We cover piracy, armed robbery at sea, IUU fishing, maritime cyber security and maritime security issues.
The Libyan parliament announced that an appeals court in the east of the country canceled the border demarcation and security cooperation agreements between the Government of National Accord (GNA) and Turkey, according to English language news website Egypt Today on Wednesday, which cited Al Arabiya news channel.
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Source: ekathimerini.com
France has pulled out of Nato-led anti-smuggling patrols in the Mediterranean, accusing Turkey, a fellow member of the Western military alliance, of taking arms to Libya.
In a statement, the French defence ministry said it was suspending its participation in Operation Sea Guardian to shine a spotlight on an anti-trafficking operation, of which the smugglers were a part.
It said that regardless of a clash at sea between the allies’ navies last month, the real problem was that Turkey, a Nato member, was repeatedly violating the arms embargo on Libya.
Tensions have escalated since a Turkish warship prevented a French frigate inspecting a suspected arms cargo aboard a Tanzanian vessel last month.
Turkey supports the UN-backed government in Tripoli, while France is seen as a backer of General Khalifa Haftar’s rival force.
Source: bbc.co.uk
An Islamic State cell broken up last week planned to attack Casablanca and its port while a Syrian militant who assisted the group is at large, the head of Morocco’s BCIJ security agency said.
The group targeted economically sensitive sites in Casablanca and offshore, said Abdelhak Khiame, adding the jihadists, aged between 19 and 27, were radicalised online.
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Source: defenceweb.co.za
This revised Advisory cancels U.S. Maritime Advisory 2019-005
1. Reference: U.S. Maritime Alerts 2018-004A, 2018-004B, 2018-008A.
2. Issue: Multiple instances of significant GPS interference have been reported by vessels operating in the Eastern and Central Mediterranean Sea. In the Central Mediterranean Sea, these reports have been concentrated between Libya and Malta, specifically in areas offshore of Libya and to the east and the northwest of Malta. In the Eastern Mediterranean, these reports have been concentrated near Port Said, Egypt, the Suez Canal, and in the vicinity of the Republic of Cyprus. Instances of similar interference were also reported between Hadera, Israel and Beirut, Lebanon. This interference is resulting in lost GPS signals affecting bridge navigation, GPS-based timing and communications equipment. Satellite communications equipment may also be impacted.
3. Guidance: Exercise caution when transiting these areas. The U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center (NAVCEN) and NATO Shipping Center websites contain information regarding effective navigation practices for vessels experiencing GPS interference. The information reaffirms safe navigation practices when experiencing GPS disruptions, provides useful details on reporting disruptions, and is intended to generate further discussion within the maritime community about other disruption mitigation practices and procedures. This guidance also recommends reporting such incidents in real time; noting critical information such as the location (latitude/longitude), date, time, and duration of the outage/disruption; and providing photographs or screen shots of equipment failures experienced to facilitate analysis. The NAVCEN information is available at: https://go.usa.gov/xQBaU.
4. Contact Information: GPS disruptions or anomalies should be reported immediately to the NAVCEN at https://go.usa.gov/xQBaw or via phone at 703-313-5900, 24-hours a day. NAVCEN will further disseminate reported instances of GPS interference in this region to the NATO Shipping Center.
5. Cancellation: This message will automatically expire on March 22, 2020.
For more information about U.S. Maritime Alerts and Advisories, including subscription details, please visit http://www.marad.dot.gov/MSCI.
Source: maritime.dot.gov
Tripoli (AFP) – Libya’s National Oil Company said it had stopped loading crude at a key government-controlled shipping terminal, declaring “force majeure” after a pipeline closure halted operations at its main oil field.
The NOC “hereby declares a state of force majeure on crude oil loadings at Zawiya port,” it said in a statement on its website late Saturday.
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Source: news.yahoo.com
Melih Altınok
The debate on the drilling of huge oil and gas reserves discovered in the Eastern Mediterranean continues. The reason for the dispute is the thesis that only the southern administration represents the island, which is divided between the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and the Greek Cypriot Administration of Cyprus. Thus, EU countries question Turkey’s presence in the Mediterranean. The EU High Commission for Foreign Policy said in a statement that it is a “major source of concern” that the Yavuz, the second drilling ship that Turkey sent to the Eastern Mediterranean, has reached the area off the coast of Karpasia, claiming that Turkey has “violated the sovereignty of Cyprus.”
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Source: dailysabah.com
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