We cover piracy, armed robbery at sea, IUU fishing, maritime cyber security and maritime security issues.
Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships in Asia
OVERVIEW
During 5-11 Mar 19, an incident of armed robbery against ship was reported to ReCAAP
ISC. The incident occurred on 5 Feb 19 and was reported to ReCAAP ISC by Focal Point
Singapore after verification with the relevant agencies. The location of the incident is
shown in the map below; and detailed description of the incident is tabulated in
attachment.
The full report is attached here as a PDF.
Source: recaap.org
KOTA KINABALU: Security forces in eastern Sabah have gone on full alert amid reports that at least 17 Abu Sayyaf gunmen led by three notorious sub-leaders are on the hunt for “value kidnap” targets.
The group, believed led by sub-commanders Salip Mura, Majan Sahidjuan @ Apo Mike and Abu Radin, left their stronghold in Jolo two days ago and headed towards the Tawi-Tawi chain of islands that borders Sabah’s east coast to take hostages.
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Source: thestar.com.my
KOTA KINABALU: The dawn-to-dusk curfew in Sabah’s east coast has been extended another two weeks from Tuesday (March 12), amid continuing threats from Abu Sayyaf-linked cross-border kidnap groups and other criminal elements.
Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Omar Mammah said that the extension until March 27 was necessary due to the continuing threat of kidnap-for-ransom groups and other criminals from neighbouring Philippines.
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Source: thestar.com.my
MANILA, Philippines — The military launched a new offensive on members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) on Friday, after it reportedly monitored a consolidation of terrorists in the hinterlands of Patikul, Sulu.
“Various military assets were employed together with the assaulting ground troops to attack the ASG lairs in Sulu at 6:40 a.m.
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Source: newsinfo.inquirer.net
…277,040 crude oil, 23.1m litres AGO,1.2m DPK, lost to illegal refining …46 vessels arrested
By Evelyn Usman
One of the ills bedeviling the security space of the country’s coastline has been the scourge of maritime crimes such as piracy , sea robbery , crude oil theft , bunkering , insurgency and hostage taking.
Often times , Nigerians are daunted with news of criminal elements who hide under the veneer of these maritime crimes to inflict untold emotional and psychological trauma on innocent and defenseless sailors.
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Source: vanguardngr.com
By Godwin Oritse
THE Nigerian Trawler Owners Association, NITOA, and the Federal Department of Fishery and Agriculture, have said that there has been a drastic reduction in pirates attacks against fishing trawlers.
Speaking to Vanguard Maritime Report, President of the association, Mr. Amire Akinbola, said although he could not make the figures available to our correspondent, the report of such attacks was very minimal last year.
Maritime Security News Note:
This may well be the case for Nigerian fishermen, but it’s a different story for crew on other vessels. On Feb. 24th, eight Chinese crew were reportedly kidnapped from fishing vessels off Cameroon.
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Source: vanguardngr.com
The Philippines and Malaysia vowed on Thursday to ramp up their cooperation to address security issues in the region, particularly in combating terrorism, piracy and transnational crimes, including the fight against illegal drug trade.
“We resolved to address security issues. We touched on our extensive economic cooperation. We shared the view that its further expansion serves our mutual interests as that of ASEAN and our region,” Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said after his meeting with visiting Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad at the Malacanang presidential palace.
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Source: globaltimes.cn
Underway Malta-flagged tanker attacked and boarded by pirates at 2030 UTC in position 05:37N – 001:11E, around 30nm South of Lome, Togo. Crew mustered in citadel, however, three Romanian crew members were kidnapped. Remainder of 21 crew were able to sail vessel to Lome anchorage under escort. Reported (MDAT/Romanian MFA) 3 Mar. Via OCEANUSLive.org
Petro-piracy is emerging once again as a significant threat in West African waters, with the Gulf of Guinea at the epicentre, delegates at the 10th Chemical & Products Tanker Conference were told in London earlier this week.
David Fletcher, head of compliance at EOS Risk Group, said that as petro-piracy has re-emerged as a threat since January 2018, ships carrying cargoes such as jet fuel, diesel, crude oil and marine gas oil are all at greater risk.
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Source: seatrade-maritime.com
Pirates have reportedly kidnapped three Romanian sailors aboard a tanker ship off Lome, Togo.
This was after sea robbers attempted to board a container ship owned by Singapore’s Pacific International Lines while the vessel was sailing on the high sea around Nigeria’s Niger Delta region on February 21.
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Source: punchng.com
Maritime Security News Note:
There has been a sharp spike in piracy and maritime crime in the Gulf of Guinea over the last three weeks. This is potentially a political message from President Buhari’s opponents and organised crime groups in the Niger Delta. We have seen three crew kidnapped here as well as eight crew from Chinese fishing vessels in recent weeks, representing a worrying increase in risk for merchant vessels visiting the region.
Maritime Security News 