Nigeria begins trial of pirates under new law this week

Aiming to rid Nigeria’s waterways of criminalities and reassure the global community that it is getting on top of the security issues in its maritime domain, the country will this week commence the prosecution of suspected pirates under the Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offences Act.

The Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, disclosed this during interactions with journalists in Lagos.

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Source: theeagleonline.com.ng

Navy of Cameroon plans to purchase two Island-class American patrol boats

According to a statement released by the United States Embassy in Cameroon, on January 21, 2020, the Cameroonian Navy plans to purchase in 2020 two 110-foot (34m) Island-class American patrol boats to greater extend its ability to patrol Cameroon’s economic exclusion zone.

Starting in January 2020, the United States began its one-year secretariat of the G7++ Friends of Gulf of Guinea Group, with Gabon serving as co-secretariat. This group coordinates the support of international partners for the maritime security standards agreed upon by West and Central African heads of state at a summit in Yaoundé in 2013.

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Source: navyrecognition.com

Joint Egyptian-Spanish naval exercise conducted in Red Sea

CAIRO, 18 June 2020: Egyptian and Spanish naval forces have conducted a joint naval exercise in the Red Sea, Thursday.

The Egyptian frigate “Suez” and the Spanish frigate “SANTA MARIA” took part in the war game hosted by Berenice Military Base in the Southern Fleet’s zone.

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Source: egypttoday.com

Piracy Surges in Gulf of Mexico, Prompting U.S. Warning

There have been scores of attacks in Mexican waters, taxing the country’s overstretched security forces.

By

MEXICO CITY — The pirates appeared out of the darkness, leaping aboard the Italian-flagged supply ship off the coast of Mexico. Weapons drawn, the eight attackers worked swiftly, taking crew members hostage while they ransacked the vessel and snatched personal belongings and equipment.

Shots were fired, according to the United States Office of Naval Intelligence, and a security video showed a pirate gesticulating wildly with a pistol before the robbers sped away with their loot.

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Source: nytimes.com

Sabah’s sea curfew extended for another two weeks until July 4

Sabah

By STEPHANIE LEE

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s dusk to dawn sea curfew has been extended for another two weeks until July 4.

Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Zaini Jass said the extension of the 6pm to 6am curfew was needed due to continuous threats from cross-border criminals, including from kidnap-for-ransom groups.

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Source: thestar.com.my

India looks to deploy naval liaisons at Madagascar, Abu Dhabi for information exchange

Dinakar Peri

After joining the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) as Observer in March, India is looking to post Navy Liaison Officers at the Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre (RMIFC) in Madagascar and also at the European maritime surveillance initiative in the Strait of Hormuz for improved Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA).

“We are working closely with France who is a pre-eminent member of IOC to post a Naval LO at the RMIFC in Madagascar. We are also working on posting a Naval LO at the European Maritime Awareness in the Strait of Hormuz (EMASOH) in Abu Dhabi,” a defence source told The Hindu. “This will be in the overall realm of improving linkages of the Navy’s Information Fusion Centre for Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) in Gurugram with other IFCs and become the repository for all maritime data in the IOR,” the source said. The LOs are expected to be posted in the next few months.

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Source: thehindu.com

Navy steps up sea patrols to curb illicit trade

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

By MOHAMED AHMED

The war on illegal sea trade has been heightened as navy officers step up operation at the Coast. The Kenya Navy has, together with the Kenya Coast Guard Service (KCGS), increased their patrols on the Indian Ocean to tame illicit trade. The security operation is targeting illegal fishing, drugs trafficking and sea pollution among others.

“As a part of a multi-agency collaboration, the Kenya Navy and the Kenya Coast Guard Services’ personnel today conducted a joint patrol at the South Coast’s brown waters to curb illegal trade,” said the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) in one of its operation posts on Twitter.

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Source: businessdailyafrica.com

Nigerian Navy discovers illegal refining site in Delta

By

The Nigerian Navy Ship Delta has discovered a newly-constructed illegal refining site around Bennett Island in Warri South LGA of Delta State.

Military spokesman, Major General John Enenche, who disclosed this in a statement on Monday, said the incident happened on June 10.

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Source: dailypost.ng

Six pirates killed in raid off Cameroon

By Nyawira Mwangi

The Cameroon army said Saturday evening that its rapid intervention battalion and navy have shot dead six armed pirates off the southern Cameroonian town of Idabato.

The pirates were aboard a flying boat Friday night in the Gulf of Guinea located in the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean when Cameroonian forces on patrol opened fire at them.

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Source: africa.cgtn.com

IMO commends NIMASA, Navy on fight against piracy

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has commended Nigeria’s effort to stem piracy in its waters and the Gulf of Guinea, commending the country for sending a “strong and valuable message” to the global community. IMO also commended the new Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, for his brave and dynamic approach to maritime security, in a letter addressed to him by the Secretary-General, Kitack Lim, amid recent arrests and first-time prosecution of suspected pirates under the country’s new antipiracy law.

The Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offences (SPOMO) Act was signed into law in June last year by President Muhammadu Buhari. The law made Nigeria the first in West and Central Africa to have a distinct antipiracy legislation.

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Source: shipsandports.com.ng