Pirates kidnap six crewmen off Benin coast

Pirates kidnapped at least six crew members of a fishing vessel on Wednesday off the coast of Benin in west Africa.

Five abductees are South Korean nationals, while the sixth person is said to be Ghanaian, according to media reports quoting the South Korea’s foreign ministry.

Maritime security company Dryad Global reports that the speed boat used to attack Ghanaian-flagged Panofi Frontier was last seen heading towards Nigerian waters after the abduction.

South Korean media reports that the foreign ministry has set up an emergency group to work on the release of the abductees.

The Gulf of Guinea is the world’s most dangerous piracy hotspot, according to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB).

Source: bbc.co.uk

EFCC Arraigns Indian Illegal Oil Dealer

Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), Lagos Zonal office, yesterday arraigned one Mr. Rahul Pathania, an Indian, and a vessel, M.V. Bount, before Justice Rilwan .M. Aikawa of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos on three-count charge bordering on illegal dealing in petroleum products.

The defendant was arrested alongside the vessel by the Nigerian Navy and subsequently handed over to to the commission for prosecution.

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Source: thisdaylive.com

‘Indonesian boy kidnapped in L Datu who escaped recaptured by Abu Sayyaf’

By: Zam Yusa

Kota Kinabalu: A boy, who the Philippine military confirmed to Daily Express was one of five Indonesian fishermen kidnapped from their boat in Lahad Datu waters in January, was recaptured by his Abu Sayyaf captors after he escaped in Sulu, southern Philippines, an Indonsian source said.

Ulta Levenia Nababan, a terrorism researcher at Jakarta-based think tank Galatea, named the boy as Khairul aged around 14.

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Source: dailyexpress.com.my

FG to Secure Nigeria’s Anchorages with $195m Deep Blue Project

Eromosele Abiodun

In a move that will see the federal government take total control of the country’s maritime security, which includes anchorage, where all vessels calling at the various ports across the country berth, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) yesterday said the $195 million Deep Blue Project will handle all security matters when it commences.

Known as the Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure or the Deep Blue Project, the security structure is designed to secure all anchorage areas in the Nigerian maritime domain.

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Source: thisdaylive.com

Arrested Chinese vessel slammed N3million fine

By Godwin Oritse

THE recently arrested and released Chinese fishing vessel ‘Hailufeng 11’ has been slammed with a fine of N3million for turning off its Automated Identification System, AIS, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, has said.

The AIS is designed to be capable of providing information about the ship to other ships and to coastal authorities automatically for security monitor.

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Source: vanguardngr.com

Police smash kidnapping syndicate in Bayelsa

Femi Folaranmi

The Bayelsa State Police Command has smashed a kidnapping syndicate terrorising the people of Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers states.

The successful operation with the collaboration operatives of the IGP Intelligence Response Team (IRT) saw to the arrest of the ringleaders of the notorious kidnapping syndicate and other suspects.

The spokesman of the Bayelsa State Police Command, Mr Asinim Butwats, said the operation was carried out with the aid of technical intelligence generated from the IGP Technical Intelligence Unit.

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Source: sunnewsonline.com

Nigeria waters now safer for shipping – NIMASA

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, (NIMASA) says that Nigeria’s waters are now safer for navigation, as it continues to step up efforts aimed at ridding the country of criminality at sea.

The director general of the Maritime Safety Agency, Bashir Jamoh made the disclosure during an interaction with media correspondents in Lagos.

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Source: tvcnews.tv

Failure to arrest pirates for three years has battered Nigeria’s maritime image ― Jamoh

By Tola Adenubi

The Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Bashir Jamoh, has revealed that Nigeria’s failure to effect any arrest of pirates terrorising her waterways between 2016 and 2019 battered her image in the international community. This is even as he revealed that so far, 27 pirates have been arrested since he took over as DG NIMASA.

Addressing maritime journalists in his office in Lagos at the weekend, Dr Bashir Jamoh, explained that the agency swung into action following two letters received from the Presidency and the office of the Secretary to the Federal Government.

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Source: tribuneonlineng.com

IRGC navy to build permanent Indian Ocean base, says commander

Iranian Navy ships in Velayat-90 military exercise, by Mohammad Sadegh Heydari via Wikipedia

Admiral Alireza Tangsiri says force regularly operates beyond Iranian waters

The naval forces of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps planned to build a permanent base in the Indian Ocean by the end of the year, Admiral Alireza Tangsiri told state-run Fars news agency.

He said the operation came at the request of military leadership and was intended to protect fishing and industrial shipping.

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Source: thenational.ae

Indonesian boy kidnapped from L Datu waters escaped, says source

By: Zam Yusa

Kota Kinabalu: A boy, who Daily Express reported in March was among five Indonesian fishermen kidnapped in Tambisan Island waters off Lahad Datu in January, had escaped his Abu Sayyaf captors in Sulu, an Indonesian source told the paper.

Ulta Levenia Nababan, a terrorism researcher at Jakarta-based think tank Galatea, said three sources told her the boy’s current whereabouts was unknown.

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Source: dailyexpress.com.my