Duke Crew Released by Pirates, One Died in Captivity

Following the attack on the oil tanker MT Duke and abduction of 20 crew members on December 15, U.K.-based shipowner Union Maritime has issued a statement confirming that 19 of the crew members have now been released.

One able seaman was evidently taken ill and died shortly after capture. Union Maritime said in a statement: “We are seeking further information from those crew members that have been released and a full investigation will be held into the AB’s demise.”

To continue reading, please click here.

Source: maritime-executive.com

Piracy: Seafarer Wants FG To Equip Navy, Marine Police

A Port Harcourt based seafarer, Onmonya Udeh, has appealed to the Federal Government to equip the Nigerian Navy and the Marine Police to tackle piracy in the nation’s waterways.

Udeh lamented that pirates were armed with more sophisticated weapons than the Navy and the Marine police, thereby posing serious threats to the lives of mariners and passengers.

To continue reading, please click here.

Source: thetidenewsonline.com

Reps Plan Security Summits On Ports

The House of Representatives Committee on Ports and Harbours says it will soon organise a nationwide security summit to tackle acts of insecurity in the nation’s ports.

The committee also decried the spate of piracy in the nation’s waterways and abduction of crew members of vessels coming to Eastern ports.

To continue reading, please click here.

Source: thetidenewsonline.com

NIMASA raises hopes on maritime security

By Godwin Oritse

AGAINST the backdrop of the increased incidents of sea piracy in Nigeria’s waters late last year, the leadership of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, has indicated that the Agency is being equipped to bring down the rate of attacks in 2020. It also expressed disappointment and embarrassment at the recent upsurge in the spate of attacks.

Speaking in Lagos, weekend, the Director General of NIMASA, Dakuku Peterside, however, restated the agency’s commitment and determination to ensure that the country’s territorial waters was free of piracy and all forms of maritime crime in 2020 to further boost investment opportunities in the blue economy.

To continue reading, please click here.

Source: vanguardngr.com

Fed Govt loses over $7b yearly to piracy

By Oluwakemi Dauda

The Federal Government loses over $7 billion on freight cost yearly to criminal activities on the nation’s territorial waters, the former President, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Prince Olayiwola Shittu, has said.

He called on the government to put in place measures to stem the tide of criminalities on the territorial waters.

Shittu, who spoke with The Nation on the sideline of a stakeholders forum organised by some auto importers in Lagos, added that the Federal Government needs to invest in maritime security and local capacity development to reduce piracy on the nation’s waters and get a sizeable chunk of the over $7 billion of the yearly freight cost.

To continue reading, please click here.

Source: thenationonlineng.net