Autonomous Shipping – Cyber Hazards Ahead

By Jeffery Mayger

If autonomous vessels are the future of maritime shipping, then cyber threats may be its Achilles heel.

Congested shipping, restricted visibility, limited maneuverability, and intensive docking activities all contribute to port hazards – 42 percent of EU reported marine accidents (injury/death/damage to ships) took place in port areas and 44 percent of workboat fatalities occurred on Tugs. Autonomous shipping should provide numerous benefits including increased safety by relieving crewmembers of unsafe and repetitious tasks. Yet, with cyberattacks threatening every industry, this nascent technology is a large target. If autonomous vessels are the future of maritime shipping, then cyber threats may be its Achilles heel.

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Source: marinelink.com

80 Countries Resolve to Tackle Maritime Insecurity in GoG

Eromosele Abiodun

Rising from a three-day Global Maritime Security Conference in Abuja, 80 countries have resolved to set up an Expert Group to implement the recommendations of the confab aimed at tackling piracy, maritime crimes and criminality in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG).

Addressing a media briefing to mark the end of the event, the Director General of the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, said the expert group won’t take more than three months to be in place.

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Source: thisdaylive.com

Kidnappers now want US$20,000 for missing fishermen

POLICE on Wednesday confirmed that US$20,000 is now being demanded for the safe release of three Icacos fishermen who were abducted at sea on Tuesday morning.

But Sgt Rishi Ramsaran told Newsday, reports that relatives of the men were robbed when they went to pay the initial ransom of US$10,000 were untrue. “It was discovered that it is a hoax. But a family member reported that they received a telephone call that the captors increased the ransom from US$10,000 to US$20,000,” Ramsaran said.

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Source: newsday.co.tt

State Of Insecurity/Sea Piracy In Bonny: Concerned Indigenes Vow To Stop NLNG Boats, Accuse Security Of Complicity

Concerned indigenes of Bonny under the aegis of Bonny Stakeholders Vanguard (BSV) have threatened to shut down movement, and boat shuttles of Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Company (NLNG) should the deplorable security situation in Bonny Island continue unabated, without security intervention.

The group who gave this indication has also accused security agencies especially the Police, Marine Police and Navy of complicity in protecting perpetrators of crime and violence on the Island.

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Source: thenigerianvoice.com

T&T: Three fishermen kidnapped

Venezuelan pirates who operate out of Patos Island, one of Venezuela’s small uninhabited island, have reportedly kidnapped three Icacos fishermen for ransom.

The island is located in the northwestern Gulf of Paria and is said to be one of the hideouts for desperate Venezuelan pirates who kidnap and smuggle drugs and guns in exchange for basic necessities.

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Source: guardian.co.tt

High Court: “Pirate Attack” was Attempted Fraud

In a ruling issued Monday, the High Court of London ruled that the tanker Brillante Virtuoso was irreparably damaged not by pirates, as her owner and banker claimed, but by a group of conspirators. Justice Nigel Teare found that the owner’s claims of piracy were improbable, and he reached the “firm conclusion” that the attackers intended to destroy the vessel, that they had the assistance of the master and chief engineer as they went about the task, and that the owner orchestrated the scheme in order to defraud his insurer.

On July 6, 2011, Brillante Virtuoso was drifting off Aden, awaiting a team of unarmed security contractors before transiting Bab el-Mandeb. A small boat approached carrying seven masked, armed men. The men informed the crew that they were “security,” and they came aboard with the master’s permission. (The disputants in the case agreed that the boarding party’s members were likely current or former Yemeni Coast Guard or Navy servicemenbers.) They ordered the crew to the day room, and escorted the master to the bridge and the chief engineer to the engine room.

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Source: maritime-executive.com

Sailors from USS *Philippine Sea* rescue the crew of the *Brillante Virtuoso*

Curfew in ESSZone extended until Oct 23

KOTA KINABALU (Oct 8): The curfew in the waters off seven districts in the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (ESSZone), which ends today, has been extended to Oct 23, said Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Omar Mammah.

The curfew from 6pm to 6am covers the waters off Tawau, Semporna, Kunak, Lahad Datu, Kinabatangan, Sandakan and Beluran, he said in a statement on Monday (Oct 7).

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Source: theedgemarkets.com

Sabah police will not negotiate ransom demands made by Abu Sayyaf-linked kidnappers

KOTA KINABALU — The Malaysian police are working with their Philippine counterparts to secure the release of three Indonesian fishermen kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf-linked gunmen off Lahad Datu on Sept 23.

Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Omar Mammah said the kidnappers made their ransom demand during a call to one of the victim’s sisters in Sandakan on Sept 30.

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Source: globalnation.inquirer.net

Sabah east coast still on high alert for Abu Sayyaf kidnappers

By STEPHANIE LEE

KOTA KINABALU: Security forces in Sabah’s east coast remain on high alert a week into intelligence information saying that Abu Sayyaf-linked gunmen were on their way to Sabah to kidnap high-value targets.

Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) Datuk Hazani Ghazali said they had mobilised their assets to high-risk areas and the alleged target area of Mataking and Pom-Pom island in Semporna, famed among tourists, following the information on Sept 30.

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Source: thestar.com.my

British trader, Pinay wife kidnapped in Zamboanga del Sur

Roel Pareño

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — A British businessman and his Filipino wife were snatched by at least four gunmen in a coastal village in Tukuran, Zamboanga del Sur on Friday.

Allan Hyrons, 70, and his wife Wilma were seized at Hyrons Beach Resort, which the couple own, in Barangay Alindahaw at around 6:50 p.m., Maj. Helen Galvez, Zamboanga peninsula police spokesperson, said.

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Source: philstar.com

MarsecNews: Although there has so far been no confirmation of the kidnappers’ identity, the Abu Sayyaf Group remain the most likely suspects. Of key concern is their violence; they are known to execute hostages if ransoms are withheld. We hope for a speedy resolution. Reports in the last 24 hours indicate that the AFP organised a naval blockade in an attempt to prevent the suspects from escaping. It would appear that this was unsuccessful.