Navy arrests 10 suspected pirates

Operatives of the Nigerian Navy (NN) and their United States (US) counterparts have arrested 10 suspected pirates within the Nigerian end of the Gulf of Guinea (GoG).

The suspects, comprising three Greece, two Americans and five [others], were arrested onboard a logistic boat allegedly belonging to the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) on Sunday evening, by the crew that was on-board Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) CENTENARY for a joint operation codenamed ‘Junction Rain’.

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Source: thenationonlineng.net

Maritime Security News:
An interesting mix of nationalities in terms of a ‘pirate’ gang operating off Nigeria. The article notes that several Benelli rifles were recovered rather than the more standard and cheaper AK-47 and variants. Call me a skeptic, but I think these are gamekeepers rather than poachers…

Venezuelan Pirates Attack T&T Yacht

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) — President of the Yacht Services Association of Trinidad and Tobago (YSATT), Tommy Johnson, has called on yacht owners to travel in “a convoy if possible” after a 55-foot sailboat came under attack from Venezuelan pirates over the last weekend.

In a statement posted on the YSATT’s Facebook page, Johnson said on Sunday, the Sylph, a 55-foot Beneteau sailboat, which was positioned about 15 nautical miles north-east of the Hibiscus oil platform, was approached by a group of eight Venezuelans in an attempted piracy attack.

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Source: stluciatimes.com

Pirate attack – Trinidad (April 4th)

Late report: Underway Trinidad & Tobago-flagged monohull yacht approached by open piroque with 8 POB at 1030 LT in position 11:24N – 061:36W, around 39nm North of Trinidad coast. Pirates, in white/blue and orange bow 40ft boat w/ 2 large O/B motors approached from eastward direction, fired warning shots into the air and indicated they wanted the yacht to stop. Yacht w/ 2 POB continued resulting in pirates firing further warning shots.Due to high sea state the pirogue was able to approach the yacht for boarding. Yacht maintained full speed and began zigzag manoeuvres. Addition shots fired which damaged yacht hull and coach roof; no injuries sustained. Reported (S&S Net) 4 Apr. Via OCEANUSLive.org

Spanish Patrol Boat Rescues Hijacked Ship Off Nigeria

A SPANISH patrol boat rescued a Nigerian merchant ship which had been kidnapped by pirates in the Guinean Gulf, reports the ministry of defence.

The P-71 Serviola is based on the west African coast and was carrying out security operations on Tuesday when its crew located the ship, which was navigating ‘erratically’ and without transmitting via the Automatic Identification System (AIS). Spanish Naval officials radioed the ship’s crew, who confirmed they had been hijacked four days ago.

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Source: oceanuslive.org

ATTACKED BY PIRATES AND JAILED: HOW I SAVED MY HUSBAND … BUT LOST OUR SON

By Aditi James

On July 16, 2013, I was out to dinner with my family, celebrating my uncle’s birthday. Usually, Sunil, my husband, is the kind of guy who never forgets anyone’s birthday — even though he was away at sea with the merchant navy. But he never sent congratulations. I didn’t worry too much at the time. I thought he probably had weak network or was just busy. Two days later, I learned that his ship, Ocean Centurion, had been attacked.

The pirates — they’re now thought to have been a Nigerian gang — kicked open Sunil’s cabin door, blindfolded and beat him. When Sunil, the captain, and his crew came to, the ship had been ransacked. The pirates were gone, but the ship was now drifting aimlessly at sea. Using nautical charts, Sunil guided the ship to the nearest port, Lome in Togo. But there, officials (who couldn’t speak English) made Sunil and two of his fellow sailors sign statements in French (a language they didn’t know). And then: Sunil and the sailors were jailed on suspicion of colluding with the pirates. It turned out that I was his only hope.

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Source: ozy.com

Saudi Arabia’s role in banishing piracy from regional waters

JENNIFER BELL

DUBAI: A decade ago, during the peak years of the Somali piracy crisis, the waters of the Arabian Gulf faced frequent threats from armed criminals at sea, who disrupted the economy by terrorizing shipping routes.

But experts say regional action — with Saudi Arabia at the forefront — has meant crimes on the high seas have dipped to some of the lowest records in years.

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Source: arabnews.com

Task force to co-ordinate regional interventions

By FRED OLUOCH

Countries in the Horn of Africa have formed a task force to co-ordinate regional interventions in the face of threats to marine resources and security around the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

The team was formed on Thursday in Nairobi by the Committee of Ambassadors from the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (Igad) partner states of Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Sudan, Djibouti, Somalia and South Sudan.

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Source: theeastafrican.co.ke

The United Kingdom lowers the European flag on Northwood

Maritime Security News note: This article has been automatically translated into English by Google. As such, errors may remain.

(B2) The European Union flag will be lowered at Northwood HQ. The United Kingdom loses control of the EU’s anti-piracy operation, which it has been commanding since the beginning, a good decade ago in December 2008. At issue: Brexit.

It will be effective March 29, 2019. And there, there is no postponement. Everything has already been decided and endorsed for several months already. The command returning to the Spaniards, with the French in support. Which is just a return of things. Since without Paris and Madrid, this operation would never have seen the day (Read: France and Spain decided to act on maritime piracy).

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Source: bruxelles2.eu

Security At Nigerian Ports Improves Tremendously — NIMASA DG

By Sunday Bassey

Uyo, – The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) said on Tuesday that it had improved security tremendously within the country’s maritime space .

The Director General of the agency, Mr Dakuku Peterside, who made this known in an interactive session with newsmen in Uyo, noted that the security of vessels at the ports had improved from 12 per cent to 80 per cent.

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Source: sundiatapost.com

Nigeria: Govt – Deep Blue Project Will End Criminalities in Our Waters

The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, has reiterated the federal government’s determination to rid the Nigerian territorial waters of criminalities through the Integrated Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure, otherwise known as the Deep Blue Project.

Amaechi disclosed this in Lagos during the graduation ceremony for participants of the C4I Intelligence System Operator Course for the Deep Blue Project.

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Source: allafrica.com