We cover piracy, armed robbery at sea, IUU fishing, maritime cyber security and maritime security issues.
By Godwin Oritse
THE inability of member countries to contribute their subscription dues to the Gulf of Guinea Commission, GOGC, has stalled activities and strategies to tackle the menace of sea piracy in the region.
The Commission, it was gathered, had resorted to begging members for funds to organize trainings and other events for its staff.
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Source: vanguardngr.com
By Sulaimon Salau
The appointment of a new helmsman at the affairs of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has drawn series of commendations from stakeholders in the maritime sector who believed that the regime would berth new dawn for the sector.
Bashir Jamoh is considered the first NIMASA DG to have risen through the ranks to clinch the seat of director-general.
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Source: guardian.ng
Four Georgian sailors kidnapped by pirates near the Nigerian city of Lagos in late February have been released from captivity and will soon return to their homeland, the Georgian Maritime Transport Agency said on Saturday.
On February 20, pirates attacked a vessel sailing under the Liberian flag in the Gulf of Guinea near Nigeria and abducted 10 crew members, of whom four were Georgian nationals.
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Source: urdupoint.com
By Victor Edozie
Port Harcourt — Deepwater and artisanal fishing in the coastal region of Rivers State may soon go extinct as a result of the activities of sea pirates and other criminal elements on the waterways.
Environmental pollution, occasioned by the activities of illegal oil bunkers, is also hampering artisanal and deepwater fishing.
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Source: allafrica.com
Mar 9: General cargo ship HUANGHAI GLORY reached Lagos anchorage on Mar 7, escorted by Nigerian Navy patrol boat or ship. When pirates boarded the ship, crew mustered in citadel, and was locked there until, at last, Nigerian patrol boat approached the ship on Mar 6, and pirates fled. Crew cabins and service compartments, no doubt, were looted. Nigerian patrol boat was at the scene more than 24 hours after the alert, and attacked ship was in just 2-3 hours sailing time distance from Lagos. This is not the first case, when sheltered in citadel crew had to wait for help for 24+ hours.
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Source: maritimebulletin.net
The Department of State is pleased to announce that the United States and the Republic of Gabon have assumed the co-secretariat of the Friends of Gulf of Guinea, also known as the FoGG, for calendar year 2020.
Working together, we will promote unimpeded global commerce and freedom of navigation; strengthen sustainable marine ecosystems, including fish stocks and related seafood supply chains; and enhance maritime governance in the Gulf of Guinea.
The Gulf of Guinea is vital for the shipment of goods, but it is also a rich marine ecosystem that millions of Africans depend on for their livelihoods. We welcome the active participation of all the regional coastal states to make progress in these critical areas.
Source: state.gov
The 2006-built 51,000 dwt product tanker Minerva Virgo, owned by Greek owner Minerva Marine, was attacked by pirates off Cotonou, Benin in the Gulf of Guinea yesterday.
Maritime security consultants Ambrey reported in an advisory notice that the vessel has been attacked and boarded by pirates while it was en route from the Netherlands to Lagos, Nigeria. Ambrey described the incident as ongoing and strongly advises vessels to respond accordingly.
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Source: splash247.com
MarsecNews: The original incident alert from MDAT-GoG contained few details, but there have been suggestions that one crew member may have been kidnapped, although this has not been verified.
By Tony Orilade
EFCC Arraigns Bunkerers, Vessel for Illegal Oil Deal The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Wednesday, March 4, 2020, arraigned four suspected criminals and a vessel before Justice A.M. Liman of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos on a three-count charge bordering on illegal dealing in petroleum products.
The defendants, Ukwuoma Ahamefula, Omeogor Nelson, Efemuaya Evans and Jude Eghreriniovo, were arrested alongside a vessel, MV Tim Begele, by the Nigerian Navy and subsequently handed over to the EFCC for prosecution.
One of the counts reads: “That you, MV Tim Begele, Ukwuoma Ahamefula, Omeogor Nelson, Efemuaya Evans, Jude Eghreriniovo and others now at large on the 3rd of December, 2019, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, conspired among yourselves to commit an offence to wit: dealing in 3,911 metric tons of petroleum products without appropriate licence; and you, thereby, committed an offence contrary to Section 3(6) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, Cap M17, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 and punishable under Section 1(17) of the same Act.”
They pleaded “not guilty” to the charge preferred against them.
In view of their pleas, counsel for the EFCC, Rotimi Oyedepo, prayed the court for a trial date and also asked that the defendants be remanded in Nigerian Correctional Services, NCS.
Counsel for the defendants, Peter Atabo, prayed the Court for a short date to enable the hearing of his clients’ applications for bail.
Consequently, Justice Liman adjourned the matter until April 1, 2020 for hearing and also ordered the defendants to be remanded in the NCS.
Source: prnigeria.com
By Godfrey Bivbere
STAKEHOLDERS in the maritime industry have raised an alarm over high-level of smuggling through operations at the various private jetties scattered across the nation’s waterfront, even as they warmed about the security implication of an unregulated operations at these facilities.
Private jetties are licensed by the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA; the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA; and the National Inland Waterways Authority, NIWA, making effective regulation complicated.
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Source: vanguardngr.com
Nigerian pirates recently released eight seafarers held for almost a month in captivity under terrible conditions. Two of the hostages were Filipinos — one of whom was badly wounded and was almost left for dead. He gives details to The Manila Times regarding his desperate struggle for life and survival along with other foreign seafarers who were held captive in the jungles of Nigeria.
“I was unconscious and bloodied all over. No one knew where I was hit, but my mates knew for certain that I was barely clinging to life,” says John “Pope” Estinoco, an Ordinary Seaman for MT Happy Lady.
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Source: manilatimes.net
Maritime Security News 