We cover piracy, armed robbery at sea, IUU fishing, maritime cyber security and maritime security issues.
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Monday sentenced 15 oil thieves to three years imprisonment and ordered the forfeiture of two vessels along with 868.5 metric tonnes of crude oil to the Nigerian Government.
Justice Rilwan Aikawa found them guilty on all three counts and sentenced them to one-year in prison on each count, which will take effect from the day of their arrest.
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Source: saharareporters.com
Ali Rabee
The Yemeni government has reiterated its warnings against possible disastrous consequences of the explosion or spill at Safer offshore oil platform, which floats off Hodeidah’s northern Red Sea coast.
Information Minister Muammar al-Eryani has listed in a series of tweets the most disastrous consequences.
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Source: aawsat.com
SINGAPORE: Three people were arrested after they attempted to rob a Liberian-flagged bulk carrier in the Singapore Strait on Monday (Mar 16), said the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) in a media release.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore’s (MPA) Port Operations Control Centre received a report at around 5am that robbers had boarded the ship Sam Jaguar.
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Source: channelnewsasia.com
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — Ten Abu Sayyaf bandits have surrendered in Sulu.
Maj. Gen. Corleto Vinluan Jr. of the Joint Task Force Sulu and 11th Army Division said a group of bandits surrendered to the 1102nd Brigade under Col. Ignatius Patrimonio on March 6 and turned over their Garand rifles.
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Source: philstar.com
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The Nigerian Navy and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) said that it would strengthen its bond in order to put an end to movement of hard drugs and other related substances on the waterways.
The Director of Seaports Operations, (NDLEA) Mrs. Omolade Faboyede made this known when the agency visited the Western Naval Command (WNC). She said that findings had shown that a large volume of drugs coming into the country was through the sea, saying drug issues were not only a communal threat but a national threat.
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Source: leadership.ng
Somalia has sought assistance from the global anti-piracy forces to help it capture 43 boats from Pakistan and Iran that are conducting illegal fishing operations in the Horn of African nation’s waters.
The Somali Federal Government has accused the two countries of continuing illegal fishing in Somalia waters, warning the boats will be pursued and will be liable to pay heavy fines upon their capture.
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Source: somaliaffairs.com
Bethel Toby & Gift Tasie
An expert in the maritime industry, chief Ikechukwu Ollawa, has expressed worry over the increasing activities of sea pirates and robbery on the nation’s waterway.
Speaking with The Tide yesterday in Port Harcourt, Ollawa said most of the attacks were aimed at fishing trawlers, cargo vessels, oil tankers and service boats as well as passenger speed boats.
He noted with dismay that during such operations, lives and properties of law abiding citizens were lost, while businesses were truncated due to possible attack on trades and their goods.
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Source: thetidenewsonline.com
Embassy of Ukraine in Greece and shipping company held negotiations, after which the hostages were released
Ukrainian diplomats and a shipping company have returned sailor Dmytro Holianenko, who was captured by pirates along with the crew of the ship Alpine Penelope off the coast of Nigeria, to Ukraine. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba announced this on his Twitter page.
“The Embassy of Ukraine in the Hellenic Republic and the shipping company have worked. After the negotiations were held, the crew was released. Our Dmytro Holianenko is already in Ukraine with his family. I congratulate you on your return!“, Kuleba wrote.
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Source: 112.international
By Chioma Onuegbu
The Nigerian Navy, Forward Operating Base, FOB, Ibaka, in Mbo local government area of Akwa Ibom State, has intercepted 316 drums of illegally refined diesel also known as Automotive Gas Oil (AGO).
The Commanding Officer of FOB, Captain Peter Yilme who spoke on Thursday in Ibaka while handing over the product to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), disclosed that the seized drums which contained 300 litres of AGO each were intercepted last Sunday, during a routine patrol by Navy gunboats en route Republic of Cameroon.
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Source: vanguardngr.com
Regional efforts to enhance maritime security are dependent on good information sharing, through multi-agency National Maritime Information Sharing Centres. An IMO-led regional workshop on information sharing in the Western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden ((3-5 March) brought together participants from 14 signatory States to the Djibouti Code of Conduct (DCoC) and its Jeddah Amendment, which aims to counter and suppress crime in the maritime domain.
Participants discussed how best to set up national maritime information sharing centres and agreed on the need to establish legal frameworks at national level, to ensure coordination and full participation of all agencies.
The workshop was organised following the establishment last year of a Working Group on Information Sharing. This was part of a plan of action adopted by States in the western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden area to ensure better coordination of regional efforts to enhance maritime security. Recommendations from the workshop will be fed into the next Jeddah Amendment high-level workshop, scheduled to be held later this year.
The workshop was held at the Djibouti Regional Training Centre (DRTC), Djibouti, and attended by 24 participants from Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania (United Republic of), and Yemen. The workshop was organized by IMO and supported by the United Kingdom, who provided technical experts. Funding came from a Japanese contribution to the DCoC Trust Fund to support training activities at the DRTC.
Source: imo.org
Maritime Security News 