We cover piracy, armed robbery at sea, IUU fishing, maritime cyber security and maritime security issues.
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
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
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
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
The Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Lagos command, has said another seven suspected Premuim Motor Spirit (PMS) illegal dealers have been handed to the command by the Nigerian Navy.
The Spokesperson for NSCDC, Lagos command, Mrs Kehinde Bada-Okoli, who disclosed to newsmen on Wednesday, said the suspects are all male. Bada-Okoli, said some of the items recovered from the suspects includes 80 drums of 250 litres of PMS and 100 of 250 liter empty drums.
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Source: thenationonlineng.net
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
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
By WINNIE ATIENO
A regional maritime organisation wants a European Union military ships operating in the Horn of Africa to extend its mandate to cover all maritime crimes in the Indian Ocean.
The Inter-Governmental Standing Committee on Shipping (ISCOS), says the EU NAVFOR Somalia Operation ATALANTA— which mainly focuses on anti-piracy activities — should extend its mandate to deal with all the maritime crimes including terrorism, charcoal smuggling as well as drug and human trafficking.
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Source: businessdailyafrica.com
MSN Note: Expanding the mandate of Operation Atalanta has been discussed for years, but this is the first real credible move. Somalis have been asking for fisheries protection for some time, and a naval presence would go some way to deterring foreign fleets from IUU fishing activity in Somali waters. Additionally, as Somalia and Kenya continue to argue about their respective TTWs, maritime security for oil and gas will become increasingly important in the region. Al Shabaab continues to profit from smuggled charcoal, something which would become much harder with additional maritime security present.
By Godwin Oritse
The Nigerian Navy has warned the media against carrying the international piracy reports on Nigeria as credible news saying that, “Most of these are manipulated for their economic gains.’’
Speaking at the third Ministerial stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos, Rear Admiral Oladele Daji, said that these reports hurt businesses in Nigeria when they are published.
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Source: vanguardngr.com
The Nigerian Navy, Forward Operating Base, Ibaka, Mbo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, has arrested 12 suspects, seized 50 drums of illegal Automated Gas Oil (AGO or diesel) and 486 bags of smuggled rice from them.
The new Commanding Officer, FOB, Captain Peter Yilme, who said the arrests were made within two days of his assumption of office, noted that the navy is determined to end smuggling on the waterways and warned smugglers to desist from the illegal activity.
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Source: thenationonlineng.net
Maritime Security News 