Kidnappings At Sea By Abu Sayyaf Militants Persist Despite Trilateral Patrols

Kidnappings in Malaysian waters bordering Indonesia and the Philippines – largely blamed on Abu Sayyaf militants – are still happening despite joint air and sea patrols launched in 2017, a Filipino military official conceded Wednesday, saying it remains a challenge to secure the local seas because of their sheer size.

While the Trilateral Maritime Patrols (TMP) launched in 2017 have had some effect in combating the threat, the region is lawless as pirates and militants reign with impunity, said Maj. Arvin Encinas, spokesman for the Philippine military’s Western Mindanao Command.

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Source: eurasiareview.com

Combating maritime piracy in Benin: the port of Cotonou takes 10 measures to strengthen the protection of ships on stopover

Romuald Ngueyap

(Ecofin Agency) – The autonomous port of Cotonou (PAC) wants to reassure its customers by strengthening security. In a circular note dated Tuesday 21 January 2020, CAP Director General Joris Albert Thys issued ten (10) measures to strengthen the protection of ships in the harbour against piracy.

Addressed to marine agents, ship consignors, handlers and shipowners, these measures include, among other things, the requirement for each vessel to have a marine agent, the allocation of a holding post for any vessel. depending on availability and the boarding of the required armed guard and free of charge for any ship to stay at the anchorage in Cotonou harbour.

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Source: agenceecofin.com

House Committee report ‘indicts’ NIMASA, Navy

By Muyiwa Lucas

The House of Representatives report of the Ad-hoc Committee to determine why the Warri, Port Harcourt, Onne, Calabar and Onitsha Ports complexes are not being put to maximal use has concluded its findings.

In a 16-page report, the 17- member committee blamed the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the Nigerian Navy for not providing adequate security to vessels and cargoes going to the ports in the zone.

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Source: thenationonlineng.net

Ship attacked in the morning Jan 21, Nigeria

Mikhail Voytenko

UPDATE: Clearwater Dynamics shared its’ information with Maritime Bulletin, not disclosing ship’s name, but there was no other container ship in the vicinity, fitting into time and position, except MSC GRACE. The ship is deployed on container service connecting Gulf of Guinea States, so no wonder she has armed guards on board. As of 1630 UTC Jan 21, the ship was sailing in Bonny area, heading towards Port Harcourt.

Clearwater Dynamics Alert:
Nigeria
It has been reported that a container ship has been attacked whilst underway approximately 45nm West Southwest of Brass, Nigeria. A black speedboat with a white flag and 15 armed pirates onboard, fired upon the vessel and then moved away. The Nigerian authorities have been notified. UPDATE: It has been confirmed that the container ship did have an onboard security team, who returned fire which resulted in the pirates aborting their attack. During this incident the crew retreated to the Citadel.

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Source: maritimebulletin.net

West Africa piracy: Regional navies work to curb maritime crime

West African states to discuss tackling piracy as region prepares for oil, gas discovered in Senegal, Mauritania waters.

by Nicolas Haque

The Gulf of Guinea is now one of the world’s most dangerous places for piracy as the number of ships hijacked there has more than doubled in the past year.

So West African states are meeting to ensure they can tackle the growing challenge in advance of the expected surge in oil and gas flows after reserves were discovered off Senegal and Mauritania’s waters.

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Source: aljazeera.com

West African pirates hijacking larger vessels to maximise ransom returns

Michelle Wiese Bockmann

INSURERS are making ransom payments to West African gangs of $30,000 to $50,000 per kidnapped crew member, amid warnings that changing piracy tactics have placed vessels at risk of increasingly violent attacks in the Gulf of Guinea over coming months.

Stephen Askins, a London-based maritime lawyer who specialises in piracy, says Nigerian pirate gangs are now “maximising returns” by seeking to seize larger vessels in order to abduct higher numbers of crew. The spotlight is now on the Nigerian navy’s response, he said.

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Source: lloydslist.maritimeintelligence.informa.com

Indonesia calls out Malaysia for ‘ineffective’ security following fresh kidnappings

By Apriza Pinandita and Dian Septiari

JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post/ANN): The government has lambasted the “ineffective coordination” of Malaysian authorities following the abduction of five Indonesian fishermen last week in waters off Sabah, the latest incident to underscore the lack of security in the tri-border area between Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Six members from a faction of the notorious Abu Sayyaf militant group abducted on Thursday five Indonesian fishermen from their trawler in Sabah’s easternmost waters off Lahad Datu, about 10 minutes from the Tawi-Tawi chain of islands in the southern Philippines.

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Source: thestar.com.my

Indonesia plans to buy bigger ships for coast guard

Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia plans to buy bigger vessels to allow its coast guards to travel across the ocean, notably the Natuna Sea off Riau Islands, and expand their patrol reach, local media reported.

The plan was announced after Indonesian Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto had reportedly bought frigates for the Indonesian Navy from Denmark.

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Source: en.vietnamplus.vn

Eight Abducted from Trawler Off Sabah

The ReCAAP ISC has issued an incident alert after the abduction of eight crewmen from a fishing boat off Sabah, Malaysia.

The Philippine Coast Guard reported that six gunmen dressed in black suits with masks used a gray speedboat with twin engine (40 HP) to abducted the eight from the Malaysia-registered fishing trawler SSK 00543.

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Source: maritime-executive.com

MarsecNews: Ironically, following the rescue of the last Indonesian fishermen held by Abu Sayyaf Group terrorists last week, I was poised to warn that we should expect another kidnap operation in the coming days. It seems they beat me to it.

Duke Crew Released by Pirates, One Died in Captivity

Following the attack on the oil tanker MT Duke and abduction of 20 crew members on December 15, U.K.-based shipowner Union Maritime has issued a statement confirming that 19 of the crew members have now been released.

One able seaman was evidently taken ill and died shortly after capture. Union Maritime said in a statement: “We are seeking further information from those crew members that have been released and a full investigation will be held into the AB’s demise.”

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Source: maritime-executive.com