We cover piracy, armed robbery at sea, IUU fishing, maritime cyber security and maritime security issues.
Tug reported attacked at 1200 UTC in position 03:04N – 007:59E, around 92nm SSE of Bonny Island, Nigeria. Vessel and crew safe and under military escort by a warship at 1430 UTC (6 May). Reported (MDAT) 5 May. Via OCEANUSLive.org
By Faustine Kapama
THE High Court in Dar es Salaam has sentenced seven Somali nationals to life imprisonment over piracy. Judge Yose Mlyambina meted the harsh sentence last week against Mohamed Adam, Bashir Rooble, Muhsini Haji, Abdulwaidi Abdalahamani, Faragani Abdul, Ally Nur Ally and Omar Mohamed, alias Mudhee after convicting them of the charges they were facing.
He took into consideration evidence by 14 prosecution witnesses and six documentary exhibits as well as the defence testimony by the accused.
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Source: allafrica.com
Somaliland wants to be included in the Taskforce on the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
The Somaliland government says that any initiative to coordinate a response to changing Red Sea environs that does not include them in a meaningful way will lack the credibility, capability and representativeness necessary to contend with competing multinational cooperation efforts in these waters.
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Source: menafn.com
An Indonesian hostage of the Muslim militant group Abu Sayyaf swam to safety, but another drowned and a Malaysian hostage was shot in the back, according to a military spokesman.
The rescue attempts had taken place over two days, Philippine regional military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Gerry Besana said on Saturday. He added that this happened while Philippine marines were attempting to rescue them from Simusa Island in Southern Sulu province.
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Source: en.rfi.fr
By Samuel Oyadongha
RESIDENTS of Bayelsa State coastal communities have lauded the collaboration between the Joint Task Force, JTF, deployed to the Niger Delta and surveillance contractors for tackling oil theft.
This came on the heels of a joint operation by troops of the JTF in the region and a local surveillance group which resulted in the seizure of a tugboat and a barge laden with over 200,000 litres of suspected stolen crude off the Atlantic coast of Akassa.
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Source: vanguardngr.com
MINISTER OF National Security Stuart Young says recent incidents of reported on-sea piracy and kidnappings of locals were being investigated for possible criminal links.
He was responding to a question in the House of Representatives on Friday. He was asked whether the Coast Guard has sufficient resources to treat with increased incidents of piracy in TT’s territorial waters.
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Source: newsday.co.tt
By Francis Wakefield
Soldiers pursuing Abu Sayyaf militants found an arms cache in Patikul, Sulu on Tuesday, March 26.
Troops from the 13th Special Forces Company also retrieved from the Abu Sayyaf’s arms cache a 60mm mortar, two M16 rifles, bandoliers with magazines, IED paraphernalia, flags with ISIS markings, a military map, a handheld radio, and a night vision monocular in Barangay Bakong, Patikul at about 11 a.m.
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Source: news.mb.com.ph
By Godfrey Bivbere & Cynthia Alo T
The Nigeria Merchant Navy Officers and Water Transport Senior Staff Association, NMNOWTSSA, has denied reports linking piracy attacks on the nation’s waterways to seafarers.
The Union explained that the report that was recently carried in some sections of the media is a mere move by unscrupulous individuals to tarnish the image of seafarers noting that no qualified seafarer will be involved in such illegal act.
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Source: vanguardngr.com
Two robbers armed with knives boarded an anchored bulk carrier by using a rope with a hook at 0430 UTC in position 00:03.5N – 050:57.8W, Macapa Anchorage, Brazil. Duty AB on routine rounds spotted the robbers and immediately informed the OOW, who raised the alarm. PA announcement made and all crew mustered. Seeing the alerted crew, the robbers escaped without stealing anything. Incident was reported to Port Authorities. Reported (IMB) 10 Mar. Via OCEANUSLive.org
Somalia has the longest national coastline (3,025 km) in Africa with an estimated shelf area of 32,500 sq km. But this coastline is not safe due to illegal fishing and dumping of hazardous waste.
Following the civil war in 1991, foreign companies embarked on illegal fishing and dumping of harmful toxic waste along Somalia’s largely unguarded coastline, depriving local fishermen of their livelihoods and endangering the lives of thousands of people.
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Source: trtworld.com
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