US Coast Guard ship arrives in PH to boost both nations’ maritime security capabilities

By Betheena Kae Unite

An American vessel that will conduct several exercises and improve the maritime security capabilities of the United States Coast Guard and the Philippines’ arrived in Manila Wednesday.

The United States Coast Guard National Security Cutter Bertholf, with its commanding officer Captain John Discroll, arrived at Pier 15 in Manila, following the capability training exercise conducted by both nations’ Coast Guard in the West Philippine Sea Tuesday.

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Source: news.mb.com.ph

Maritime crimes squeeze NIMASA’s revenue

by Onyedi Ojiabor

The Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, yesterday blamed high rate of crime for the revenue shortfall the agency recorded in 2018 fiscal year.

He spoke in Abuja during 2019 budget defence session of the agency before the Senate Committee on Marine Transport. Peterside who made the submission in response to a question on why NIMASA’s contributions to the Consolidated Revenue Fund in 2018 reduced by N6billion noted that maritime crimes was largely responsible for the reduction.

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Source: thenationonlineng.net

EU, ECOWAS stake $173m to address maritime insecurity

By Oludare Richards

Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the European Union (EU) have committed €155 million (about $173 million) to address issues associated with maritime insecurity and related clandestine networks of dirty money in West Africa.

The ECOWAS Commission targets the insecurity situation in the Gulf of Guinea, which it said had adverse effect on the health and economic indices of ECOWAS member states.

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Source: guardian.ng

Navy arrests Ghanaian, eight Beninoise for oil theft

by Tajudeen Adebanjo and Yewande Fasan

The Nigerian Navy has said it arrested nine foreign nationals alongside two boats and seven trucks over alleged stolen Petrol Motor Spirit (PMS) around the Atlas Cove area of Lagos.

The Commander, Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) BEECROFT, Commodore Ibrahim Shettima said this while briefing reporters at the command in Apapa, Lagos.

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Source: thenationonlineng.net

IOCs, others raise alarm as vandalism, oil theft rise in Niger Delta

BY UROWAYINO WARAMI

There are indications that Nigeria has lost significant oil as a result of increasing pipeline vandalism and oil theft in the Nigeria Delta.

Investigation by Vanguard over the weekend showed that many oil companies, including the International Oil Companies, IOCs and indigenous producers have been affected.

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Source: vanguardngr.com

Saudi Arabia says its oil tankers among those hit off UAE coast

Rania El Gamal, Bozorgmehr Sharafedin

DUBAI/LONDON (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia said on Monday that two of its oil tankers were among those attacked off the coast of the United Arab Emirates and said it was an attempt to undermine the security of crude supplies amid tensions between the United States and Iran.

The UAE said on Sunday that four commercial vessels were sabotaged near Fujairah emirate, one of the world’s largest bunkering hubs lying just outside the Strait of Hormuz, but did not describe the nature of the attack or say who was behind it.

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Source: reuters.com

PHL, Indonesian navies wrap up coordinated border patrol activities

The first leg of the Border Coordinated Patrol of the Philippine and Indonesian navies has ended, with the aim of securing the common border between the two countries and stop maritime and sea crimes including smuggling and piracy.

The patrol ships of both countries were expected to have reached their final point in the territorial waters of Indonesia along the Celebes Sea on Saturday.

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Source: gmanetwork.com

Togo: pirate attack thwarted

Media in Togo report that a group of eight pirates attacked a ship off the country on the night of Saturday 11th.

The Togolese minister of Security and Civil Protection, Yark Damehame, named the ship involved in as the G-DONA 1, a Togolese vessel with a crew of seven. The report states that eight armed pirates in a ‘canoe’ approached and boarded the vessel. When the Navy operations room observed the vessel’s erratic movements and were unable to contact her, they deployed a naval team to investigate.

They boarded the vessel and arrested eight suspected pirates (six Nigerian and two Togolese citizens), who they handed over to the Maritime Gendarmerie for further investigation. The G-DONA 1 was escorted to Lomé.

Better prepared for maritime security incidents

Suriname is the latest country to benefit from IMO maritime security training. Participants at a workshop in Paramaribo, Suriname (7-8 May) took part in table-top contingency planning exercises involving a variety of maritime security issues. These included threats to cruise ships, border security issues involving ports, airports and land border crossing, as well as potential incidents involving proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and arms and drugs consignments.

The main objective of the exercise was to encourage a multi-agency, whole of government approach to maritime and port facility security and related maritime law enforcement issues – with participants working to identify gaps in national procedures or legislation, opportunities for improvement, and further needs for training or technical assistance.

The exercise took place following a request by Suriname to assist the country in strengthening its implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1540 (2004) – specifically those that fall within the scope of IMO’s SOLAS chapter XI-2 and the ISPS Code and/or the 1988 and 2005 SUA treaties (click for details of these treaties).

The workshop was organised in collaboration with the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC).

Source: imo.org

Sabah sea curfew extended yet another two weeks

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s dusk-to-dawn sea curfew which ends today (May 10) will be extended for another two weeks until May 26 (Sunday), says Police Commissioner Datuk Omar Mammah.

He said the extension of the 6pm-to-6am curfew was needed due to continuous threats from cross-border criminals, including from kidnap-for-ransom groups.

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Source: thestar.com.my