Despite N350.4b annual security budget, oil facilities not safe

By Kingsley Jeremiah

Though the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and some International Oil Companies (IOCs) operating in the country stake as much as N350.4b for staff and asset protecting yearly, the nation is still losing over N1.6t to oil and gas theft every year.

Indeed, stakeholders in the sector are pointing accusing fingers at the nation’s military and a network of politically exposed individuals as being behind the growing losses of crude and refined petroleum products estimated at $42b (N15t) in the past 10 years.

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Source: guardian.ng

Yemen’s Legitimacy Asks for Safe Corridors in Hodeidah

Badr Al-Qahtani

The legitimate government asked Chair of the Redeployment Coordination Committee (RCC) and head of the United Nations Mission to Support the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA) Abhijit Guha to “open humanitarian corridors in the city of Hodeidah,” an informed Yemeni source told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The government explained that it requested to open the corridors because of the presence of government-controlled areas in the city, although Houthi militias rule most of it, the source said Thursday.

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Source: aawsat.com

Nigeria to form border force with neighbors Benin and Niger to fight smuggling

Camillus Eboh

ABUJA (Reuters) – Nigeria and neighboring countries Benin and Niger have agreed to set up a joint border patrol force to tackle smuggling between the West African countries, they said in a communique on Thursday.

Foreign ministers from the three countries met to discuss smuggling following a decision by regional giant Nigeria, which has Africa’s largest economy and biggest population, to close its land borders to trade until at least Jan. 31, 2020.

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Source: reuters.com

Navy monitors pipelines with drones

By Precious Igbonwelundu

The Nigerian Navy (NN) on Thursday said drones and helicopters have been deployed for surveillance of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) pipelines from Atlas Cove, Apapa to Ejigbo and Mosimi depots in Lagos and Ogun states.

This deployment, the service said, was to beat pipeline vandals who loot petroleum products from ruptured pipes and then find ways to smuggle them out of the country.

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Source: thenationonlineng.net

Pirates have attacked 16 cargo vessels a month this year in Gulf of Mexico

And not a single arrest has been made

Pirate attacks in the southern part of the Gulf of Mexico have increased fourfold in just two years, triggering calls for the navy to bolster its presence in the area.

Between January and September, there was an average of 16 attacks per month on cargo ships off the coast of Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche, and Dos Bocas, Tabasco, according to the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF).

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Source: mexiconewsdaily.com

Kenya committed to meeting maritime framework expectations

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

Multi agency cooperation remains the only way to address maritime crimes as it sends a strong and unified message to pirates and other organized criminals to cease their illegal trade.

Speaking during a Regional meeting on “Capacity Building Coordination for Enhanced Maritime Security in the West Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden and Donor Forum”at a Mombasa hotel, defense Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo said progress has been made to enhance Maritime domain awareness through multi agency collaboration.

“I have observed directly the benefits that have accrued from the Maritime code of conduct appended in Djibouti by member states geared towards near eradication of piracy,” said Omamo.

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Source: kbc.co.ke

ReCAAP issues October 2019 report

INCIDENTS OF PIRACY AND ARMED ROBBERY AGAINST SHIPS IN ASIA IN OCTOBER 2019

A total of seven incidents of armed robbery against ships1 were reported in Asia in October 2019. No piracy2 incident was reported. There were also no reports of abduction of crew in the Sulu-Celebes Seas and waters off Eastern Sabah; and no hijacking of ships for theft of oil cargo reported in October 2019. However, the abduction of crew for ransom in the Sulu-Celebes Seas and waters off Eastern Sabah remains a serious concern. The ReCAAP ISC is also concerned about the increase in the number of incidents reported on board ships while underway in the Singapore Strait.

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Source: recaap.org

Senate Wants Deep Blue Sea Project Fast-Tracked To Fight Piracy

The Senate on Wednesday called on Nigeria’s maritime agency to quickly fast-track the implementation of the Deep Blue Sea Project for the protection of Nigeria’s waterways to combat the menace of pirates and armed bandits.

This resolution was a sequel to a motion titled “urgent need to address the menace of piracy and banditry in the Gulf of Guinea and Nigeria’s internal waters.”

The Senate also urged the federal government to deploy more naval personnel on the Oron coastal area to check the activities of pirates and bandits.

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Source: channelstv.com

Four Immigration officers kidnapped by sea pirates rescued by Navy

By Tola Adenubi

The Nigerian Navy, early on Wednesday morning, rescued four officers of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), who were abducted on the Bonny River in the evening of Monday by suspected armed sea pirates.

Disclosing this to newsmen on Wednesday, the Commanding Officer of the Forward Operating Base (FOB) of the Nigerian Navy, Navy Capt. Kola Oguntuga explained that the officers were rescued during a surprise operation by the maritime component of the Joint Task Force (JTF), Operation Delta Safe; and the FOB of the Nigerian Navy Ship, NNS Pathfinder.

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Source: tribuneonlineng.com

Pakistan Navy, PMSA, ANF seize 241kg heroin in joint operation

ISLAMABAD – A huge cache of narcotics was recovered in a joint intelligence-based counter narcotics operation by Pakistan Navy, Pakistan Maritime Security Agency, and Anti-Narcotics Force at Pishukan near Jiwani, Balochistan.

According to the officials of Pakistan Navy here on Tuesday, the cache included 241 kilograms heroin and 2 kilograms Hashish. They said PMSA vessel located and subsequently approached a suspicious fast speed boat (kyak) of suspected smugglers and recovered drugs from the captured boat. The value of narcotics in international market is approximately Rs2410 million. The seized narcotics have been handed over to the Anti-Narcotics Force for further legal proceedings.

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Source: nation.com.pk