We cover piracy, armed robbery at sea, IUU fishing, maritime cyber security and maritime security issues.
Anna Okon
Worried about the charges imposed on Nigeria as war risks for piracy attacks, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council is set to convene a meeting with the Global Shippers Forum to discuss the issue.
The Executive Secretary, NSC, Mr Hassan Bello, who made this known, said the charges were too high and most times unwarranted. Nigeria has been in the news in the past few years for the frequency of piracy attacks.
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Source: punchng.com
A Ghanaian mariner, Jewel Ahiagble, who worked on contract as an Electrical Engineer on a vessel which was hijacked by Somali pirates for about 1000 days in 2009, has survived narrowly to give a harrowing account of the voyage.
Opening up for the first time since the crew’s rescue in 2012, Mr. Ahiagble recounted the chilling tale of torture, violent abuses, deaths, anxiety and trauma to host Winston Amoah on the #RoadtoGlory segment of 3FM’s Sunrise.
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Source: ghanaweb.com
By Alexander Cornwell
DUBAI (Reuters) – China might escort Chinese commercial vessels in Gulf waters under a U.S. proposal for a maritime coalition to secure oil shipping lanes following attacks on tankers, its envoy to the United Arab Emirates said on Tuesday.
“If there happens to be a very unsafe situation we will consider having our navy escort our commercial vessels,” Ambassador Ni Jian told Reuters in Abu Dhabi.
“We are studying the U.S. proposal on Gulf escort arrangements,” China’s embassy later said in a text message.
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Source: euronews.com
ASIA – AFRICA – Although the rash of serious pirate attacks off the Somalian coast which we reported on almost a daily basis in the years leading up to 2017 have since diminished, that does not mean the seas of the world are now always a safe place to ply one’s trade. It was a concentrated, internationally coordinated policy of increased naval surveillance which managed to largely control the hijacking of container ships and tankers in the Indian Ocean, but elsewhere every day brings the risk of assault on the innocent.
The Information Fusion Centre (IFC) is a division of the Indian Navy and its semi-annual report for South East Asia shows the state of play in the region. What should be made clear here is that the vast bulk of incidents worldwide are not truly ‘piracy’. To qualify for that title the vessel being assaulted must be at sea, therefore only one true pirate attack has taken place recently according to the IFC, that of the South Korean flagged bulk carrier CK Bluebell on July 22 near the Singapore Strait which passes Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.
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Source: handyshippingguide.com
The Gulf of Guinea is a hub of illegal activities resulting in tremendous threats to global trade and security. It is the most dangerous stretch of sea for pirate attacks over the planet. To overcome the challenge, a two-day International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference took place in Ghana’s capital, Accra. It attracted experts from various countries who discussed the issues of armed robbery and piracy and the solutions. The conference focused on dealing with multiple security-related issues like piracy, illegal fishing, abducting for ransom, illegal oil bunkering and drug trafficking in the Gulf of Guinea.
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Source: devdiscourse.com
Residents of fishing communities in Oron Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, on Tuesday protested over incessant attacks and killings of fishermen and boat owners on waterways by suspected sea pirates.
It was gathered that security agents drafted to protect the waterways were incapacitated to salvage the situation as pirates seemed to have overpowered them.
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Source: dailypost.ng
(Trinidad Guardian) The families of five murdered fishermen are calling on the police to arrest and charge all of the people who were involved in the July 22 pirate attack off Carli Bay.
Their demand came even as four people appeared in court on Friday charged with various offences linked to the case.
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Source: stabroeknews.com
By Jim Wilson
Three major international ocean shipping representative bodies — the International Chamber of Shipping, the Asian Shipowners’ Association and the European Community Shipowners’ Association — have called for the international community to stop the escalation of tensions in the Strait of Hormuz.
They also have called for the international community to fully respect international law.
“All countries should ensure the safe passage of merchant vessels by respecting the freedom of navigation enshrined in Article 87(1)a and the right of innocent passage defined in Article 19 of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea [UNCLOS],” the joint statement reads.
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Source: americanshipper.com
The Royal Navy will join a US-led taskforce to protect merchant ships travelling in the Gulf.
The move comes amid growing tensions between the two western powers and Iran over the shipping route in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian forces seized British-flagged vessel Stena Impero last month, while the US has tightened sanctions on Iran.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the new maritime taskforce would give “reassurance for shipping”.
But it goes against plans laid out by his predecessor, Jeremy Hunt, for a European-led mission in the area.
The UK government confirmed last month that it would provide a Royal Navy escort, from warships HMS Duncan and HMS Montrose, for British-flagged ships passing through the strait.
The Ministry of Defence said the new mission would involve the same warships.
The US has also committed two warships to the mission, as well as aerial surveillance.
Washington has re-imposed – and latterly tightened – its own sanctions on Iran, after withdrawing from a 2015 deal to limit the country’s nuclear activities.
The UK and other European countries remain committed to the plan, but diplomatic tensions have been strained in recent months – increasing after the seizure of the Stena Impero.
Mr Raab said the UK’s decision to join the US-led mission did not change its commitment to the nuclear deal and that the government was working to “de-escalate the situation” in the Gulf.
Announcing the new mission, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the UK was “determined to ensure shipping is protected from unlawful threats”.
He added: “Upholding international maritime law and freedom of passage is in all our interests.
“We are seeing, across our seas and oceans, too many incidents that seek to challenge such freedoms.”
Source: bbc.co.uk
The Nigerian Navy has called for inter-agency cooperation to curb cases of piracy in the maritime sector which affects oil activities, fishing and cargo shipping.
The Commandant of Naval War College Nigeria, Rear Adm. Adeseye Ayobanjo, made the call on Monday in Calabar during the presentation of the report of Naval Warfare Course 3 International Study Tour to the Republic of Kenya.
Ayobanjo explained that participants of the NWC Course 3 embarked on the study tour between June 29 and July 6 with a view for better understanding of Kenya’s operating environment.
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Source: theeagleonline.com.ng
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