German Cabinet extends anti-piracy mission in Horn of Africa

EU NAVFOR Somalia Operation ATALANTA's ESPS Canarias towed the vessel belonging to Somali Navy personnel back to the Somali shore.

The German Federal Cabinet has extended the anti-piracy mission EUNAVFOR (European Union Naval Force Somalia) – Operation Atalanta – in the Horn of Africa. The mandate, which expires on 31 May 2020, is to be continued for a further year until 31 May. 2021. The Bundestag (German parliament) still has to discuss and then vote on it.

Story by Jörg Fleischer

The personnel limit for the mission is up to 400 Bundeswehr soldiers. Operation Atalanta (the name is derived from the huntress of the same name from Greek mythology) has made a major contribution to reducing piracy in the Horn of Africa in recent years. However, there are still isolated pirate attacks. Some of the criminal networks continue to exist. That is why the mission is still necessary. Its main purpose is to protect United Nations World Food Programme ships and the African Union mission in Somalia in the Horn of Africa from piracy and to combat piracy. Atalanta’s presence in the maritime area of the Horn of Africa contributes to the stabilization of the region.

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Source: navalnews.com

11 foreigners arrested with drugs

The Pakistan Maritime Security Agency, in a joint operation with the Pakistan Customs, was said to have foiled a smuggling bid, seized a huge cache of drugs and arrested 16 suspects, including 11 foreigners.

Officials of the PMSA and the customs reportedly conducted a joint operation at open sea on April 26 on a tip-off and intercepted two boats. While searching the boats, they discovered a huge cache of drugs, which included 2,410 kilograms of hashish, 181 kilograms of crystal ice, 133 kilograms of brown crystal.

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Source: thenews.com.pk

Crew kidnapped off Nigeria

Following an alert issued by MDAT-GoG on April 30th that a MV had been attacked in position 03°30’N 003°49E’ at 1940Z by a skiff with an unknown number of armed pirates, Dryad reports that ten crew were feared kidnapped from a product tanker.

I assume the two incidents are one and the same. SeaTrade Maritime reported the following:

Ten seafarers are reported to have been kidnapped by pirates from the product tanker Vemahope off Nigeria.

An unknown number of pirates in speedboat are reported to have boarded the 6,152 dwt product tanker Vemahope and kidnapped 10 seafarers, according to Dryad Global.

The Greek-owned tanker was 178 nm SSE of Lagos at the time of the incident.

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Chinese trawlers fined for being in SA waters illegally

The maritime security component of the Department of Environment Affairs, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF) notched up a major protection success earlier this month when six Chinese fishing trawlers were fined after illegally entering South African waters.

DEFF announced the success via a statement which did not give details of the fine amount or name the foreign fishing trawlers.

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Source: defenceweb.co.za

Italian Navy Deploys Frigate to the Gulf of Guinea while French Navy Suspends Patrol Mission

The Italian Navy (Marina Militare) dispatched for the first time one of its FREMM Frigates to patrol the Gulf of Guinea while the French Navy (Marine Nationale) suspended its maritime security mission off West Africa.

Martin Manaranche

For the first time the French Navy has suspended its permanent Mission Corymbe off West Africa due to the COVID-19 epidemic and withdrawn a vessel from the area.

The patrol vessel Lieutenant de Vaisseau Le Henaff, which started a scheduled deployment in early March for Mission Corymbe, returned to France at the end of the month.

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Source: navalnews.com

EU NAVFOR Somalia fights against piracy even under COVID-19 crisis

EU NAVFOR Somalia Operation ATALANTA units have few opportunities to collaborate with ships of other navies and Combined Task Forces (CTF) at sea. However, Operation ATALANTA always tries to increase synergies with regional states and military actors present in the region to be ready to deter, prevent and repress piracy and armed robbery at sea.

Operation ATALANTA had the opportunity to receive the support of the TF 53, a flexible and efficient unit that provides logistics support to the US fleet. In an excellent manoeuvre, Spanish frigate Numancia and US Navy ship Wally Schirra accomplished Replenishment at Sea (RAS) in only 2 hours.

Thanks to this support, not only can EU NAVFOR units extend their range of operation without entering a port, but also EU NAVFOR remains ready to accomplish his mandate even under COVID-19 crisis, reducing the risk of infection and protecting their crew. Risk mitigation measures are in place in order to ensure the continuation of the operation under the current circumstances.

EU NAVFOR remains full mission capable and ready to deter, prevent, and repress piracy. COVID-19 crisis has not reduced the capability of ATALANTA to fight against piracy and ATALANTA´s units are all fully operational.

Source: eunavfor.eu

Suspected pirates attack passenger boat in Rivers State

By Victor Azubuike

Suspected Sea Pirates terrorizing waterways within Kalabari route have attacked a passenger boat with passengers on board.

Some of the victims including the driver of the boat who identified himself as Sokpabobia Sokari narrated their ordeal to newsmen explaining that they were attacked within Namasebi waterways in Bille community, Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State while returning from Port Harcourt.

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Source: dailypost.ng

Troops rescue 15 abducted persons, uncover 48 illegal refineries

By Kanayo Umeh

Troops of Operation Delta Safe fighting illegal oil bunkering and sea piracy, among other maritime crimes, have rescued 15 abducted persons who were held hostage in five speedboats after an encounter.

Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Major General John Enenche, made this known in Abuja yesterday, saying, “Troops of Sector 2 while on routine patrol at Nembe Owelesu, Bayelsa State encountered sea pirates at Abuja Open Water-Nembe, who escaped into the creeks on sighting the troop’s gunboats.

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Source: guardian.ng

Any illegal provocative action to be responded strongly

TEHRAN, Apr. 27 (MNA) – In a statement on Monday, the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran announced that any provocative action will be responded strongly and noted that Iran considers the presence of the US and its allies as a source of evil and insecurity in the region.

In a statement, the Iranian Armed forces described the US military presence in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Sea of Oman as a threat to regional security and said, “Establishing fake coalitions led by the US claiming to safeguard shipping security not only failed to serve its purpose but also is a dangerous move that disturbs regional peace and security.”

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Source: en.mehrnews.com

Iran vows to target U.S. warships if security threatened

Iranian Navy ships in Velayat-90 military exercise, by Mohammad Sadegh Heydari via Wikipedia

TEHRAN, April 23 (Xinhua) — Iran will target the U.S. military vessels in the Gulf if they threaten Iran’s security, the chief commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said Thursday, Tasnim news agency reported.

“We are fully determined and serious in defending our national security, maritime borders, maritime interests, maritime security and security of our forces at sea and any (wrong) move will trigger our decisive, effective and prompt response,” Hossein Salami said.

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Source: china.org.cn