Mexican pirates posing greater risk in Gulf of Mexico to oil workers, tourists

MEXICO CITY – In the calm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, drilling platforms hum away under the sunshine. But, in the dark of the night, they are becoming more and more subject to vicious attacks launched by modern-day pirates.

“Although oil and diesel stealing has been going on for decades, there has been an increase in criminal activity reported in the last four years,” Johan Obdola, founder of the Global Organization for Security and Intelligence, told Fox News. “It is estimated that the stealing in Mexico is up to 1.18 million barrels a day, bringing millions to criminal organizations, and making it very difficult to control.”

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Source: foxnews.com

Rivers Assembly invites Bonny LG chair over sea pirate attacks

Chukwudi Akasike

The Rivers State House of Assembly has resolved to invite the Chairman of Bonny Local Government Area, David Irimagha, to appear before its Committee on Transport to explain his contribution towards the fight against sea pirate attacks along Bonny waterways.

Passenger boats were last week attacked by sea pirates, who kidnapped a councillor and one other person from the area while robbing other passengers of their belongings.

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Source: punchng.com

Nigeria, Others Lose $2bn to Pirates’ Attacks Annually, Says Naval Chief

By Eromosele Abiodun

The Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas, has revealed that Nigeria and 15 other countries in the Gulf of Guinea are currently losing a sum of $2 billion to pirate attacks annually.

The Naval Chief’s revelation was coming two months after Nigeria was rated as number one in pirate attacks in the Gulf of Guinea in a report by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB). Ibas also confirmed THISDAY’s exclusive report that Nigeria loses several millions of dollars to illegal fishing and poaching on the nation’s coastal and territorial waters.

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Source: allafrica.com

Rivers Police keep mum 24 hours after pirates hijack boats

Okafor Ofiebor

More than 24 hours after daredevil gunmen suspected to be Sea pirates at about noon on Thursday hijacked two boats along Port Harcourt-Bonny route, the Rivers State Police Command is yet to comment on the whereabouts of about 24 passengers who were taken into unknown destinations in the mangroves.

Curiously too, the Rivers Government has also not reacted to to hijack and eventual disappearance of the 24 passengers.

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Source: pmnewsnigeria.com

2019-013-Eastern/Central Mediterranean Sea and Suez Canal-GPS Interference

This revised Advisory cancels U.S. Maritime Advisory 2019-005

1. Reference: U.S. Maritime Alerts 2018-004A, 2018-004B, 2018-008A.

2. Issue: Multiple instances of significant GPS interference have been reported by vessels operating in the Eastern and Central Mediterranean Sea. In the Central Mediterranean Sea, these reports have been concentrated between Libya and Malta, specifically in areas offshore of Libya and to the east and the northwest of Malta. In the Eastern Mediterranean, these reports have been concentrated near Port Said, Egypt, the Suez Canal, and in the vicinity of the Republic of Cyprus. Instances of similar interference were also reported between Hadera, Israel and Beirut, Lebanon. This interference is resulting in lost GPS signals affecting bridge navigation, GPS-based timing and communications equipment. Satellite communications equipment may also be impacted.

3. Guidance: Exercise caution when transiting these areas. The U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center (NAVCEN) and NATO Shipping Center websites contain information regarding effective navigation practices for vessels experiencing GPS interference. The information reaffirms safe navigation practices when experiencing GPS disruptions, provides useful details on reporting disruptions, and is intended to generate further discussion within the maritime community about other disruption mitigation practices and procedures. This guidance also recommends reporting such incidents in real time; noting critical information such as the location (latitude/longitude), date, time, and duration of the outage/disruption; and providing photographs or screen shots of equipment failures experienced to facilitate analysis. The NAVCEN information is available at: https://go.usa.gov/xQBaU.

4. Contact Information: GPS disruptions or anomalies should be reported immediately to the NAVCEN at https://go.usa.gov/xQBaw or via phone at 703-313-5900, 24-hours a day. NAVCEN will further disseminate reported instances of GPS interference in this region to the NATO Shipping Center.

5. Cancellation: This message will automatically expire on March 22, 2020.

For more information about U.S. Maritime Alerts and Advisories, including subscription details, please visit http://www.marad.dot.gov/MSCI.

Source: maritime.dot.gov

Nigeria: House Sets Up Committee to Investigate Oil Theft

By Shola Oyeyipo

Abuja — House of Representatives Thursday resolved to set up an ad-hoc committee to ascertain the quantity of oil that is stolen on a daily basis and those responsible for such theft in the country.

The committee would also be mandated to determine the volume of oil extracted in the country on a daily basis, determine the quantity sold at the internal markets and what is consumed locally.

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Source: allafrica.com

Pirates hijack 2 boats with 24 passengers in Rivers

Okafor Ofiebor

Sea pirates at about noon today, Thursday, September 26, hijacked two boats on the Port Harcourt-Bonny waterways, whisking away the 24 passengers inside the boats.

An Eyewitness, Ezekiel Hart, and an indigene of Bonny, said the two boats took off from Port Harcourt jetty and were fully loaded passengers and goods. He said the passengers and crew were sailing smoothly until the armed pirates ambushed them at a location on the high seas called “Yellow Platform”.

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Source: thenewsnigeria.com.ng

Navy arrests 26 crew, four foreigners over illegal fishing

Nigerian Navy (NN) says it has arrested 26 crew and confiscated two fishing trawlers belonging to a Nigerian Company, (ORC fishing and food processing Limited) for illegal fishing activities.

The Operation Commander, Operation FORMOSO, Suleiman Ibrahim, told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that his men also arrested four foreigners for illegal fishing activities within the restricted distance of five nautical miles off the Nigerian coastline.

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Source: premiumtimesng.com

Maritime security: Navy urges IOC’s to share intelligence

Olaleye Aluko

The Nigerian Navy has urged international oil companies operating in the Niger Delta region to ensure information and intelligence sharing as parts of efforts to combat oil theft and achieve a safe environment in the region.

The Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice-Admiral Ibok Ete-Ibas, stated this on Tuesday when he received the Managing Director of Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited, Mr Lorenzo Fiorillo, at the naval headquarters in Abuja.

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Source: punchng.com

Navy arrests suspected smugglers, seizes 1,072 bags of rice, others

By Inemesit Akpan-Nsoh

The Nigerian Navy (NN), Forward Operating Base (FOB), Ibaka, in Mbo Local Council of Akwa Ibom State, has vowed to take the fight against smuggling in the riverine area of the state to the communities.Commanding Officer, FOB, Captain Peter Yilme, stated this yesterday while parading suspected smugglers before journalists in Ibaka.

According to him, this new approach would mean the operating base liaising with the communities to fish out the perpetrators before they venture into the sea for the illegal trade.Yilme, who spoke while parading 12 suspected smugglers, 1,072 bags of 50kg smuggled rice and two wooden boats seized from them, said their arrests were made in two different operations, and that the Navy was determined to end smuggling on the waterways.

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Source: guardian.ng