4 kidnap victims remain in Abu Sayyaf hands as Asian neighbors meet to tackle security in Sulu-Celebes Seas

MARITIME AUTHORITIES from neighboring Asian countries are meeting in Manila on Dec. 18–19 to tackle security in the Sulu and Celebes Seas, where the Abu Sayyaf terror group is the biggest threat, according to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

The gathering is attended by representatives from the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and China. It is convened by the PCG and the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) Information Sharing Centre (ISC).

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Source: bworldonline.com

Police kill 4 sea pirates on Delta waterways

Ben Dunno

Four members of a notorious sea pirates that specialised in ambushing passenger boats conveying mostly traders along the Izon-Burutu waterways were yesterday shot dead by mobile police escort team attached to Delta State Government Waterways Security.

Investigations revealed that the gang had in the early hours of the day hijacked a full load passenger boat headed to Burutu from Warri and dispossessed all the passengers of their goods, cash and personal belongings.

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Source: sunnewsonline.com

Piracy: Senate wants Navy funded to procure 150 vessels

The Senate on Wednesday called for proper funding of the Nigerian Navy to enable it procures over one hundred and fifty vessels needed to undertake their constitutional responsibilities of securing the country’s territorial waters.

The call was made to the executive arm of government after consideration of a report of the Senate Joint Committee on Navy, Marine Transport and Finance on the investigation of the illegal activities by Ocean Marine Solutions Limited (OMSL) at the Secured Anchorage Area (SAA) of Lagos Ports.

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Source: pmnewsnigeria.com

Maritime security: Nigeria gets special mission vessel

Anna Okon

Nigeria has taken delivery of the first special mission vessel under its Deep Blue Project. The vessel is an integrated surveillance and security architecture meant to tackle insecurity in Nigeria’s waterways, up to the Gulf of Guinea.

Chairman of the Project Monitoring Team for the Deep Blue Project, also known as Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure, Mrs Olu Mustapha, disclosed this recently in Lagos at a graduation ceremony organised by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency for a new set of Command, Control, Computer Communication and intelligence system operators.

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Source: punchng.com

Nigeria: We Destroyed 378 Illegal Refineries Bayelsa, Delta, Rivers in 2019, Says Navy

By Joseph Erunke

Abuja — A total of 378 illegal refineries were destroy in three states of Niger Delta region in the outgoing year,the Nigerian Navy has said.

This was as it said a total of 62 speedboats operating illegally on the Nigerian waters, were seized with 275 suspects were picked up for involvement in the illegal refineries. The Nigerian Navy,addressing the media,yesterday,in Abuja, named the affected states as Bayelsa,Delta and Rivers.

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Source: allafrica.com

Seoul likely to send troops to Strait of Hormuz

By Kim So-hyun

The South Korean government is likely to send military forces to join a US-led multinational coalition to defend the Strait of Hormuz early next year.

According to military sources, the 4,400-ton destroyer Wang Geon of the Cheonghae anti-piracy unit is scheduled to leave Busan late this month to relieve the destroyer Kang Gam-chan which is currently operating in the Gulf of Aden.

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Source: koreaherald.com

Reps accuse Navy of collecting $50,000 to escort ships

The House of Representatives on Tuesday accused the Navy of collecting $50,000 from ship owners before escorting vessels to their destination.

The House frowned at the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) for failing to secure the waterways despite collecting huge sums of money from ship owners for that purpose.

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Source: shipsandports.com.ng

Mozambican navy intercepts ‘1.5 tonnes of heroin’

Iranian drug dhow on fire, via Mozambique Defence Forces.

The Mozambican authorities are detaining 12 Iranians caught allegedly shipping drugs off the coast of the northern province of Cabo Delgado.

The boat was intercepted on Saturday in a joint operation carried out by the Mozambican navy and the National Criminal Investigation Service (Sernic).

The interception occurred about 50km (31 miles) from the Mozambican coast.

Occupants of the vessel are said to have set it on fire moments before their arrest.

Police say the fire destroyed the approximately 1.5 tonnes of heroin suspected to be on board.

They then jumped off the ship into the Mozambique Channel. Three of them died, while 12 others were rescued by the navy.

The suspects, all of Iranian nationality, are being detained in the provincial capital, Pemba.

Local media reports indicate the operation resulted from intelligence gathered from the various agencies involved in fighting against drug trafficking.

Source: bbc.co.uk

Historical piracy reports appear online

Regular readers will know that I try to ensure all news published here is relevant and factual. In recent days, I’ve noticed that a number of historical articles relating to piracy in West and East Africa as well as incidents of abduction in SE Asia have appeared online.

Often, this occurs because news sites are updating databases or re-loading previously deleted items. However, for anyone searching for open source maritime security items, there’s a clear danger of confusion. Today, I’ve seen several sites post and then delete items which relate to the hijacking of the MV Aris 13, an incident I was heavily involved in and which helped to resolve.

The bottom line is that if you get your intel from open sources, make sure you verify it. If not, you could end up sharing something alarming, but which happened several years ago…

Gulf of Mexico Oil Industry Reeling From Hundreds of Pirate Attacks in 2019

Written by Chris Dalby

The seizure of an Italian oil supply vessel by pirates in the Gulf of Mexico in November was but the latest in a series of hundreds of similar attacks seen across ships and oil platforms in Mexican waters.

On November 12, the ship “Remas” was attacked off the coast of Campeche by eight pirates in two small boats, who robbed the crew and shot one of them, Reuters reported.

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Source: insightcrime.org