We cover piracy, armed robbery at sea, IUU fishing, maritime cyber security and maritime security issues.
Okungbowa Aiwerie
THERE is tension in Ekogbene community in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State after suspected pirates and cult gangs blew up a community leader’s home.
The Nation gathered that the attack was to cow the community leadership. A source said no life was lost as the chairman and his family were outside during the attack.
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Source: thenationonlineng.net
To facilitate shipowner demand for an immediate cyber security solution for critical systems, Naval Dome has introduced a new software-based cyber protection that can be easily installed on all ship, port, or offshore OT systems, including navigational equipment, machinery control systems and cargo handling equipment.
S-Marine Dome and S-Port Dome are aimed at those ship, offshore energy and terminal operators requiring instant protection without having to go through lengthy type approval processes or can no longer afford to wait for suppliers to upgrade or replace critical systems.
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Source: seanews.co.uk
Precious Igbonwelundu
Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Tuesday flagged off Exercise Crocodile Smile IV with a charge to security agencies to flush pipeline vandals, pirates, kidnappers and armed robbers out of the state.
He declared the exercise open shortly after watching a beach landing and counter terrorism simulation at the Takwa Bay Island in Iru-Victoria Island Local Council Development Area (LCDA).
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Source: thenationonlineng.net
What Happened: A wave of persistent and sophisticated attacks against Nigeria’s Nembe Creek Trunkline pipeline has severely affected the operating firm’s ability to transport and export oil, according to a company spokesman, Sweet Crude Exports reported Nov. 17. He added that the pipeline has been shut down for 61 days so far in 2019 and that total losses over the year amounted to nearly 2 million barrels of oil.
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Source: worldview.stratfor.com
By Dirk Siebels
The Bonita had been anchored off Benin for several days, waiting for a berth in the port of Cotonou. On November 2, 2019 the crew had a traumatic awakening. Armed men boarded the vessel and kidnapped nine crew members. Only two days later, four seafarers were kidnapped from the Elka Aristotle, which was anchored off Lomé in neighbouring Togo.
Unfortunately, these were not the only attacks off the coast of West Africa in which seafarers were kidnapped. Nevertheless, the patterns are changing, with gradual signs of improvement. In addition, attacker success rates in the region have declined from 80% over ten years ago to just under 50% in 2018.
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Source: econotimes.com
By Yinka Ibukun
West African states’ failure to coordinate their response to piracy off their coastline is the main reason attacks are persisting, Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe said.
Seaborne assailants boarded two vessels off the coast of Togo and neighboring Benin earlier this month.
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Source: bloomberg.com
By Kingsley Jeremiah
Though the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and some International Oil Companies (IOCs) operating in the country stake as much as N350.4b for staff and asset protecting yearly, the nation is still losing over N1.6t to oil and gas theft every year.
Indeed, stakeholders in the sector are pointing accusing fingers at the nation’s military and a network of politically exposed individuals as being behind the growing losses of crude and refined petroleum products estimated at $42b (N15t) in the past 10 years.
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Source: guardian.ng
By Precious Igbonwelundu
The Nigerian Navy (NN) on Thursday said drones and helicopters have been deployed for surveillance of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) pipelines from Atlas Cove, Apapa to Ejigbo and Mosimi depots in Lagos and Ogun states.
This deployment, the service said, was to beat pipeline vandals who loot petroleum products from ruptured pipes and then find ways to smuggle them out of the country.
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Source: thenationonlineng.net
The Senate on Wednesday called on Nigeria’s maritime agency to quickly fast-track the implementation of the Deep Blue Sea Project for the protection of Nigeria’s waterways to combat the menace of pirates and armed bandits.
This resolution was a sequel to a motion titled “urgent need to address the menace of piracy and banditry in the Gulf of Guinea and Nigeria’s internal waters.”
The Senate also urged the federal government to deploy more naval personnel on the Oron coastal area to check the activities of pirates and bandits.
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Source: channelstv.com
Nigeria is wallowing in self-imposed poverty. The situation would remain so for a pretty long time because no one in federal government has the political will power to confront the elements of backwardness in the land. Agriculture has remained in the hands of millions of peasant farmers who eke out a living through subsistent farming with primitive implements. Nigeria cannot feed its teeming population.
Nigeria is practically broke, but the federal government insists that what it is battling is sporadic cash flow problems rather than absolute cash crunch.
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Source: blueprint.ng
Maritime Security News 