Kidnappings At Sea By Abu Sayyaf Militants Persist Despite Trilateral Patrols

Kidnappings in Malaysian waters bordering Indonesia and the Philippines – largely blamed on Abu Sayyaf militants – are still happening despite joint air and sea patrols launched in 2017, a Filipino military official conceded Wednesday, saying it remains a challenge to secure the local seas because of their sheer size.

While the Trilateral Maritime Patrols (TMP) launched in 2017 have had some effect in combating the threat, the region is lawless as pirates and militants reign with impunity, said Maj. Arvin Encinas, spokesman for the Philippine military’s Western Mindanao Command.

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Source: eurasiareview.com

Combating maritime piracy in Benin: the port of Cotonou takes 10 measures to strengthen the protection of ships on stopover

Romuald Ngueyap

(Ecofin Agency) – The autonomous port of Cotonou (PAC) wants to reassure its customers by strengthening security. In a circular note dated Tuesday 21 January 2020, CAP Director General Joris Albert Thys issued ten (10) measures to strengthen the protection of ships in the harbour against piracy.

Addressed to marine agents, ship consignors, handlers and shipowners, these measures include, among other things, the requirement for each vessel to have a marine agent, the allocation of a holding post for any vessel. depending on availability and the boarding of the required armed guard and free of charge for any ship to stay at the anchorage in Cotonou harbour.

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Source: agenceecofin.com

House Committee report ‘indicts’ NIMASA, Navy

By Muyiwa Lucas

The House of Representatives report of the Ad-hoc Committee to determine why the Warri, Port Harcourt, Onne, Calabar and Onitsha Ports complexes are not being put to maximal use has concluded its findings.

In a 16-page report, the 17- member committee blamed the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the Nigerian Navy for not providing adequate security to vessels and cargoes going to the ports in the zone.

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Source: thenationonlineng.net

Ship attacked in the morning Jan 21, Nigeria

Mikhail Voytenko

UPDATE: Clearwater Dynamics shared its’ information with Maritime Bulletin, not disclosing ship’s name, but there was no other container ship in the vicinity, fitting into time and position, except MSC GRACE. The ship is deployed on container service connecting Gulf of Guinea States, so no wonder she has armed guards on board. As of 1630 UTC Jan 21, the ship was sailing in Bonny area, heading towards Port Harcourt.

Clearwater Dynamics Alert:
Nigeria
It has been reported that a container ship has been attacked whilst underway approximately 45nm West Southwest of Brass, Nigeria. A black speedboat with a white flag and 15 armed pirates onboard, fired upon the vessel and then moved away. The Nigerian authorities have been notified. UPDATE: It has been confirmed that the container ship did have an onboard security team, who returned fire which resulted in the pirates aborting their attack. During this incident the crew retreated to the Citadel.

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Source: maritimebulletin.net

West Africa piracy: Regional navies work to curb maritime crime

West African states to discuss tackling piracy as region prepares for oil, gas discovered in Senegal, Mauritania waters.

by Nicolas Haque

The Gulf of Guinea is now one of the world’s most dangerous places for piracy as the number of ships hijacked there has more than doubled in the past year.

So West African states are meeting to ensure they can tackle the growing challenge in advance of the expected surge in oil and gas flows after reserves were discovered off Senegal and Mauritania’s waters.

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Source: aljazeera.com

West African pirates hijacking larger vessels to maximise ransom returns

Michelle Wiese Bockmann

INSURERS are making ransom payments to West African gangs of $30,000 to $50,000 per kidnapped crew member, amid warnings that changing piracy tactics have placed vessels at risk of increasingly violent attacks in the Gulf of Guinea over coming months.

Stephen Askins, a London-based maritime lawyer who specialises in piracy, says Nigerian pirate gangs are now “maximising returns” by seeking to seize larger vessels in order to abduct higher numbers of crew. The spotlight is now on the Nigerian navy’s response, he said.

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Source: lloydslist.maritimeintelligence.informa.com

Tug and barge attacked twice in Singapore Strait

by Martyn Wingrove

Pirates attacked tugboat Kim Hock Tug 9 and barge LKH 2882 twice in five hours on 18 January in the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme in the Singapore Strait.

This unit was enroute from Vietnam to Singapore with scrap metal cargo when it was attacked at 1129 hrs north of Pulau Batam, Indonesia. The incident was broken up when another tug, Kim Hock Virgo approached, forcing the perpetrators to flee in two or three sampans.

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Source: rivieramm.com

S. Korea to send troops to Hormuz Strait independently to safeguard people, vessels

SEOUL, Jan. 21 (Yonhap) — South Korea will dispatch troops to the Strait of Hormuz by expanding operational areas of its anti-piracy unit deployed nearby to help protect its vessels passing through the strategic waterway, the defense ministry announced Tuesday.

The forces, however, will not join a U.S.-led coalition, but conduct independent operations, the ministry noted, apparently in consideration of relations with Tehran and Washington’s request for contribution to its campaign to secure the waters off Iran.

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Source: en.yna.co.kr

Eight Countries Back European-Led Naval Mission In Strait Of Hormuz

Eight European Union member states have given their support for a European-led maritime surveillance mission in the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic route for world oil supplies.

Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, and Portugal backed the new force, they said in a “political statement” issued by France’s Foreign Ministry on January 20.

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Source: rferl.org

Indonesia calls out Malaysia for ‘ineffective’ security following fresh kidnappings

By Apriza Pinandita and Dian Septiari

JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post/ANN): The government has lambasted the “ineffective coordination” of Malaysian authorities following the abduction of five Indonesian fishermen last week in waters off Sabah, the latest incident to underscore the lack of security in the tri-border area between Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Six members from a faction of the notorious Abu Sayyaf militant group abducted on Thursday five Indonesian fishermen from their trawler in Sabah’s easternmost waters off Lahad Datu, about 10 minutes from the Tawi-Tawi chain of islands in the southern Philippines.

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Source: thestar.com.my