Photos: Spanish Navy Rescues Heavy Lift Ship from Pirates

On Sunday, the heavy lift ship Blue Marlin was hijacked off the coast of Equatorial Guinea. The Spanish Navy and forces from Equatorial Guinea boarded the vessel and secured it early on Monday morning.

After unloading her cargo in the waters of Equatorial Guinea, the Blue Marlin departed Sunday, bound for Malta. On Sunday afternoon, the ship was approached by a zodiac and forcibly boarded by seven armed pirates. All twenty of the Marlin’s crew members were able to secure themselves in the ship’s citadel, which is equipped with communications gear and emergency rations.

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Source: maritime-executive.com

Spanish and Equatorial Guinea forces secure the Blue Marlin (Estado Mayor de la Defensa)

Heavy lift ship hijacked – Gulf of Guinea (May 5th)

MV attacked and boarded by seven suspected pirates in a single speedboat at 1216 UTC in position 03:04.14N – 007:55.01E, around 90nm SE of Bonny Island, Nigeria. Crew retreated into the citadel. At 0803 UTC (6 May) vessel reported HIJACKED. Pirates reportedly attempt to enter citadel. NATO naval asset in vicinity. At 1430 UTC (6 May) the vessel and crew reported safe and under escort by a warship. Reported (MDAT) 5 May. Via OCEANUSLive.org

Philippines, Indonesia kick off coordinated border naval patrol

MANILA, May 2 (Xinhua) — The Philippines and Indonesia kicked off on Thursday their joint patrol in the Sulu-Celebes Seas, a move aimed at strengthening security cooperation to combat piracy, smuggling and maritime attacks in the region.

“The main mission is to secure the common border, to curtail maritime crimes, and stop various sea crimes like smuggling and piracy,” Ezra Balagtey, spokesman for the Eastern Mindanao Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said in a statement.

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Source: xinhuanet.com

Kidnapped Product Tanker Crewmembers Still in Captivity

The six seafarers who were kidnapped at the Bonny Outer Anchorage last month are still missing. Five were Indian nationals, and their families are calling upon the Indian government to intervene.

At 1330 hours in the afternoon of April 19, Nigerian pirates boarded the product tanker Apecus while she lay at anchor just off the coast of Bonny Island, a well-defended oil and gas complex in the Niger River Delta. In broad daylight, the attackers abducted six seafarers and departed. The remaining crewmembers were unharmed, and they navigated their vessel to the Bonny Inner Anchorage.

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Source: maritime-executive.com

Tanzania: State Urged to Amend Penal Code On Ship Piracy

By Faustine Kapama

HIGH Court Judge Yose Mlyambina has advised the State to amend the Penal Code of the United Republic of Tanzania, in particular, and the provisions relating to piracy cases in order to draw closer to the developments at the international level.

Dr Mlyambina made the appeal recently while delivering the first judgment in a piracy case, also the first to be determined in the country’s judicial system.

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Source: allafrica.com

Nigerian Navy seeks speedy passage of anti-piracy law

Ada Wodu, Calabar

The Nigerian Navy has urged the National Assembly to speed up the passage of the anti-piracy bill into law in a bid to end the menace which is sabotaging the country’s economy.

The Navy made the call at an Inter-Agency corporation seminar organised by the Naval War College, Nigeria to discuss the Harmonised Standard Operating Procedures on Arrest, Detention and Prosecution of Vessels & Persons in Nigeria Maritime Environment with the theme: ‘Combating smuggling through inter-agency cooperation.’

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Source: punchng.com

Piracy attack off the coast of Somalia

On 21 April, fishing vessels FV Adria and FV Txori Argi were attacked by suspected pirates in the Indian Ocean, 280 NM off the coast of Somalia. The piracy attacks were thwarted, and the crew and vessels remained safe, thanks to the application of Best Management Practices (BMP) protection measures by the Masters, the crews and the private security teams embarked on both fishing vessels.

EU NAVFOR Somalia Operation Atalanta confirms these attacks. It is likely that the attacks were facilitated by a mothership, which was reportedly seized by armed men on 19 April off the central Somali Coast.

EU NAVFOR subsequently dispatched its Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircrafts to search the area. In addition, EU NAVFOR flagship ESPS Navarra left the port in Mombasa in order to proceed into the area.

On 23 April, ESPS NAVARA successfully intercepted and boarded the dhow being used as a mothership.

The operation is still ongoing, and more details will be provided upon completion.
EU NAVFOR remains committed to deterring, preventing and suppressing piracy and emphasizes that the Maritime Industry must adhere to BMP measures in order to maximize the safety of the ship and their crews whilst transiting the high-risk area.

Source: eunavfor.eu

Nigerian Navy sparks diplomatic row over arrest of American, 8 others on high sea

By Oluwatoyin Amao

The Nigerian Navy may have unwittingly sparked a diplomatic row with the United States of America with the arrest this week of nine people including one American for possession of firearms.

The arrested suspects were said to be part of a maritime security team supposedly providing anti-piracy services in the Gulf of Guinea region. A spokesperson for the maritime security firm, confirmed as U.S.-based Trident Group, said the team was located well into international waters when their vessel was boarded and the weapons found were all licensed and permitted.

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Source: shipsandports.com.ng

Indian Navy reviews outcome of Sea Vigil exercise

The Indian Navy and several other agencies involved in coastal defence and maritime security brainstormed over the outcome of the ‘Sea Vigil’ exercise — the first-of-its-kind multi-agency drill covering the entire 7,516 km-long Indian coastline and exclusive economic zone.

The mega exercise took place on January 22 and 23 with participation of 13 coastal states and union territories along with all maritime stakeholders with an aim to check the efficacy of maritime security and surveillance.

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Source: business-standard.com

ReCAAP issues 1st Quarter report

A total of 10 incidents of armed robbery against ships (comprising nine actual incidents and one attempted incident) were reported in Asia during January-March 2019 compared to 21 incidents (comprising 15 actual incidents and six attempted incidents) during January-March 2018. This accounts for a 52% decrease in the total number of incidents reported during January-March 2019 compared to the same period in 2018.

The number of actual incidents has also decreased by 40% during January-March 2019 compared to January-March 2018. Both the total number of incidents and number of actual incidents reported during January-March 2019 are the lowest among the period of January-March of 13-year (2007-2019).

The full report is attached here as a PDF.

recaap-isc-1st-quarter-2019-report Download

Source: recaap.org