Tag: Kidnap for Ransom

Navy combs Niger Delta creeks to rescue Turkish sailors

Olaleye Aluko

The Nigerian Navy said on Thursday that it had deployed all its  units in the creeks and backwaters of Niger Delta to rescue 10 abducted Turkish sailors on MV Paksoy 1 vessel attacked by pirates.

The navy said  the vessel was intercepted around 8.30am on Monday by the Ghana Navy Ship, EHWOR, and escorted to the Tema Port in Ghana. The Navy Director of Information, Commodore Suleman Dahun, stated these in a statement  on Thursday.

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Source: punchng.com

Armed Robberies: 28 Incidents Reported to ReCAAP ISC in H1 2019

By Baibhav Mishra

Twenty-eight Incidents Reported to ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre from January to June 2019, Marking 32% Year-on-Year Decrease, and the Lowest in Number among 13-Year Period of January to June

The ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ISC) today released its Half-Yearly (January to June 2019) Report. Highlights of the report, whose information is verified by the respective government agencies, also known as Focal Points, and regional authorities, include:

Overall Summary

  1. Total of 28 incidents reported from January to June 2019, of which 25 were actual incidents while 3 were attempted cases
  2. Of the 28 incidents reported, 26 (93%) were armed robbery against ships and two (7%) were piracy
  3. This marks a 32% decrease compared to the same period in 2018 in the number of incidents reported
  4. This is also the lowest number among the 13-year period (2007-2019) of January to June
  5. In terms of severity, there was one Category 1 incident, two Category 2 incidents, two Category 3 incidents and 20 Category 4

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Source: seanews.co.uk

Navy traces abducted Turkish sailors to Ghana

Olaleye Aluko

The Nigerian Navy has traced the cargo ship on which 10 Turkish sailors were abducted to Ghana, saying rescue efforts were ongoing to bring back the sailors.

The navy said the vessel was at a Ghanaian port while it was working with sister navies to unravel the circumstances around the abduction of the Turkish sailors. The Turkish sailors were reported on Tuesday to have been kidnapped for ransom by armed men off the coast of Nigeria.

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Source: punchng.com

Navy: Fighting crime within the waterways

Philip Nwosu

In 2015, the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas launched the force’s  strategic directive 2015-1, aimed at providing security in the maritime sector, ensure effective monitoring of the nation’s waterways and sustain its effort to maintain credible presence at sea.

After four years, the Nigerian Navy says it has been able to effectively police the nation’s waterways and ensure that the maritime sector is safe.

According to the Nigerian Navy, it has impounded and destroyed illegally refined crude oil valued at N8.4 billion between January and June 2019. The navy has destroyed and impounded 131,085.06 barrels of crude oil and about 29,612,202 litres of illegally refined products during its anti-crude oil theft campaign. It also destroyed 227 illegal refineries, 2,688 storage facilities, 364 wooden boats and impounded 11 barges and 32 vessels.

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Source: sunnewsonline.com

Oil discovery: Boost security at sea to ward off pirates – Oquaye to Navy

The Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye has charged the Ghana Navy to step up security along Ghana’s coast.

He said Ghana’s oil sites are sea-based, hence exposes the country to various criminal threats. The Speaker cited issues that are associated with the increase in crime on the shores of oil-rich countries.

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Source: ghanaweb.com

Turkish sailors held hostage by armed pirates in Nigeria

A group of 10 Turkish sailors has been kidnapped by pirates off the coast of Nigeria, reportedly for ransom.

The Paksoy-1 was sailing from Cameroon to Ivory Coast when the pirates boarded the ship in the Gulf of Guinea.

It was not carrying freight and eight sailors managed to escape. Turkey says it is working to secure the release of those seized.

The International Maritime Bureau says the Gulf of Guinea is the most dangerous sea in the world for piracy.

Ömer Çelik, spokesman for Turkey’s ruling AK Party, said the ministry was following the case closely and “working on it”.

Numan Paksoy, operations manager at Kadıoğlu Maritime, said about “12 pirates with heavy guns” had attacked the boat.

Crew members hid in a safe room – the citadel – when the pirates boarded the ship, but emerged after “the assailants threatened to burn the ship and kill all of them”, he told the BBC in an emailed statement.

The attackers then picked 10 sailors and let the other eight go, he added.

73% of all sea kidnappings and 92% of hostage-takings occur in the Gulf of Guinea off Nigeria, Guinea, Togo, Benin and Cameroon, according to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB).

Recently, the organisation has noted “a welcome and marked decrease” in attacks in the region due to an increase in Nigerian Navy patrols.

Twenty-one incidents have been recorded around Nigeria so far this year, compared to 31 in the same period of 2018.

Source: bbc.co.uk

MV attacked – Gulf of Guinea (July 13th)

Underway Turkish-flagged general cargo ship attacked by five to seven armed men in two skiffs at 2250 UTC in position 02:58N – 004:40E, approx 117nm SW of Brass, Nigeria. Crew attempted to hide as pirates boarded but were threatened when some were caught. Pirates damaged communication and navigation equipment, abducted 10 Turkish national crew before escaping. Eight remaining unharmed crew able to sail vessel to Tema harbour, Ghana. Ghana navy escorted vessel into port. Reported (MDAT/Reuters) 13 Jul. Via OCEANUSLive.org

Image courtesy of OCEANUSLive.org

1 dead, 4 injured in Abu Sayyaf encounter in Basilan — military


Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 14) — An armed militia man was killed while four civilians were wounded in an encounter Sunday in Basilan with unidentified men believed to be Abu Sayyaf group members, the military said.

The Western Mindanao Command reported that at around 8 a.m., a barangay peacekeeping action team outpost at Sitio Bohe Pahut, Barangay Central Sumisip was harassed by reported Abu Sayyaf members under sub-group leader Pasil Bayali.

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Source: cnnphilippines.com

Nigeria’s Waters As Haven for Pirates

The recent admission by the former Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, that the security situation in the maritime sector has become bad and last Monday’s Q2 report by the International Maritime Bureau naming Nigeria as a hotbed of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, leaves much to be desired.

As stakeholders in the nation’s maritime industry await the deployment of the $195 million maritime security equipments approved by President Muhammadu Buhari, a not very cheery news broke last Monday about the increasing pirates attacks on Nigeria’s territorial waters. Put simply, Nigeria was again rated number one in pirates attack in the Gulf of Guinea by the International Maritime bureau (IMB).

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Source: hellenicshippingnews.com