Hostages held by Abu Sayyaf militants in Philippines tried to escape – government

An Indonesian hostage of the Muslim militant group Abu Sayyaf swam to safety, but another drowned and a Malaysian hostage was shot in the back, according to a military spokesman.

The rescue attempts had taken place over two days, Philippine regional military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Gerry Besana said on Saturday. He added that this happened while Philippine marines were attempting to rescue them from Simusa Island in Southern Sulu province.

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Source: en.rfi.fr

Shipowner Decries High Insecurity At Warri, Bonny Anchorages

By Chris

President of the Nigeria Shipowners Association (NISA), Aminu Umar has raised the alarm over high rate of insecurity at the Warri and Bonny anchorage.

In an interview with journalists in Lagos, recently, Umar said the Warri anchorage has spike insurance premium for shipowners describing it as a very tough one. He pointed out that the Lagos anchorage is the only one anyone can sincerely lay a reasonable claim of safety or security.

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Source: leadership.ng

China deploys new missile destroyer, frigate in its anti-piracy fleet

One of the country’s new generation of self-developed Type-052C guided missile destroyers, Xi’an, which entered into service in February 2015, possesses over-the-horizon strike capability at sea, the report said.

BEIJING: China has deployed its latest guided missile destroyer and frigate in the fleet of naval ships participating in anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden and Somalian coast in the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean, a media report said Thursday.

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Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com

Oil theft: JTF, surveillance contractors intensify crackdown, seize vessels

By Samuel Oyadongha

RESIDENTS of Bayelsa State coastal communities have lauded the collaboration between the Joint Task Force, JTF, deployed to the Niger Delta and surveillance contractors for tackling oil theft.

This came on the heels of a joint operation by troops of the JTF in the region and a local surveillance group which resulted in the seizure of a tugboat and a barge laden with over 200,000 litres of suspected stolen crude off the Atlantic coast of Akassa.

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Source: vanguardngr.com

Poachers avoid PH waters over kidnap fears – Coast Guard

By: Julie Alipala

ZAMBOANGA CITY—Kidnapping in the high seas, usually done by the bandit group Abu Sayyaf, has been scaring away poachers of rare and endangered species of turtles from Tawi-Tawi, an officer of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said.

Lt. Makaradat Uddin, PCG district commander in Tawi-Tawi, said poachers from Malaysia, Indonesia and other Asian countries had been veering away from the Tawi-Tawi islands, including the Turtle Islands, the natural nesting ground for green sea turtles.

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Source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

Adding depth to maritime defense

There was a time when a country’s maritime strategy consisted of its navy or coast guard protecting its waters, defending citizens from enemies and pirates, and going after people fishing illegally.

That’s a shallow view of maritime security in the 21st century. Groups such as the United Nations and the African Union say that a modern-day maritime strategy must protect assets, ensure sustainable economic growth, guard the environment, manage energy use, and build the ability to work with neighboring countries and regions.

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Source: defenceweb.co.za

Nigerian Navy detains ship for ‘suspicious movement’

By Godspower Edoza

The Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Pathfinder on Tuesday said its operatives arrested a motor tanker, MT Arowolo, over the vessel’s alleged ‘suspicious movement’ around Onne Anchorage in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The navy said the anchorage was known in security circles as a notorious zone for illegal activities by oil thieves.

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Source: shipsandports.com.ng

The United Kingdom lowers the European flag on Northwood

Maritime Security News note: This article has been automatically translated into English by Google. As such, errors may remain.

(B2) The European Union flag will be lowered at Northwood HQ. The United Kingdom loses control of the EU’s anti-piracy operation, which it has been commanding since the beginning, a good decade ago in December 2008. At issue: Brexit.

It will be effective March 29, 2019. And there, there is no postponement. Everything has already been decided and endorsed for several months already. The command returning to the Spaniards, with the French in support. Which is just a return of things. Since without Paris and Madrid, this operation would never have seen the day (Read: France and Spain decided to act on maritime piracy).

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Source: bruxelles2.eu

PCG deploys Boracay class patrol vessel in Zamboanga

By Teofilo Garcia, Jr.

ZAMBOANGA CITY — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has assigned one of its Boracay-class patrol vessel to the the Coast Guard District Southwestern Mindanao (CGDSWM) to boost the anti-smuggling campaign in this part of the country.

The vessel, BRP-Malamawi, will be jointly operated by the PCG and the Bureau of Customs (BoC) to address the problems on smuggling, as well as piracy, drug trafficking and other illegal activities in the Zamboanga, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi (ZamBaSulTa) areas.

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Source: ptvnews.ph

Abu Sayyaf arms cache found by troops amid operations in Sulu

By Francis Wakefield

Soldiers pursuing Abu Sayyaf militants found an arms cache in Patikul, Sulu on Tuesday, March 26.

Troops from the 13th Special Forces Company also retrieved from the Abu Sayyaf’s arms cache a 60mm mortar, two M16 rifles, bandoliers with magazines, IED paraphernalia, flags with ISIS markings, a military map, a handheld radio, and a night vision monocular in Barangay Bakong, Patikul at about 11 a.m.

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Source: news.mb.com.ph