We cover piracy, armed robbery at sea, IUU fishing, maritime cyber security and maritime security issues.
Merchant shipping heading through Middle Eastern waters has been placed back on high alert over fears Iran may retaliate to American drone strikes earlier today that killed a top Iranian general.
Iran’s most powerful military commander, General Qasem Soleimani, was killed by a US air strike in Iraq at around 1am this morning.
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Source: splash247.com
PETALING JAYA: A ship with 16 Malaysian crew members on board has been seized by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps for fuel smuggling, according to the official Irna news agency.
The ship was reported to be carrying nearly 1.3 million litres of fuel. It was not known under which national flag the ship was sailing. It was reportedly seized near Abu Musa Island, near the entrance to the Straits of Hormuz.
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Source: freemalaysiatoday.com
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – After conclusion of a joint naval war game of Iran, Russia and China, a ranking Iranian military commander said the Islamic Republic will continue to stage joint military exercises with other countries in the coming years.
Commander of the Naval Operations Department of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces General Mohammad Ebrahim Dehqani said on Sunday that joint military drills will definitely continue in the coming years.
According to the commander, the joint exercises in future will include other regional countries as well.
He also stressed that the naval exercise of Iran, Russia and China has given the enemies a clear message that any mistake would draw a crushing response from the Iranian Armed Forces.
“Our friends receive an assurance that the region’s maritime security would be ensured by the Islamic Republic of Iran and its allies, and there is no need for alien forces in the region, particularly the Americans,” he said.
Denouncing the presence of American forces as a main factor behind regional insecurity, Dehqani said the US decision to transfer its military forces from the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman to the northern parts of the Indian Ocean reveals that “Americans are even incapable of ensuring their own security.”
Iranian, Russian, and Chinese naval units on Sunday wrapped up the joint exercise after three days.
On the final day of the joint drill, the naval forces of the three countries exercised tactics to fight piracy and extinguish vessel fires in the international waters south of Iran.
The war game came amid US efforts to woo countries into a maritime coalition for patrols in the Persian Gulf, which have received lukewarm welcome from its allies.
Source: tasnimnews.com
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – There is no place for American forces in the region anymore, Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi said.
“Today, the era of American free action in the region is over, and they (US forces) must leave the region gradually,” Rear Admiral Khanzadi told reporters on Sunday on the sidelines of a joint naval exercise of Iran, Russia and China, which is underway in the Sea of Oman and the northern parts of the Indian Ocean.
“We believe that regional security does not require the presence of those (foreign) countries, and that regional countries themselves can ensure security together,” he added.
The Iranian Navy commander also expressed hope that more regional states would join Iran in the efforts to ensure security.
“We believe that maritime security definitely needs collective action,” Khanzadi added.
He went on to say that friends of Iran and those favoring regional security have welcomed the joint naval drill, while the US and its proxies who seek to impose inappropriate security arrangements on the region would receive “significant messages” from the war game.
Iran, Russia and China are holding a four-day joint naval exercise, dubbed Marine Security Belt, in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Oman.
The war game comes amid US efforts to woo countries into a maritime coalition for patrols in the Persian Gulf, which have received lukewarm welcome from its allies.
Source: tasnimnews.com
TOKYO, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) — The Japanese Cabinet on Friday approved the dispatch of Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) personnel to the Middle East amid tensions in the region, despite public opposition and post-war military constraints restricting the nation’s military activities constitutionally.
The planned deployment, backed by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition ally, Komeito, is to purportedly conduct information-gathering operations and others related to enhancing the safety of commercial shipping in the region.
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Source: xinhuanet.com
In a statement addressed to all Iranian fishermen on Monday, the IRGC Navy said neither the US’ vessels nor those of other countries have the right to inspect, seize or question any of Iranian fishing boats, particularly in Iran’s territorial waters.
The statement further described any move by foreign ships to question Iranian vessels as being “against the national interests and in violation of international law”.
The IRGC Navy also called on all Iranian fishermen not to cooperate with foreign vessels and immediately inform IRGC patrols via Channel 16 VHF if they are questioned by them.
Earlier this month, Commander of the IRGC Navy Rear Admiral Ali Reza Tangsiri highlighted his forces’ powerful presence in the Persian Gulf and said all foreign vessels passing through the waters are closely monitored by the IRGC Navy.
“The IRGC Navy checks and monitors foreign vessels entering the Persian Gulf and questions them about their nationality, the type of the vessels, and their destination,” Rear Admiral Tangsiri told Tasnim.
All foreign vessels, including those belonging to the United States, have always been answerable to the IRGC Navy, the commander added.
He further emphasized that the monitoring of foreign vessels in the Persian Gulf is “an inalienable right” of the Islamic Republic.
“The Persian Gulf belongs to Iran and other littoral states and we have the right to question the vessels because the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz is located in Iran’s territorial waters,” Rear Admiral Tangsiri stated.
Source: tasnimnews.com
On 19 December, Her Majesty’s Ship (HMS) DEFENDER, a UK Royal Navy destroyer operating in the Gulf of Oman in direct support of Combined Task Force 150 (CTF 150), seized 131 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine from a dhow they had been following.
The suspicious vessel was first detected using DEFENDER’s ‘WILDCAT’ shipborne helicopter. DEFENDER then closed the dhow and a team of Royal Marine Commandos in Pacific 24 sea boats boarded and secured the vessel. It was then searched by a Royal Navy boarding team who found 11 packages of narcotics, with an estimated regional wholesale value of $280,000 U.S. dollars.
The Commanding Officer of HMS Defender, Cdr Richard Hewitt MBE said: “I am really proud that Defender has been able to interdict such a significant quantity of drugs and prevent it reaching the streets. Even over the festive season, the Royal Navy is at sea 24/7 working as part of Combined Task Force 150. This has been a real boost for the ship’s company as they face Christmas away from their loved ones.”
HMS DEFENDER’s haul, on their first day working under Combined Maritime Forces, is CTF150’s largest interdiction of crystal methamphetamine for 2019; more than doubling the amount seized so far. It takes CTF150’s overall narcotics seizures this year to $48.5m.
“This is the second narcotics shipment in a week we’ve kept from reaching its destination,” said Commodore Ray Leggatt, Royal Australian Navy, Commander of CTF 150. “With this action, and more to come, we are impacting terrorists’ ability to operate in this region and around the world. Well done to the crew of HMS DEFENDER for their keen eye, skill, and precision in prosecuting this high seas take down.”
Australia assumed command of CTF 150 in early December, with a staff made up of personnel from the Royal Australian, Royal Canadian, and Royal New Zealand navies. HMS DEFENDER’s success under their command follows that of French Ship Courbet last weekend, who seized 3,545kg of hashish with an estimated regional wholesale value of $1.8m.
CTF150 has seen a huge increase in the amount of crystal methamphetamine being smuggled year on year, with 257kg interdicted to date in 2019, versus only 9kg in 2018.
CTF 150’s mission is to disrupt terrorist organisations and their related illegal activities by restricting their freedom of manoeuvre in the maritime domain. The activities of CTF 150 are a critical part of global counter-terrorism efforts, as terrorist organisations are denied a risk-free method of conducting operations or moving personnel, weapons or income-generating narcotics and charcoal.
Source: combinedmaritimeforces.com
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