We cover piracy, armed robbery at sea, IUU fishing, maritime cyber security and maritime security issues.
The Islamic Revolution Guard Crops Navy announced that its forces have seized three trespassing Kuwaiti fishing boats off the coast of Mahshahr, Khuzestan province.
According to Captain Alireza Ahmadi, the commander of IRGC’s Imam Hassan fleet, the boats had illegally entered Iran’s territorial waters.
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Source: en.mehrnews.com
ZAMBOANGA CITY — Government troops rescued an Indonesian fisherman, the last captive of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in the province of Sulu, a top military official said Thursday.
Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) chief, identified the rescued Indonesian fisherman as Muhammad Farhan, 27, who was rescued around 6:45 p.m. Wednesday in Barangay Bato-Bato, Indanan, Sulu.
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Source: pna.gov.ph
By Jung Da-min
Presidential Chief of Staff Noh Young-min said Thursday that the government could seek its own way to protect the lives and properties of Koreans in the Strait of Hormuz rather than participating in a U.S.-led naval coalition policing the region.
His remarks came amid Washington’s increasing pressure on Seoul to participate in the International Maritime Security Construct (IMSC), a coalition of countries including the United States, Saudi Arabia, the U.K. and Bahrain sending naval units to the area to safeguard navigation.
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Source: koreatimes.co.kr
The Red Sea has been attracting an increasing amount of attention from Gulf states in recent years. Saudi Arabia and the UAE offered $3 billion in aid to Sudan following the ouster of former dictator Omar Al Bashir, and some states have intervened as part of the Combined Task Force off the coast of Somalia to help combat piracy in the area. Also just last week, this trend culminated in the creation of a special council for Arab and African nations bordering the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, at a conference held in Riyadh this month.
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Source: thenational.ae
SINGAPORE – Senior military leaders from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia will meet on Wednesday (Jan 15) to discuss ways to combat the recent spike in sea robberies in the Singapore Strait.
The two-day 14th Malacca Straits Patrol Joint Coordinating Committee Meeting, hosted by the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), will be co-chaired by representatives of the four littoral states, the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) said in a statement on Wednesday.
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Source: straitstimes.com
A total of 82 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships (comprising 71 actual incidents and 11 attempted incidents) were reported in Asia in 2019. This accounts for a 8% increase in the total number of incidents and a 15% increase in the actual incidents reported in 2019 compared to 2018. In 2018, 76 incidents (comprising 62 actual incidents and 14 attempted incidents) were reported. Majority of the incidents reported in 2019 were armed robbery against ships. Of the 82 incidents reported in 2019, two were incidents of piracy, and 80 were incidents of armed robbery against ships.
There was improvement at some ports and anchorages in Asia in 2019 compared to 2018. The improvement occurred in Bangladesh and Indonesia. In Bangladesh, no incident was reported at its ports and anchorages in 2019 compared to 11 incidents in 2018. In Indonesia, the number of incidents at its ports and anchorages decreased to 23 incidents in 2019 from 27 incidents in 2018.
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Source: recaap.org
MarsecNews Note: To get the full picture of global piracy, figures from both the ReCAAP and IMB need to be collated along with those from UKMTO and other agencies.
Russian-Japanese anti-piracy naval exercises in the Gulf of Aden will take place in late January, and will involve, for the first time, a task force from Russia‘s Baltic Fleet, Admiral Alexander Nosatov, the commander of the Baltic Fleet, said Monday.
“The ships of the Baltic Fleet took part in similar exercises with other countries, but never with the Japanese Navy … Anti-piracy exercises are upcoming, they will start sometime after the 20th of January, the planning stage is underway,” Nosatov told reporters.
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Source: urdupoint.com
Gabriel Dominguez
Amid tensions between Washington and Tehran, Tokyo despatched two P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) to the Middle East on 11 January to carry out intelligence-gathering operations in the region aimed at helping ensure the safety of vessels conducting commercial operations with Japan.
The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) mission, which was approved by the Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on 27 December 2019, will also include the deployment to the region of Takanami-class destroyer JS Takanami , which is due to leave the Yokosuka naval base near Tokyo on 2 February.
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Source: janes.com
On Sunday, 5 January 2020, French Ship (FS) COURBET, in direct support of Combined Task Force 150 (CTF 150), seized 1,500 kg of hashish from a vessel in the Arabian Sea.
This is the second seizure for frigate FS COURBET in the last 30 days and the third for Combined Task Force 150 (CTF 150) since Australia assumed command in early December 2019.
Using their shipborne helicopter, FS COURBET detected the suspicious vessel and dispatched a boarding team to conduct a search. The team was able to uncover 1,500 kg of hashish hidden among unused fishing gear.
The estimated regional wholesale value of these narcotics is $780,000 U.S. dollars. The retail value of this shipment, had it reached Africa or Europe, is many times higher.
“To the terrorists who profit from the drug trade in this region, the loss of this shipment and two others in the last 30 days, represents a considerable hit to their funding,” said Commodore Ray Leggatt, Royal Australian Navy, the Commander of CTF 150.
He added “CTF 150 will continue to apply pressure with the help of the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) participating nations and ships like FS COURBET. The crew of FS COURBET has been outstanding every time they have supported CTF 150 and we thank them for another job well done.”
Australian lead, CTF 150’s staff is made up of personnel from the Royal Australian, Royal Canadian, and Royal New Zealand navies. CTF 150’s mission is to disrupt terrorist organisations and their related illegal activities by restricting their freedom of manoeuvre in the maritime domain.
The activities of CTF 150 are a critical part of global counter-terrorism efforts, as terrorist organisations are denied a risk-free method of conducting operations or moving personnel, weapons or income-generating narcotics and charcoal. The cooperation and support of CMF participating nations including France is a key mission enabler.
The 33 nations of CMF work together with regional and other partners to improve overall security and stability in the Gulf, help strengthen regional nations’ maritime capabilities, and when requested, respond to environmental and humanitarian crises. This counter narcotics operation is just the latest example of cooperation in action.
Source: combinedmaritimeforces.com
By Mawahib Abdallatif
Saudi Arabia’s move to pool countries in the Horn of Africa into a co-operation council for the Red Sea and Gulf Aden suggests officials in Riyadh are desperate to pull the region from other Middle Eastern powers.
On January 6, Riyadh hosted several foreign ministers from the Horn countries to a meeting addressed by Saudi King Salman, where it was resolved that they will form the Council of Arab and African States on the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
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Source: allafrica.com
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