Trio kidnapped from ro-ro as pirates strike off Gabon

By Gary Dixon

Three people have been abducted from a ro-ro ferry off Gabon. Maritime Domain Awareness for Trade – Gulf of Guinea (MDAT-GoG) had issued an advisory notice for a hijacking off Port-Gentil.

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Source: tradewindsnews.com

Marsec News Note: This article would appear to refer to the following incident, reported by Maritime Bulletin:

Coastal ro-ro passenger ship ELOBEY 6 was attacked and hijacked by pirates in the morning Mar 21, some 22 nm off Port Gentil, Gabon, while en route from Port Bata to Annobon island, Equatorial Guinea. Pirates forced the crew to sail to Nigerian waters, but fled when ELOBEY 6 was approached by Nigerian Navy.

Oil Theft : Navy Accused Of Illegal Sales Of Seized Product

The men and Officers of the Nigerian Naval ship, NNS Delta, in Warri, have been indicted over an alleged involvement in the sales of seized stolen AGO otherwise known as Diesel to marketers without court authorization to buy such product.

It was gathered that the Navy had intercepted a vessel belonging to Julius Berger being used for illegal bunkering activities along the Delta waterways sometimes last year and impounded it with alongside with the stole AGO product.

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Source: nigerianobservernews.com

Filipino doctor rescued after being kidnapped by gunmen

MANILA, March 25 (Xinhua) — Philippine security forces have rescued a Filipino doctor who was abducted by several gunmen of the extremist group Abu Sayyaf in remote Sulu province in the southern Philippines last month, a military general said on Wednesday.

Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana, commander of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Western Mindanao Command in Zamboanga City, said troops found the victim in a village near Indanan town in Sulu province around 7:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday after he was freed.

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Source: china.org.cn

Reinforcing Zero Tolerance for Maritime Illegalities

Chiemelie Ezeobi and Chinecherem Ojiako write that the recently concluded Exercise Treasure Guard 11 by the Nigerian Navy was targeted at among other things, reinforcing zero tolerance for maritime illegalities in the country’s territorial domain and the Gulf of Guinea waters

The Gulf of Guinea (GoG) coastline currently faces one of the world’s most severe maritime security challenges, which includes terrorism, resource theft, and sabotage of supporting infrastructure, piracy and sea robbery, crude oil theft, Illegal, Irregular and Unregulated Fishing (IIUF), human trafficking, narcotics, arms and smuggling.

It was in its constant bid to find lasting solutions to the myriad challenges bedeviling the GoG, that the Nigerian Navy (NN) organised Exercise Treasure Guard, especially with the successes recorded in the first phase. The exercise saw the navy deploy six vessels and two helicopters for the three-day exercise which covered about fifteen nautical miles within the GoG waters.

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Source: thisdaylive.com

HMAS Toowoomba, FS Guépratte exercise in Gulf of Aden

HMAS Toowoomba, via Wikipedia

By: Sandy Milne

HMAS Toowoomba has exercised with French frigate FS Guépratte in the Gulf of Aden as part of the Australian warship’s support to Combined Task Force 150.

The CTF 150 mission is to stabilise the region by disrupting piracy operations, as well as seeking to counter weapon and narcotic smugglers. During the exercise, Toowoomba and Guépratte conducted ship handling training including Officer of the Watch manoeuvres and replenishment at sea (RAS) approaches, which form core components of a CTF deployment.

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Source: defenceconnect.com.au

Singapore Bans Crew Changes

The Singapore Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) has extended its COVID-19 precautionary measures to include a ban on crew changes. The MPA also urges all crew members onboard to have their temperature taken twice daily.

With the application of the additional precautionary measures, crew and passengers on short-term visits will not be allowed to disembark in Singapore.

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Source: maritime-executive.com

Ship fends off pirate attack, takes refuge in Nigeria

By

Bermuda-flagged oil/chemical tanker Stena Important, operated by Concordia Maritime, was approached by a suspicious vessel at Doula Anchorage, Cameroon on March 19, 2020 in what has been recorded as an attempted pirate attack.

“The alarm was raised by the Officer of the Watch (OOW) and the crew mustered to their respective stations.

”Following a failed attempt to board via ladder, the suspicious vessel and its crew departed the scene after a few minutes.”

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Source: shipsandports.com.ng

2 suspects in abduction of teacher in Sulu arrested

By Nonoy Lacson 

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Police and military authorities arrested, Saturday night two members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) who were considered principal suspects in the kidnapping of a public elementary school teacher in this city last year.

Police Regional Office for Zamboanga Peninsula (PRO-9) Director Police Brig Gen Froilan F. Quidilla identified the alleged ASG members as Erma Sahibol, alias Emz, and Kimar Juram, alias Monica.

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Source: news.mb.com.ph

India: Customs cracks down on fishing boats with Chinese tracking devices

By Toby Antony

KOCHI: To ensure the security of the coastline and prevent smuggling activities through the sea route, the Customs has launched a crackdown on fishing vessels operating from Kerala shores using China-made Automatic Identification System-tracking devices which are mandatory for vessels now.The decision was taken after multiple agencies raised concerns regarding security issues following fishing boats fitted with the Chinese AIS were found on the Kerala coast.

Recently, Customs Commissioner Sumit Kumar directed its marine units to intensify checking on fishing vessels which are not using the standard AIS recommended by the government.The marine units have already tracked down 18 such vessels operating from various harbours in Kerala.

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Source: newindianexpress.com

Navy deploys 6 warships, two helicopters to protect oil installations

By Eugene Agha

The Nigerian Navy on Sunday deployed six of its warships and two helicopters to protect key critical oil facilities at sea. It was gathered that the move was to prevent sea robbers from taking advantage of the spread of Coronavirus to attack key installations.

The six warships along with other sister agencies embarked on the operation tagged ‘Treasure Guard 11’ targeted at putting a stop to activities of pirates and crude oil thieves operating around the country’s territorial waters.

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Source: dailytrust.com.ng