We cover piracy, armed robbery at sea, IUU fishing, maritime cyber security and maritime security issues.
Ghana’s president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has officially launched construction of the country’s new naval base with a sod-turning ceremony.
Akufo-Addo said the base is part of the country’s efforts to improve maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea and protect the country’s oil and gas sector. Construction of the Forward Operating Base in Ezilinbo in the country’s Western Region began on 16 December 2019.
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Source: defenceweb.co.za
By Eugene Agha
Twenty security officials securing the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) pipelines have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the construction of over 310 illegal oil wells for the purpose of syphoning petroleum products.
It was learnt that the guards arrested, including officials of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), are among those posted to secure NNPC pipelines that runs from Atlas Cove to Ejigbo and Mosimi depots both in Lagos and Ogun states.
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Source: dailytrust.com.ng
By Rinsy Xieng
While pirates are becoming rarer off the Horn of Africa, particularly in Somalia, since warships patrolled the area, the number of acts of piracy and robbery is steadily increasing, with a sharp upsurge in Caribbean. For example, 28 events were recorded in 2019 off the island of Grenada, compared to only 3 the previous year. In the West Indies, it is mainly pleasure boats that are targeted.
Boaters and merchant ships
Pirates no longer hesitate to board large vessels, such as merchant vessels, even though the palm goes back to the Gulf of Guinea, where almost a third of the attacks took place there according to the report of the MICA Center, the center of expertise French Maritime Safety, which has just published its annual report. In 2019, for example, the organization recorded 360 events related to piracy and robbery. This figure has been stable for four years but less than it was 10 years ago.
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Source: rci.fm
Three expatriates kidnapped by suspected pirates along the creeks of Sigbene community, in Burutu council area of Delta state, have reportedly regained their freedom.
A joint security operation, which embarked on a manhunt for the suspects, was said to have effected their release.
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Source: shipsandports.com.ng
Ndubuisi Ugah
The war against oil bunkering and sea pirates received a major boost yesterday when the Nigerian Navy (NN) handed over 57 Nigerians, seven Sri- Lankans and two Ghanaians, suspected to be involved in oil bunkering, to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) also reports that the seven vessels, involved in the oil bunkering and having no valid approval, were arrested by the Nigerian Navy between December 3 and 30, 2019. While addressing journalists, after the handing over to the EFCC, the Commandant of NN ship, NNS BEECROFT, Commodore Ibrahim Shettima, said the nation would have lost N906,250, 000, if the culprits had been successful in their operation.
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Source: newtelegraphng.com
Piracy in some of the world’s most critical oil chokepoints is on the rise–but now, pirates are resorting back to another method of income generation better suited to times of lower oil prices: taking human captives.
Sometimes, black market oil prices just aren’t lucrative enough. In the days of $100 oil, oil theft was a hot commodity. Today, pirates are supplementing their stolen oil income with ransomed sailors, creating a whole new set of problems for the oil industry to tackle.
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Source: oilprice.com
International maritime security consultancy Dryad Maritime reports that the Nigerian-flagged hopper dredger Ambika was boarded by pirates after a firefight resulting in multiple loss of life.
According to Dryad, the Ambika was attacked while operating just offshore, about three nm from the mouth of the Ramos river and about nine nm to the east of the Forcados offshore oil terminal. A firefight broke out between the embarked security team on the Ambika and the pirates.
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Source: maritime-executive.com
Taiwo Jimoh
Residents of Ilashe, Ibeshe, Irede, Irewe/Osolu, Igboologun and Takwa Bay in Oriade Local Council Development Area, Amuwo Odufin, Lagos State, may soon be able to sleep with their two eyes closed.
Policemen deployed to the newly constructed Area Command Headquarters have vowed to fight crime on the waterways in the area. The communities were hitherto known for notorious crimes such as oil bunkering, kidnapping and smuggling.
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Source: newtelegraphng.com
A total of 57 crew were kidnapped last month in and around the Gulf of Guinea, a similar figure to November with shipping now on high alert as the security situation in in West Africa has spun out of control.
The most recent kidnapping took place on December 30 with security consultants Ambrey reporting eight men were kidnapped from Eastern Mediterranean’s Happy Lady tanker, which has been at anchor for a number of weeks off Limbe in Cameroon. A Greek national was taken to hospital following the attack having been shot.
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Source: splash247.com
Anna Okon
Pirates attacked a vessel that left Lagos for Port Harcourt while proceeding south west of Bonny Island.
The vessel, Drogba, was attacked on December 30. The ‘Drogba’ enroute from Lagos to Port Harcourt was attacked by armed pirates in a speedboat in vicinity within 48 nautical miles off Bonny.
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Source: punchng.com
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