We cover piracy, armed robbery at sea, IUU fishing, maritime cyber security and maritime security issues.
Fishing vessel attacked and boarded eight armed men in a speedboat at 2100 UTC in position 04:12N – 008:53E approx 6nm West of Idenao, Cameroon. Four crew reported abducted as the perpetrators escaped. Reported (MDAT/Source) 8 Jul. Via OCEANUSLive.org
INEMESIT UDODIONG
West Africa is turning into the world’s piracy hotspot according to One Earth Future, which produces an annual State of Maritime Piracy report.
The newly released 2018 statistics show a decline in the number of incidents of hijacking, kidnapping and robberies in East Africa. West Africa, on the other hand, recorded an alarmingly increase in pirate attacks from 54 incidents in 2015 to 112 in 2018.
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Source: pulse.ng
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
Shipping associations issue advice after a series of attacks blamed on Iran
Shipping companies sailing through the Arabian Gulf are being urged to avoid having private armed security guards on board as the risk of escalation in the region rises.
Relations between Iran and the West have become increasingly strained after Britain seized an Iranian tanker in Gibraltar last week and London said its warship HMS Montrose had to fend off Iranian vessels seeking to block a British-owned tanker from passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
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Source: thenational.ae
Seafarers’ charity Stella Maris (Apostleship of the Sea) has expressed concern over the effect that piracy continues to have on seafarers’ physical and mental wellbeing, ahead of Sea Sunday on July 14.
The charity has emphasised that seafarers’ safety and pastoral support remains paramount when their ships are targeted or attacked by pirates.
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Source: hellenicshippingnews.com
By Emmanuel Addeh
Yenagoa — Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) has said security remains a major challenge occasioned by continuing crude oil theft and vandalism of oil and gas facilities in parts of the Niger Delta.
SPDC’s General Manager, External Relations, Igo Weli, who spoke in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, at the media launch of the 2019 edition of the Shell in Nigeria Briefing Notes, an annual publication detailing the activities of the business interests of the global energy giant, noted that the illegal activities result in the loss of 11,000 Barrels Per Day of crude oil.
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Source: allafrica.com
A royal father in Bille Kingdom of Degema Local Government Area of Rivers state, Alabo Bennett Okpokiye-Dokubo, has raised the alarm over incessant attacks by sea Pirates on Bille waterways.
Dokubo, who cried out to newsmen in Port Harcourt, the State capital on Tuesday, said the activities of the criminals led to the death of one Abraham Anthony Alex, while some others sustained different degrees of injury. He disclosed that the armed criminals who dressed in Army camouflage have constantly attacked travelers on the middle of the high sea, dispossess them of their belongings and the passenger boat they were travelling in, leaving them stranded at the middle of nowhere.
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Source: shipsandports.com.ng
Curfew in the waters off seven districts in the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (Esszone), which ends today, will be extended until July 25.
Sabah police commissioner Omar Mammah said in a statement today that the curfew from 6pm to 6am covers the waters off Tawau, Semporna, Kunak, Lahad Datu, Kinabatangan, Sandakan and Beluran.
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Source: malaysiakini.com
Anna Okon
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency has described as unverified, reports stating that Nigeria had again taken the lead in piracy attacks in the second quarter of 2019.
The report released by the International Maritime Bureau, indicated that between January and June, Nigeria led the table of pirate attacks with 21 recorded incidents, beating Indonesia that recorded 11, Venezuela with six attacks and Peru with four attacks.
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Source: punchng.com
Iranian boats tried to impede a British oil tanker near the Gulf – before being driven off by a Royal Navy ship, the Ministry of Defence has said.
HMS Montrose moved between the three boats and the tanker British Heritage before issuing verbal warnings to the Iranian vessels, a spokesman said.
He described the Iranians’ actions as “contrary to international law”.
Iran had threatened to retaliate for the seizure of one of its own tankers, but denied any attempted seizure.
Boats believed to belong to Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) approached the British Heritage tanker and tried to bring it to a halt as it was moving out of the Gulf into the Strait of Hormuz.
Guns on HMS Montrose, the British frigate escorting the tanker, were reportedly trained on the Iranian boats as they were ordered to back off. They heeded the warning and no shots were fired.
The BBC has been told British Heritage was near the island of Abu Musa when it was approached and harassed by the Iranian boats.
Although the island is in disputed territorial waters, HMS Montrose remained in international waters throughout.
A UK government spokesman said: “Contrary to international law, three Iranian vessels attempted to impede the passage of a commercial vessel, British Heritage, through the Strait of Hormuz.
“We are concerned by this action and continue to urge the Iranian authorities to de-escalate the situation in the region.”
Quoting the public relations office of the IRGC’s Navy, the Fars news agency said, in a tweet, the IRGC “denies claims by American sources” that it tried to seize British Heritage.
“There has been no confrontation in the last 24 hours with any foreign vessels, including British ones,” the IRGC added, according to the AFP news agency.
Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the UK made the claims “for creating tension”.
“These claims have no value,” Mr Zarif added, according to Fars.
The relationship between the UK and Iran has become increasingly strained, after Britain said the Iranian regime was “almost certainly” responsible for the attacks on two oil tankers in June.
Last week, British Royal Marines helped the authorities in Gibraltar seize an Iranian oil tanker because of evidence it was heading to Syria in breach of EU sanctions.
In response, an Iranian official said a British oil tanker should be seized if its detained ship was not released.
Iran also summoned the British ambassador in Tehran to complain about what it said was a “form of piracy”.
On Wednesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani mocked the UK, calling it “scared” and “hopeless” for using Royal Navy warships to shadow a British tanker in the Gulf.
HMS Montrose had shadowed British tanker the Pacific Voyager for some of the way through the Strait of Hormuz, but that journey had passed without incident.
“You, Britain, are the initiator of insecurity and you will realise the consequences later,” Mr Rouhani said.
The UK has also been pressing Iran to release British-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe who was jailed for five years in 2016 after being convicted for spying, which she denies.
Source: bbc.co.uk
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