We cover piracy, armed robbery at sea, IUU fishing, maritime cyber security and maritime security issues.
New Delhi: In wake of the deteriorating situation in the Middle East, India has launched a maritime security operation to promptly respond to the emergency situations for Indian sea vessels.
The Indian Navy on Wednesday said that they have commenced security operations called ‘Operation Sankalp’ in order to ensure safe passage of Indian Flag Vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.
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Source: timesnownews.com
By Rinsy Xieng
While pirates are becoming rarer off the Horn of Africa, particularly in Somalia, since warships patrolled the area, the number of acts of piracy and robbery is steadily increasing, with a sharp upsurge in Caribbean. For example, 28 events were recorded in 2019 off the island of Grenada, compared to only 3 the previous year. In the West Indies, it is mainly pleasure boats that are targeted.
Boaters and merchant ships
Pirates no longer hesitate to board large vessels, such as merchant vessels, even though the palm goes back to the Gulf of Guinea, where almost a third of the attacks took place there according to the report of the MICA Center, the center of expertise French Maritime Safety, which has just published its annual report. In 2019, for example, the organization recorded 360 events related to piracy and robbery. This figure has been stable for four years but less than it was 10 years ago.
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Source: rci.fm
By Samuel Baya
Kenya will be handed a heavy responsibility when it officially takes over the chairmanship of a regional anti-piracy body. Kenya was elected to chair the Contact Group on Piracy Off the Coast of Somalia (CGCPS) last year.
The post comes with the onerous task of ensuring that cases of piracy and other maritime insecurity incidents are comprehensively addressed.
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Source: businessdailyafrica.com
Written by Ian Taylor
Following discussions over the possible impact of last week’s US airstrike on Baghdad airport which killed the Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, the Joint War Committee (JWC) underwriters group has judged that while there are increased tensions in the Gulf region there has – for now at least – been ‘no dramatic change’ to the level of maritime security risk.
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Source: bunkerspot.com
Multiple maritime threats have been reported in the vicinity of the geographic areas described above. On January 2, 2020, the U.S. military took decisive defensive action to protect U.S. personnel abroad. The Iranian response to this action, if any, is unknown, but there remains the possibility of Iranian action against U.S. maritime interests in the region.
The U.S. government is continually assessing the maritime security situation in the region to safeguard freedom of navigation, ensure the free flow of commerce, and protect U.S. vessels, personnel, and interests. U.S. Fifth Fleet Naval Cooperation and Guidance for Shipping (NCAGS) has the latest information on the dynamic maritime security threats and operational environment in this region. U.S. commercial vessels are advised to exercise caution and coordinate vessel voyage planning for transits of the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, Gulf of Oman, North Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea with NCAGS and follow NCAGS’s recommendations and guidance whenever possible.
U.S. commercial vessels operating in this area should review U.S. Maritime Advisory 2019-012, which contains contact information for U.S. Fifth Fleet NCAGS. This Alert will automatically expire on January 13, 2020. For more information about U.S. Maritime Alerts and Advisories, including subscription details, please visit http://www.marad.dot.gov/MSCI.
Source: maritime.dot.gov
The Royal Navy has deployed ships to escort British fleets through the Strait of Hormuz as tensions continue to boil over in the Middle East following the US drone strike that killed Iran’s leading general.
The move to protect ships baring UK flags on the stretch of water between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman came as the Foreign Office issued warnings to citizens not to travel to affected regions.
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Source: inews.co.uk
Piracy in some of the world’s most critical oil chokepoints is on the rise–but now, pirates are resorting back to another method of income generation better suited to times of lower oil prices: taking human captives.
Sometimes, black market oil prices just aren’t lucrative enough. In the days of $100 oil, oil theft was a hot commodity. Today, pirates are supplementing their stolen oil income with ransomed sailors, creating a whole new set of problems for the oil industry to tackle.
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Source: oilprice.com
Fatehelrahman Yousif
Foreign ministers of Red Sea coastal states are set to kick off meetings in Riyadh next week to promote cooperation and economic integration and to ensure maritime security along this international waterway.
The meeting is expected to tackle issues on the responsibility of Red Sea states to prevent the intervention of any foreign country in the affairs of this sensitive area.
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Source: aawsat.com
Merchant shipping heading through Middle Eastern waters has been placed back on high alert over fears Iran may retaliate to American drone strikes earlier today that killed a top Iranian general.
Iran’s most powerful military commander, General Qasem Soleimani, was killed by a US air strike in Iraq at around 1am this morning.
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Source: splash247.com
PETALING JAYA: A ship with 16 Malaysian crew members on board has been seized by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps for fuel smuggling, according to the official Irna news agency.
The ship was reported to be carrying nearly 1.3 million litres of fuel. It was not known under which national flag the ship was sailing. It was reportedly seized near Abu Musa Island, near the entrance to the Straits of Hormuz.
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Source: freemalaysiatoday.com
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