NN Launches Operation ‘Bekan Mmon 2’ In C/ River

The Nigerian Navy at the weekend in Calabar flagged off “Operation Bekan Mmon two” in order to keep the Calabar waterways (maritime environment) peaceful and safe from criminal activities which may include sea robbery, oil bunkering, hostage taking and others for economic prosperity of the country.

Speaking at the navy jetty, Headquarters of Eastern Naval Command Nigerian Navy Calabar during the flag off ceremony of “Operation ‘Bekan Mmon two” (come to the water), Rear Admiral David Adeniran, stated that with launching of the operation, crimes occurring along the maritime environment would become a thing of the past as the navy personnel drafted for the operation are going to ensure that every criminal element troubling people who travel through the waterways would become a thing of the past.

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Source: leadership.ng

Smugglers pay students, locals for tips on security forces

BUKIT KAYU HITAM: Smuggling syndicates are paying locals as well as students to channel information on the movement of security forces at the border.

Categorised as a non-aggressive version of a ‘tonto’ (thug), they receive RM50 a day as payment for providing information to the syndicates.

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Source: nst.com.my

Nigerian Pirates Release Kidnapped S. Korean Fishermen

Five South Korean fishermen who were kidnapped from the purse seiner Panofi Frontier in the Gulf of Guinea have been released, according to South Korea’s ministry of foreign affairs.

The abductees were recovered from their captors on Friday at a location in Nigeria. They are reportedly healthy and are in the care of the Korean embassy. When they are ready, they have been provided with the option to travel to Ghana, where their vessel is homeported. the ministry said. One Ghanaian abductee from Panofi Frontier was also released, and he has been transferred to Ghanaian authorities.

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Source: maritime-executive.com

N’ Delta: Navy Launches New Operation, Impounds 31 Illegal Vessels

By Emmanuel Addeh

The Nigerian Navy at the weekend launched a new operation codenamed ‘Doubeni 11’, to curb criminal maritime activities in the country’s oil-producing Niger Delta region.

The Central Naval Command (CNC), which is spearheading the operation, said the 90-day operation in the waterways, which commenced from the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) jetty, Warri, is aimed at conducting evolutions to make the area crime-free and boost economic activities.

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Source: thisdaylive.com

Indonesia Launches Maritime Information Center to Tackle Crimes at Sea

Ronna Nirmala and Drake Long

A new maritime information center under Indonesia’s coast guard is expected to improve and speed up coordination in fighting smuggling, illegal fishing and other crimes at sea, officials said Thursday.

The Maritime Security Agency (Bakamla) launched the Indonesian Maritime Information Center (IMIC) on Wednesday as part of efforts to support law enforcement at sea through exchanges of information, said Vice Adm. Aan Kurnia, the coast guard’s chief.

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Source: benarnews.org

Seamen who paid $200,000 ransom to pirates remanded

Sampson Itode

A Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Thursday remanded three expatriates and six Nigerians for allegedly aiding and abetting terrorism, kidnapping and possession of illegal firearms. They were arrested in May 2020 by the Nigerian Navy in Port Harcourt.

PUNCH Metro learnt that Johnson, Lemmer and Gordon, in connivance with a company, Pilgrim Africa Limited, allegedly conspired to facilitate the payment of $200,000 ransom to secure the release of three crew members identified as Abaamrane Hamid, Chalabi Abdelaziz and Sanfos Ndong, held hostage by pirates who attacked their Equatorial Guinea flagged vessel, MV ELOBEY VI, off Equatorial Guinea Coast.

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Source: punchng.com

Maritime agency, Customs collaborates on importation, waterways insecurity

By Lucy Ogalue

Abuja, July 22, 2020 Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) have agreed to collaborate to tackle issues of Temporary Importation Permit (TIP) and waterways insecurity in the country.

The NIMASA Director-General, Mr Bashir Jamoh, said this during a visit to the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (Rtd) on Wednesday in Abuja. According to Jamoh, the biggest challenge of the maritime sector is the temporary importation which makes importers avoid paying necessary duty fees.

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Source: naija247news.com

Trilateral exercises in the Philippine Sea

Australia, Japan and the US are currently conducting a trilateral passage in the Philippine Sea on the way to participate in Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) in Hawaii.

An ADF Joint Task Group has joined the USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group and the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force’s Akizuki-class destroyer JS Teruzuki.

With HMA Ships Canberra, Hobart, Stuart, Arunta and Sirius taking part, the activity includes replenishment at sea, aviation operations, maritime manoeuvres and communications drills.

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Source: australiandefence.com.au

Diplomacy: Malabo and Yaounde strengthen cross-border security

A new page opens in Equatorial Guinea-Cameroon cooperation. By paraphrasing the document of a common strategy to protect their populations on both sides of the 189 km border between them, the two countries commit to blocking the way for the illegal movement of people and the invasion of the enemies of peace. But also to ensure the maritime surveillance that often serves as a gateway for maritime pirates.

Content of the final release

After two days of consultations, the Guinean and Cameroonian delegations decided to strengthen defence and security strategies at the common borders. They also agreed that the principles of:
National sovereignty,
Non-interference in the internal affairs of each country,
Prohibition of the threat or use of force and peaceful settlement of conflicts.

All things that support the two-day talks in Malabo and two more in Yaounde, on June 29 and 30, 2020.

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Source: crtv.cm

Trial of 5 suspected Somali pirates to begin in Seychelles Aug. 30

Only three out of the five Somali suspects appeared in court on Monday while the other two are receiving medical assistance. (Rassin Vannier)

(Seychelles News Agency) – The trial of five suspected Somali pirates who were transferred to the Seychelles by EU NAVFOR in April last year will start in the Seychelles Supreme Court on Aug. 30.

The suspects appeared before Justice Gustave Dodin at the Supreme Court via videolink and were informed of the starting date of their trial and the hearing which will take place for four weeks.

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, the EU NAVFOR Somalia Operation Atalanta transferred the five suspects to Seychellois authorities after responding to piracy attacks on April 21 last year.

The suspects were transported by Spanish flagship ESPS Navarra and transferred to Seychellois authorities in accordance with a transfer agreement between the Seychelles and the European Union with support from UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

According to the EU NAVFOR, the incident began on April 19 when five suspected pirates captured a Yemeni dhow off the coast of Somalia. Two days later the pirates attacked the Korean fishing vessel Adria with the dhow acting as a mothership in the Indian Ocean some 280 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia.

On April 23, the EU NAVFOR‘s flagship ESPS NAVARRA successfully intercepted and boarded the captured dhow vessel and apprehended the five suspected pirates.

The forces said that this is the first notable piracy incident event since October 2018.

“This incident clearly demonstrates that piracy and armed robbery at sea, off the coast of Somalia, has not been eradicated,” said operation commander Rear Admiral Antonio Martorell.

He added that “the need for a strong maritime security presence in the High-Risk Area remains critical for the deterrence and prevention of future incidents and attacks.”

Aside from the five Somalis awaiting trial, there is one Somali national serving a prison sentence in the Seychelles’ prison facility.

Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, is east of the Somali coast and has placed itself at the forefront of the fight against piracy since 2005. The island nation since then has been working with international partners to apprehend and prosecute suspected Somali pirates.

Source: seychellesnewsagency.com