We cover piracy, armed robbery at sea, IUU fishing, maritime cyber security and maritime security issues.
By Genalyn Kabiling
To thwart any threat from Islamic State-linked militants, President Duterte has ordered the deployment of more battalions to help keep peace and security in Mindanao.
The President said he had asked Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana to send 20 to 35 battalions from the Philippine Army, admitting he was worried that ISIS threat in Sulu might spill over to other parts of Mindanao.
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Source: news.mb.com.ph
LAGOS, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) — At least one person was killed and another injured in an oil pipeline blast in Nigeria’s business hub of Lagos on Thursday, the police and rescue officials confirmed.
Ibrahim Farinloye, spokesperson for the National Emergency Management Agency(NEMA), told Xinhua that the explosion appears to be an accident, and not the work of thieves as in past pipeline explosions near Lagos. He said security personnel have since been deployed to the area where pipeline explosion occurred.
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Source: xinhuanet.com
Naval Forces of countries along the Gulf of Guinea cannot maintain maritime security alone without cooperation and collaboration from relevant stakeholders, Rear Admiral Seth Amoama, Chief of the Naval Staff has said.
Rear Admiral Amoama observed that every area of maritime security has its dimensions that required cooperation and collaboration with relevant actors to drive up issues such as environmental protection, sustainable fishing and over-exploitation of other resources in the sea.
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Source: myjoyonline.com
By Azimazi Momoh Jimoh
The Senate has threatened to compel the Director-General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, via a warrant, to appear before it to answer questions on his agency’s involvement in the operation of alleged illegal security services in the nation’s waterways.
The Senate Joint Committee on Navy, Marine Transport and Finance yesterday described the Dakuku’s failure to honour its invitation as disrespectful.
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Source: guardian.ng
The piracy situation in West Africa has descended to new lows with a VLCC raided by armed men yesterday and 19 crew kidnapped. The attack on the Anglo-Eastern-managed Nave Constellation took place 66 nautical miles south of Bonny Offshore Terminal, and 24 nautical miles east of the Egina FPSO.
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Source: splash247.com
MarsecNews: Security sources say that the incident occurred at around 1820 UTC on December 3rd, some 80nm South of Bonny. The kidnapped group is believed to consist of 18 Indian nationals and one crew member from Turkey. Controlling such a large number of crew suggests an equally large number of perpetrators, something we haven’t seen in the region for a while.
Sanni Onogu
The Senate Tuesday raised the alarm over a contract by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to an Israeli security firm, HSLI, to police the nation’s waterways at a total cost of $198million.
The Senators queried Rear Admiral Tariworio Dick, who represented the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas, at a joint investigative hearing on the activities of the Ocean Marine Solutions Limited (OMSL) which hitherto provided security services at the Secured Anchorage Area (SAA) at the Lagos Port.
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Source: thenationonlineng.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
The president mentions working with Indonesia and Malaysia to protect the seas from pirates, amid warming ties with China which is occupying the West PH Sea
MANILA, Philippines – In alleging that much of the Philippines’ drug problem is brought about by piracy in the seas, President Rodrigo Duterte said on Saturday, November 30, that he was ordering the Philippine Navy to kill pirates if they spot them.
“My orders to the Navy, I repeat my orders to the Navy, if they are positive that they are pirates, you blow them [until] kingdom come, patayin mo na lahat at matapos na ang problema ko at ng Pilipinas and so with the drugs (kill them all so all my problems and the Philippines’ problems will all go away, and so with the drugs),” Duterte said on Saturday at the celebration of Andres Bonifacio’s 156th birth anniversary.
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Source: rappler.com
By Okafor Ofiebor
Confusion now pervades the coastal community of Ke-clan, Degema in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State following the discovery of 11 yet-to-be identified corpses allegedly abandoned in a boat at the new Jerusalem Creek, close to Ke Clan.
The victims were suspected to have been killed by pirates operating along the waterways in the area. With frequent reports of sea pirates’ attacks on seafarers in the waterways in that area on the increase, the communities have denied knowledge of what went on around those creeks.
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Source: pmnewsnigeria.com
MarsecNews: Security sources in the region reported that Nigerian security assets were patrolling the Ke waterways on December 1st at around 1530 hours when they engaged pirates in three speedboats. Following the incident, the pirates escaped in two boats, leaving a third. On inspection, the security team found 11 dead bodies and one AK-47 in the boat. The bodies are believed to belong to local boat passengers, but this has yet to be confirmed. It’s certainly one of the most grisly discoveries in recent years in the Delta and will likely lead to an increased military presence.
Commodore Ed Ahlgren OBE Royal Navy, Commander CTF150 (CCTF150), visited Mombasa, Kenya to deliver a maritime security threat update to the Djibouti Code of Conduct Conference (DCoC).
The Djibouti Code of Conduct has been instrumental in repressing piracy and armed robbery against ships in the western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden. In 2017, under the Jeddah Agreement, it saw its scope significantly broadened to cover other illicit maritime activities, including human trafficking and illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
Commodore (Cdre) Ahlgren’s speech focused on the threats, as seen by Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), to law abiding shipping, the fishing industry and recreational craft in the region. Cdre Ahlgren briefed the attending delegates on how CMF operates and how collaboration, information exchange and the sharing of best practices makes the 33 nation coalition a formidable force.
“Maritime Security is a huge undertaking given the size of the ocean against the assets that are available. It cannot be done by one entity alone, we must collaborate, share information and pool our resources if we are to combat those that wish to do us harm. These problems are not just national, nor regional but international. It’s everybody’s business” Cdre Ahlgren said.
21 countries are signatories to the DCoC and they meet on a six-monthly basis to discuss how the maritime domain can be protected from a wide range of threats including piracy, threats to oil and gas installations, dangers to transport systems and illegal and unreported fishing. DCoC works closely with other security organisations in the region including European Union Naval Force (EUNAVFOR), the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to tackle these threats.
While in Mombasa, Cdre Ahlgren took the time to meet with the Director General of the Kenyan Coast Guard, Brigadier Loonena Naisho and Kenyan Deputy Fleet Commander, Colonel Lawrence Gitumo. The senior officers discussed how Kenya can engage further with CMF.
Cdre Ahlgren concluded, “This visit was particularly rewarding as it showcased how CMF can work with security organisations to make the western Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden a safer, more sustainable and increasing prosperous region of CMF’s area of operations.”
Source: combinedmaritimeforces.com
Maritime Security News 