaged in law enforcement, like the coast guard, and maritime police.

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Source: pna.gov.ph

New Home for Operation Sentinel

BAHRAIN

08.06.2020

Story by NAVCENT Public Affairs

U.S. Naval Forces Central Command / U.S. 5th Fleet

The International Maritime Security Construct (IMSC) held a ribbon cutting ceremony on board Naval Support Activity Bahrain to formally open the new operational headquarters for Coalition Task Force (CTF) Sentinel, Aug. 6.

The new and improved space will enhanced the flow of information and allow for greater coordination in tracking merchant shipping as it transits through key waterways in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Oman.

Cdre. Rob Bellfield, CTF Sentinel Commander paid particular praise to the contributions made by regional partners who are members of the International Maritime Security Construct (IMSC).

“Our partners in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates share their exceptional political and geographic knowledge of the region,” said Bellfield. “They know this region intimately because this is their home, which they graciously share with us. The interoperability between Sentry ships from the region and Sentinel ships from Australia, the United Kingdom and United States, as well as regional Naval Operation Centres, highlights the close relationship we have allowing CTF Sentinel to maintain an operational strength we may not otherwise achieve.”

The ceremony was limited to ensure social distancing and to mitigate against the spread of coronavirus.

Representatives from the host nation, Bahrain, were in attendance.

“We are pleased to be here today for the opening of the new headquarters of CTF Sentinel,” said Rear Adm. Mohammed Yousif Al-Asam, Commander of Royal Bahrain Naval Forces. “It marks another vital facet of the IMSC, which has proved to be effective in ensuring the freedom of navigation, the safety of all the maritime shipping in the region and the strategic passage ways.”

In acknowledging this milestone, Vice Adm. Jim Malloy, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, U.S. 5th Fleet, Combined Maritime Forces, said, “IMSC’s success comes from standing and working together. This coalition fulfils a much-needed role. Its watchwords of “Vigilance, Surveillance, and Assurance” tell you exactly what CTF Sentinel is about and why the task force plays such a key role in the region. They are providing the much-needed collective eyes and ears to some of the world’s most congested, contested waters.”

Since the opening of the watch floor in November 2019, the Task Force Sentinel team has continued to expand in both capability and capacity.

Malloy praised the “enduring commitment of all nations that contribute to the free flow of merchant shipping through some of the world’s busiest sea lanes.”

The multi-national, British-led CTF Sentinel deploys ships and aircraft throughout the region as part of the international surveillance and detection effort, ensuring freedom of navigation and free flow of commerce in international waters.

Source: dvidshub.net

Maritime guards bust 1 ton of narcotics in S Iran

Maritime guards of Hormozgan Province have seized 1 ton of illicit drugs in Bandar Lengeh, said navy commander.

The Commander of Maritime Guards in Hormozgan Colonel Hossein Dehaki said on Sunday that border guards in Bandar Lengeh naval base managed to identify two smuggling bands following intelligence operations.

He added that they have successfully seized 1 vessel and 1 vehicle, in addition to the confiscation of 1 ton of opium.

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Source: en.mehrnews.com

Armed security guards required in Bénin

As a result of the recent increase of pirate attacks in the Gulf of Guinea, governmental authorities of Bénin have taken pre-emptive measures to prevent such attacks in their territorial waters through a new decree, Concerning Means of Protection of Ships in the Territorial Waters of BÃ©nin.

Any ship bound for a port in Bénin with an armed protection team on board, is required to send through its ship agent, a request for permission to enter Benin’s territorial waters with its own armed onboard protection team.

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Source: hellenicshippingnews.com