We cover piracy, armed robbery at sea, IUU fishing, maritime cyber security and maritime security issues.
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
International maritime security consultancy Dryad Maritime reports that the Nigerian-flagged hopper dredger Ambika was boarded by pirates after a firefight resulting in multiple loss of life.
According to Dryad, the Ambika was attacked while operating just offshore, about three nm from the mouth of the Ramos river and about nine nm to the east of the Forcados offshore oil terminal. A firefight broke out between the embarked security team on the Ambika and the pirates.
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Source: maritime-executive.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
Taiwo Jimoh
Residents of Ilashe, Ibeshe, Irede, Irewe/Osolu, Igboologun and Takwa Bay in Oriade Local Council Development Area, Amuwo Odufin, Lagos State, may soon be able to sleep with their two eyes closed.
Policemen deployed to the newly constructed Area Command Headquarters have vowed to fight crime on the waterways in the area. The communities were hitherto known for notorious crimes such as oil bunkering, kidnapping and smuggling.
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Source: newtelegraphng.com
By Bill Dorman
2020 began with celebrations around the around the world. And as always, the Asia Pacific was the first region to ring in the New Year. But while fireworks an dparties marked the event — there’s also a ton of caution in one area for an unusual reason: pirates.
Pirates are making a bit of a comeback in one of the busiest commercial shipping ares of the world — in Southeast Asia. An industry group says the Strait of Malacca and the Strait of Singapore have experienced a rise in sea piracy in recent months, and a relative surge in 2019.
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Source: hawaiipublicradio.org
A total of 57 crew were kidnapped last month in and around the Gulf of Guinea, a similar figure to November with shipping now on high alert as the security situation in in West Africa has spun out of control.
The most recent kidnapping took place on December 30 with security consultants Ambrey reporting eight men were kidnapped from Eastern Mediterranean’s Happy Lady tanker, which has been at anchor for a number of weeks off Limbe in Cameroon. A Greek national was taken to hospital following the attack having been shot.
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Source: splash247.com
Anna Okon
Pirates attacked a vessel that left Lagos for Port Harcourt while proceeding south west of Bonny Island.
The vessel, Drogba, was attacked on December 30. The ‘Drogba’ enroute from Lagos to Port Harcourt was attacked by armed pirates in a speedboat in vicinity within 48 nautical miles off Bonny.
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Source: punchng.com
Oil-bearing communities of Abia have called for more collaboration among the stakeholders for a more effective security around the nation’s oil pipelines to check vandalism and oil bunkering.
The call was made by a cross-section of representatives of 20 oil-bearing and pipeline host communities in Ukwa west and Ukwa east council areas of the state during a one-day stakeholders’ meeting organised by the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) on Monday in Umuahia.
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Source: premiumtimesng.com
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