We cover piracy, armed robbery at sea, IUU fishing, maritime cyber security and maritime security issues.
DUBAI (Reuters) – The British-flagged Stena Impero tanker left Iran’s Bandar Abbas port on Friday after being detained since July by Iranian forces and was heading toward international waters.
The Stena Impero was seized by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in the Strait of Hormuz waterway for alleged marine violations two weeks after Britain detained an Iranian tanker off the territory of Gibraltar. The Iranian ship was released in August.
To continue reading, please click here.
Source: reuters.com
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Iranian authorities have yet to release the British-flagged tanker Stena Impero even though the vessel, seized by Iranian forces in July, has been cleared to leave port, its Swedish owner said on Wednesday.
“At this point we are simply waiting for the guards onboard to leave and for the ship to receive clearance to sail,” Stena Bulk Chief Executive Erik Hanell said in a text message.
To continue reading, please click here.
Source: reuters.com
WASHINGTON (Kyodo) — U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration is planning to form an international maritime surveillance mission involving 55 vessels in a key waterway off Iran in November, a source familiar with the plan said Thursday.
The plan came to light amid heightened tensions between the United States and Iran following recent attacks on major oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, an incident Washington has blamed on Tehran.
To continue reading, please click here.
Source: mainichi.jp
CAIRO, Sept 19 (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates is joining an international maritime mission to protect commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and other areas, state news agency WAM said on Thursday.
The operation area for the International Maritime Security Construct covers the Strait of Hormuz, Bab al-Mandab, the Sea of Oman and the Arabian Gulf, WAM said.
To continue reading, please click here.
Source: reuters.com
DUBAI, Sept 18 (Reuters) – Iran will hold its annual military parade on Sept. 22 in the Gulf with 200 frigates of its elite Revolutionary Guards Corps, Iran Front Page reported on Wednesday, at a time of spiked tension between Tehran and Washington.
“Some 200 IRGC frigates will take part in a parade of military units in the Persian Gulf… on Sept. 22 to mark the beginning of Iran-Iraq in 1980,” the IFP cited military sources as saying.
To continue reading, please click here.
Source: yahoo.com
Reports come amid raised tensions after weekend attack on major Saudi oil installation
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have seized a vessel in the Gulf for allegedly smuggling 250,000 litres of diesel fuel to the United Arab Emirates, Iran’s semi-official news agency ISNA has reported.
“It was detained near Iran’s Greater Tunb island in the Persian Gulf … the crew have been handed over to legal authorities in the southern Hormozgan province,” ISNA said on Monday, without elaborating on the nationalities of the crewmen.
To continue reading, please click here.
Source: theguardian.com
Asma al-Ghabri
The Iran-backed Houthi militias’ refusal to implement a legitimate Yemen government order on collecting customs fees on all oil derivative revenues at Hodeidah port has led the halt of ten vessels in the Red Sea.
At Houthi orders, the oil tankers did not pay the revenues and did not disclose the certificate of origin of the shipment that ensures its legality.
To continue reading, please click here.
Insurance and shipping leaders said specific targeting of UK and US crew by Iran has left the industry to grapple with escalating tensions between Tehran and the West.
Nick Busvine, a partner at the strategic intelligence firm Herminius, told The National the drive from Tehran to take British and American hostages while targeting commercial shipping in the Arabian Gulf “changes the game” for the insurance industry.
To continue reading, please click here.
Source: hellenicshippingnews.com
Oman remains at the forefront of maritime security in the region in league with navies from around the world. It is cooperating with agencies such as the EU Navfor for free flow of international trade in the region as well as around the Horn of Africa.
Speaking at the Indian Ocean Conference in the Maldives recently on the topic of ‘Securing the Indian Ocean Region: Traditional and Non-Traditional Challenges’, Sayyid Badr bin Hamad al Busaidi, Secretary General in Oman’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that maritime security is built upon the foundations of law and operational security.
To continue reading, please click here.
Source: menafn.com
Iran seized a tugboat and detained its 12 Filipino crew members on suspicion of smuggling diesel fuel in the Persian Gulf, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported Saturday.
The U.S. Navy 5th Fleet was aware of the report but declined further comment, Cmdr. Joshua Frey, a spokesman, said. In Manila, the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs said it was checking out the report.
To continue reading, please click here.
Maritime Security News 