Safety in the Red Sea corridor can’t be taken for granted

by Omar S Mahmood

The Red Sea and the adjacent Gulf of Aden face many potential threats to free movement, ranging from the presence of non-state armed groups (such as the Houthis in Yemen) and organised crime outfits, to ongoing territorial disputes and environmental concerns. Yet maritime traffic has largely gone undisrupted in recent years.

The hitherto safe passageway of the Red Sea should not be taken for granted though, and the area has attracted significant geopolitical interest. New initiatives concerned with the shared maritime space are being conceived, including a Red Sea Forum championed by Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The African Union (AU) and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) are also taking a greater interest. All these actors aim to address a perceived gap in management of the Red Sea space.

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Source: issafrica.org

Nigerian Navy arrests suspected illegal fishing trawlers

The Nigerian Navy on Tesday handed over to the Federal Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, four arrested fishing trawlers, 52 crew members and three foreigners over suspected illegal fishing activities, on the Brass River in Bayelsa State.

The four vessels, named: Star Shrimpers 3, Cosmos 1, Trade Wind and ORC VII, with the 52 crew members, including three Ghanaians were handed over to officials of the agency by the Commanding Officer, Forward Operating Base, FORMOSO, Brass, Navy Capt. Suleiman Ibrahim, for further investigation and possible prosecution.

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Source: newtelegraphng.com

Indian maritime authority issues alert on Nigerian waters

By Godwin Oritse

AT the backdrop of high incidences of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, GoG, coterminous with Nigeria’s continental shelf, the Indian maritime authority has warned its seafarers to steer clear of Nigerian waters for fear of falling victims.

Disclosing this at the just concluded World Maritime celebration in Lagos, Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Senibo Peterside said that NIMASA was currently working on the development with a view to assuaging the fears of the Indian authorities.

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Source: vanguardngr.com

Maritime security training for Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago is the latest IMO Member State to receive maritime security training. A self-assessment and audit training workshop took place in in Port of Spain, Trinidad (23-27 September).

Participants were trained in self-assessing how two key IMO maritime security instruments – SOLAS Chapter XI-2 and the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code – are implemented at the port facility level. This is done using established, industry-standard IMO and ISO procedures to identify areas for improvement.

The course addressed outcomes of a previous workshop on ISPS Code responsibilities delivered by IMO in Port of Spain last year.

The workshop included theoretical lessons for participants to understand the certification process involved in obtaining the Statement of Compliance of a Port Facility, presentations on audit processes and techniques, and practical exercises on role playing the review of a port facility security plan.

Source: imo.org

Mexican pirates posing greater risk in Gulf of Mexico to oil workers, tourists

By Hollie McKay

MEXICO CITY – In the calm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, drilling platforms hum away under the sunshine. But, in the dark of the night, they are becoming more and more subject to vicious attacks launched by modern-day pirates.

“Although oil and diesel stealing has been going on for decades, there has been an increase in criminal activity reported in the last four years,” Johan Obdola, founder of the Global Organization for Security and Intelligence, told Fox News. “It is estimated that the stealing in Mexico is up to 1.18 million barrels a day, bringing millions to criminal organizations, and making it very difficult to control.”

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Source: foxnews.com

Rivers Assembly invites Bonny LG chair over sea pirate attacks

Chukwudi Akasike

The Rivers State House of Assembly has resolved to invite the Chairman of Bonny Local Government Area, David Irimagha, to appear before its Committee on Transport to explain his contribution towards the fight against sea pirate attacks along Bonny waterways.

Passenger boats were last week attacked by sea pirates, who kidnapped a councillor and one other person from the area while robbing other passengers of their belongings.

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Source: punchng.com

Nigeria, Others Lose $2bn to Pirates’ Attacks Annually, Says Naval Chief

By Eromosele Abiodun

The Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas, has revealed that Nigeria and 15 other countries in the Gulf of Guinea are currently losing a sum of $2 billion to pirate attacks annually.

The Naval Chief’s revelation was coming two months after Nigeria was rated as number one in pirate attacks in the Gulf of Guinea in a report by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB). Ibas also confirmed THISDAY’s exclusive report that Nigeria loses several millions of dollars to illegal fishing and poaching on the nation’s coastal and territorial waters.

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Source: allafrica.com

Rivers Police keep mum 24 hours after pirates hijack boats

Okafor Ofiebor

More than 24 hours after daredevil gunmen suspected to be Sea pirates at about noon on Thursday hijacked two boats along Port Harcourt-Bonny route, the Rivers State Police Command is yet to comment on the whereabouts of about 24 passengers who were taken into unknown destinations in the mangroves.

Curiously too, the Rivers Government has also not reacted to to hijack and eventual disappearance of the 24 passengers.

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Source: pmnewsnigeria.com

Pirates hijack 2 boats with 24 passengers in Rivers

Okafor Ofiebor

Sea pirates at about noon today, Thursday, September 26, hijacked two boats on the Port Harcourt-Bonny waterways, whisking away the 24 passengers inside the boats.

An Eyewitness, Ezekiel Hart, and an indigene of Bonny, said the two boats took off from Port Harcourt jetty and were fully loaded passengers and goods. He said the passengers and crew were sailing smoothly until the armed pirates ambushed them at a location on the high seas called “Yellow Platform”.

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Source: thenewsnigeria.com.ng

Navy arrests 26 crew, four foreigners over illegal fishing

Nigerian Navy (NN) says it has arrested 26 crew and confiscated two fishing trawlers belonging to a Nigerian Company, (ORC fishing and food processing Limited) for illegal fishing activities.

The Operation Commander, Operation FORMOSO, Suleiman Ibrahim, told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that his men also arrested four foreigners for illegal fishing activities within the restricted distance of five nautical miles off the Nigerian coastline.

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Source: premiumtimesng.com