Cypriot Shipowners Call for Action on Gulf of Guinea Kidnappings

In a statement Thursday, the Cyprus Shipping Chamber (CSC) expressed “growing frustration at the ineffectiveness of the international community” in solving the longstanding problem of piracy and maritime kidnapping in the Gulf of Guinea.

Kidnap-for-ransom incidents occur with regularity in the waters off Nigeria, Togo, Benin, Equatorial Guinea and neighboring states. Pirate attacks have been common in the region for decades, but in recent years they have shifted away from petroleum theft in favor of crew abduction. The region now leads the world for kidnappings at sea.

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Source: maritime-executive.com

Rivers Police arrest 17 sea pirates

By Ann Godwin

Operatives of the Marine Division of the Rivers State Police Command has arrested 17 sea pirates who allegedly attacked men of the Special Protection Unit (SPU) Base 5, at Egelegele River in Degema Local Government Area of the State last week.

The State Police Public Relations Officer, Nnamdi Omoni ,while confirming the arrest in a statement yesterday, said the hoodlums were nabbed during follow ups on the dastardly act, where the security officers lost their arms and ammunition.

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Source: guardian.ng

Australian tourist is robbed at gunpoint by pirates off the coast of Bali

An Australian man has been rescued after being robbed by pirates on speed boats off the coast of Bali.

Tadeusz Nowicki, 70, spent three days stranded at sea near Tanjung Menjangan, South Sumatra, after the horrifying incident on May 22. He was alone of his yacht, named Hoopla, when up to ten pirates armed with guns swarmed him.

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Source: dailymail.co.uk

ESSCom on high alert over possible Abu Sayyaf kidnap plan

LAHAD DATU: The Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCom) is on high alert after receiving intelligence information of a possible kidnap for ransom plan by the militant Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in the waters of the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (ESSZone).

ESSCom commander Datuk Hazani Ghazali said yesterday ESSCom has taken the necessary measures, such as stepped-up patrols and readiness, following receipt of the information which has been shared with the Philippine authorities.

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Source: theborneopost.com

BREAKING: Kidnappers Abandon Abducted Navy Commandant Inside Ondo Forest

Lt Commander Ajare Uchegbulah Amadi, a commandant of the Nigerian Navy abducted last week around the Oba Akoko area of Ondo State, has been rescued.

Amadi was set free on Wednesday afternoon after his abductors abandoned him in a forest.

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Source: saharareporters.com

ReCAAP issues Abu Sayyaf kidnap for ransom warning

On 22 May, the ReCAAP ISC received information from the Philippine Coast Guard (ReCAAP Focal Point) that a group of approximately five ASG (Abu Sayyaf Group) members armed with assorted firearms is planning to conduct kidnapping activities in undisclosed areas in Sabah, Malaysia. They are targeting wealthy businessmen or crew of fishing boats and other slow moving ships plying within the waters off Sabah, Malaysia. The group came from Sulu and was monitored to have landed at Omapoy Island, Sipangkot, Sitangkai, Tawi Tawi.

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Source: recaap.org

To download the ReCAAP alert PDF, please click here.

Russian sailors captured off Benin’s coast released

The kidnapped crewmembers of Tommi Ritscher container ship included three Russians, according to earlier data

TASS, May 25. Eight sailors, including Russians citizens, who were captured off the Beninese coast have been released in neighboring Nigeria, head of the operation to save sailors, admiral Oladele Daji said Monday.

“We are hoping to ask them questions, but it is too early now, at least one of them is too weak,” Agence France-Presse quoted him as saying.

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Source: tass.com

9 Georgian sailors kidnapped in Nigeria released

Nine Georgian sailors who have been kidnapped by pirates from a ship flying the Panamese flag in Nigeria have been released and will return to their homeland in several days.

Tamar Ioseliani, head of the Maritime Transport Agency of Georgia, said that a special flight will be carried out to bring the sailors back home.

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Source: agenda.ge

Navy Recovers N75bn Stolen Petroleum Products

By Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja

Nigeria Navy has said it recovered N75 billion worth of stolen petroleum products in five years. The products recovered between 2015 and 2019 include crude oil, diesel and petrol.

It said a total of 2,287 illegal refineries were discovered and destroyed within the same period.

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Source: thisdaylive.com

Product Tanker Boarded and Robbed off Port-au-Prince

The product tanker Tosna Star was boarded and robbed by armed pirates off the port of Port-au-Prince, Haiti last Sunday, according to one of her crewmembers.

In an account posted on Facebook, crewmember Claudio Omar Benitez said that the Argentine crew of the Tosna Star has been stuck on board for months due to the novel coronavirus, unable to return to their homes. Their ship is currently at the anchorage off Port-au-Prince, and on Sunday, a group of armed Haitians boarded the tanker by the stern.

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Source: maritime-executive.com