Kenya committed to meeting maritime framework expectations

His Excellency Hon. Uhuru Kenyatta the President and Commander-in -Chief of the the Kenya Defence Forces at the officiall launch of the Kenya Coast Guard Service (KCGS) in 2018

Multi agency cooperation remains the only way to address maritime crimes as it sends a strong and unified message to pirates and other organized criminals to cease their illegal trade.

Speaking during a Regional meeting on “Capacity Building Coordination for Enhanced Maritime Security in the West Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden and Donor Forum”at a Mombasa hotel, defense Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo said progress has been made to enhance Maritime domain awareness through multi agency collaboration.

“I have observed directly the benefits that have accrued from the Maritime code of conduct appended in Djibouti by member states geared towards near eradication of piracy,” said Omamo.

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Source: kbc.co.ke

ReCAAP issues October 2019 report

INCIDENTS OF PIRACY AND ARMED ROBBERY AGAINST SHIPS IN ASIA IN OCTOBER 2019

A total of seven incidents of armed robbery against ships1 were reported in Asia in October 2019. No piracy2 incident was reported. There were also no reports of abduction of crew in the Sulu-Celebes Seas and waters off Eastern Sabah; and no hijacking of ships for theft of oil cargo reported in October 2019. However, the abduction of crew for ransom in the Sulu-Celebes Seas and waters off Eastern Sabah remains a serious concern. The ReCAAP ISC is also concerned about the increase in the number of incidents reported on board ships while underway in the Singapore Strait.

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Source: recaap.org

Senate Wants Deep Blue Sea Project Fast-Tracked To Fight Piracy

The Senate on Wednesday called on Nigeria’s maritime agency to quickly fast-track the implementation of the Deep Blue Sea Project for the protection of Nigeria’s waterways to combat the menace of pirates and armed bandits.

This resolution was a sequel to a motion titled “urgent need to address the menace of piracy and banditry in the Gulf of Guinea and Nigeria’s internal waters.”

The Senate also urged the federal government to deploy more naval personnel on the Oron coastal area to check the activities of pirates and bandits.

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Source: channelstv.com

Four Immigration officers kidnapped by sea pirates rescued by Navy

By Tola Adenubi

The Nigerian Navy, early on Wednesday morning, rescued four officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), who were abducted on the Bonny River in the evening of Monday by suspected armed sea pirates.

Disclosing this to newsmen on Wednesday, the Commanding Officer of the Forward Operating Base (FOB) of the Nigerian Navy, Navy Capt. Kola Oguntuga explained that the officers were rescued during a surprise operation by the maritime component of the Joint Task Force (JTF), Operation Delta Safe; and the FOB of the Nigerian Navy Ship, NNS Pathfinder.

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Source: tribuneonlineng.com

“Most spectacular fraud in shipping history”

by Craig Jallal

Ince Gordon Dadds partner Carrie Radford and senior associate Lucy Espley comment on the extraordinary Brillante Virtuoso case

In 2011, the 1992-built Suezmax tanker Brillante Virtuoso was within Yemeni waters waiting for a security team. A small boat approached carrying seven armed persons. The master allowed them to board, apparently believing they were the security team. The ‘security team’ hijacked the ship and within hours set the vessel on fire. The ship was abandoned, the crew was rescued by a passing ship and Brillante Virtuoso was later sold for scrap.

The vessel’s owner, Suez Fortune Investments Limited, and mortgagee bank, Piraeus Bank AE, brought a claim on the vessel’s war risks policy for a constructive total loss, totalling US$77M, claiming that the loss of the vessel was caused by piracy or hijacking.

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Source: rivieramm.com

Four senior immigration officers abducted in Rivers

By Bisi Olaniyi

Four senior officers of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) were on Tuesday morning kidnapped on Bonny waterway in Rivers State.

An indigene of coastal Bonny, the headquarters of Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers, who spoke in confidence through the telephone, disclosed that the immigration personnel left Bonny for Port Harcourt, the state capital for documentation and other official matters at NIS’ headquarters, when the sea pirates attacked them on the high sea, thereby whisking them away in a Commando-like style.

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Source: thenationonlineng.net

ITF Calls for Action on Gulf of Guinea Piracy

Following back-to-back attacks on two vessels in the Gulf of Guinea last week, the International Transport Worker’ Federation has called for urgent global and regional cooperation to fight piracy off West Africa.

On November 2, pirates kidnapped nine crewmembers from the Norwegian-flagged MV Bonita while the vessel was at anchor off the coast of Benin. Two days later, four crewmembers were taken hostage off the coast of neighboring Togo from the Greek-flagged Elka Aristotle. Several other abductions have been reported in the Gulf of Guinea in recent months, including eight crewmembers taken hostage off Cameroon in August and 10 seafarers off the coast of Nigeria in July.

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Source: maritime-executive.com

Pirates attacked Italian supply ship, two crew wounded, Mexico

NIKOLAY TORKIN

Italian offshore supply ship REMAS with 35 people on board was attacked by some 7-8 armed pirates in two fast boats on Nov 11, in Gulf pf Mexico, N of Ciudad del Carmen, Mexico. Pirates boarded the ship, in following skirmish two crew, both Italians, were wounded, but luckily, wounds aren’t life threatening. Pirates managed to loot the ship and the crew, and fled. Injured seamen were transferred to hospital, REMAS moved to Ciudad del Carmen anchorage and anchored.

Offshore supply ship REMAS, IMO 9586459, dwt 2681, built 2011, flag Italy, manager MICOPERI, Ravenna.

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Source: maritimebulletin.net

Oil theft and Nigeria’s self-imposed poverty

Jerry Uwah

Nigeria is wallowing in self-imposed poverty. The situation would remain so for a pretty long time because no one in federal government has the political will power to confront the elements of backwardness in the land. Agriculture has remained in the hands of millions of peasant farmers who eke out a living through subsistent farming with primitive implements. Nigeria cannot feed its teeming population.

Nigeria is practically broke, but the federal government insists that what it is battling is sporadic cash flow problems rather than absolute cash crunch.

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Source: blueprint.ng

Sabah cops looking into deaths of family of six, all believed shot

By STEPHANIE LEE

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah police are looking into the deaths of a family of six, all believed shot to death in a boat on their way to the southern Philippines from Semporna district on Nov 6.

State police commissioner Datuk Omar Mammah said in the case, the six, including children and adults, were heading to the southern Philippines when they were believed to have ran into the shooters.

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Source: thestar.com.my