We cover piracy, armed robbery at sea, IUU fishing, maritime cyber security and maritime security issues.
Bangladesh Coast Guard on Thursday requested journalists not to use the word ‘piracy’ or ‘pirate’ while referring to robbery incidents on inland and coastal waterways.
The word ‘piracy’ on sea refers to robbery or criminal incidents outside the maritime boundary of the country while the incidents handled by the coast guards occur along the coast of the country and is thus robbery, said a release.
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Source: newagebd.net
Nine fishermen have been convicted in Suriname for the fatal piracy attack in April last year in which over a dozen Guyanese fishermen were killed off the coast of the neighbouring country.
Three persons were acquitted of the crime after the judge ruled that there was no evidence to convict them.
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Source: stabroeknews.com
By Kristy Inus
KOTA KINABALU: The armed men who abducted three Indonesian fishermen off Lahad Datu, Sabah, two months ago are demanding RM2.45mil for their release. The demand, made through one of the victims via a video recording, was released on Facebook last Saturday.
The three were identified as Maharudin Lunani, 48, his son Muhammad Farhan, 27, and crew member Samiun Maneu, 27. They were abducted by armed men from a Sandakan-registered fishing trawler off Tambisan waters.
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Source: thestar.com.my
On October 5th, 2019, four Corentyne fishermen left home to head out to sea to ply their trade with the intention of returning with an income to take care of their families.
Those families are now left to not only fend for themselves but to also mourn the loss of their loved ones as one week after leaving home, the men’s boat was found aback of Cromarty Village, Corentyne. There was no sign of the fishermen.
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Source: stabroeknews.com
At around 6 am on Monday, fishermen who took to the sea for an early-morning catch reported being run down by pirates off the Cedros coast.
Councillor for the area Shankar Teelucksingh was called out to the shores of Cedros, where fishermen were docking their boat. They reported seeing what they said were Venezuelan pirates approaching them at sea.
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Source: newsday.co.tt
by Sharlene Rampersad
Three fishermen kidnapped by Venezuelan bandits and held for ransom were released late Wednesday night after US$13,000 was paid for their safe return.
Fishermen Ramkissoon Harricharan, 64, Carlo Sneider, 61, of Lovers Lane, Icacos and a 24-year-old Venezuelan man identified as Amelto were released by their captors on Wednesday night, shaken but in otherwise good health.
The three were snatched at gunpoint around 7 am on Tuesday while fishing off Galfa Point in Icacos about half a mile from the shore.
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Source: guardian.co.tt
POLICE on Wednesday confirmed that US$20,000 is now being demanded for the safe release of three Icacos fishermen who were abducted at sea on Tuesday morning.
But Sgt Rishi Ramsaran told Newsday, reports that relatives of the men were robbed when they went to pay the initial ransom of US$10,000 were untrue. “It was discovered that it is a hoax. But a family member reported that they received a telephone call that the captors increased the ransom from US$10,000 to US$20,000,” Ramsaran said.
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Source: newsday.co.tt
Venezuelan pirates who operate out of Patos Island, one of Venezuela’s small uninhabited island, have reportedly kidnapped three Icacos fishermen for ransom.
The island is located in the northwestern Gulf of Paria and is said to be one of the hideouts for desperate Venezuelan pirates who kidnap and smuggle drugs and guns in exchange for basic necessities.
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Source: guardian.co.tt
KOTA KINABALU — The Malaysian police are working with their Philippine counterparts to secure the release of three Indonesian fishermen kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf-linked gunmen off Lahad Datu on Sept 23.
Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Omar Mammah said the kidnappers made their ransom demand during a call to one of the victim’s sisters in Sandakan on Sept 30.
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Source: globalnation.inquirer.net
In the Sulu Seas, kidnap-for-ransom activities perpetrated by Islamic State-linked terrorist networks are on the rise again.
By Kenneth Yeo
On September 23, a group of seven gunmen aboard two pump boats ambushed and seized three fishermen off the coast of East Sabah, in a sign of how the Islamic State (IS) and its affiliated networks continue to trouble the Southeast Asian region. The latest attack follows a surge in ambushes and kidnappings in the last two years along the Sulu Seas, which encompasses the waters around Indonesia, Malaysia’s eastern Sabah state and the Philippines, and has long been a hotspot for piracy and sea robbery. Although there was no claim of responsibility, the attackers are said to be members of an Abu Sayyaf splinter group affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) in Sulu province. It is believed the seven gunman, who were masked, boarded two fishing vessels around midday local time, and abducted three crew members.
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Source: thediplomat.com
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