Nigeria’s Deep Blue Project: Who, What, and Why it Matters to the Gulf of Guinea

In a year of unabated insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea, one of the most welcomed maritime security-oriented acts of 2019 was Nigeria’s establishment of its Deep Blue Project. The Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure, otherwise known as the Deep Blue Project (DBP), aims to comprehensively address insecurity and criminality in Nigeria’s territorial waters and exclusive economic zone. The means of the DBP involve the acquisition of assets, (e.g., unmanned aerial vehicles and fast intervention vessels), development of infrastructure (e.g., new command and control centers), interagency information-sharing, and enhanced training of security services, among other things. According to the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), between August 2019 and June 2020, 80 percent of the necessary assets had been delivered and the Command, Control, Computer Communication, and Information Centre (C4i) was officially launched at NIMASA’s base in Kirikiri, Lagos.

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Source: stableseas.org

South Africa is ready to help Mozambique with its insurgency

South Africa is ready to help insurgency-hit Mozambique with support from its intelligence services or military, but its neighbour would first need to request that help, South African foreign minister Naledi Pandor said on Wednesday.

Pandor told a parliamentary committee that the Southern African Development Community (SADC) had asked Mozambique to provide a roadmap on the assistance it might need, which would then be deliberated upon before a course of action was chosen.

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Source: defenceweb.co.za

MDAD-GoG issues piracy alert

In an unusual step, MDAT-GoG, the agency which monitors piracy and maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea, has issued the following alert to shipping:

Description: Information from military source indicate an armed group from Rivers State, NIGERIA are planning a piracy attack against vessels in area D (especially Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea) since the 1st of September. It is likely the attack will occur at low tide, when the monitoring units are missing. Therefore, you are requested to be on maximum alert, to increase vigilance and surveillance and intensify intelligence both on the water and in the port. Systematically identify and search all suspicious boats coming from or leaving Nigeria. Report any suspicions and take into account any diversion.

India, Nigeria resolve to deepen cooperation to counter terrorism, piracy

India and Nigeria on Tuesday vowed to deepen cooperation to counter terrorism, insurgency and piracy while also boosting trade exchanges as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held talks with his Nigerian counterpart Geoffrey Onyeama.

The two foreign ministers discussed the entire gamut of India-Nigeria bilateral relations via video conferencing.

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Source: business-standard.com

Italian marines won’t ‘suffer’ in Indian courts for killing Kerala fishermen, PCA ensures

Vanshaj Jain

The controversial case that involved the killing of two Kerala fishermen by two Italian marines onboard MV Enrica Lexie nearly eight years ago concluded on 31 May 2020, in the Permanent Court of Arbitration. The implications of this decision, however, have gone largely unnoticed in India. Originally, only excerpts of this decision were released to the public, with the full arbitral award subject to a confidentiality review by the two nations.

The final award, published inconspicuously some weeks ago sans fanfare, presents a troubling picture. Departing from established doctrine and riddled with contradictions, the PCA’s award seems almost at pains to contrive a legal path to ensure that the Italian marines accused of murder do not have to ‘suffer’ through a trial in Indian courtrooms.

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Source: theprint.in

Tema: Marine Security On Wild Hunt For Kidnappers Of 2 South Korean Sailors

Ghana’s Maritime Security has intensified a wild hunt to clamp down on some alleged kidnappers of two sailors believed to be South Korean nationals.

Authorities believe that the two abducted sailors were attacked by some unidentified gunmen on the waters off Ghana.

The victims were reportedly onboard a Ghanaian-flagged fishing vessel, AP 703 when it was attacked 200 kilometers southeast of the coastal city of Tema Friday night.

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Source: modernghana.com

Coalition forces in Yemen foil Houthi boatbomb attack

RIYADH: Saudi-led coalition forces in Yemen intercepted and destroyed a remote-controlled boat rigged with explosives in Hodeidah governorate on Sunday, the alliance’s joint command said.

In a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the coalition said the bomb-laden boat was launched by the Iran-backed Houthi “terrorist” militia.

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Source: arabnews.com

IPMAN Launches Waterways Surveillance To Check Oil Theft

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria on Tuesday launched sea surveillance patrol boats in Rivers State to fight oil theft and sea piracy in Rivers State.

IPMAN also unveiled an operational base in the state to complement other surveillance operational bases across the country.

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Source: economicconfidential.com

UK team helps free Iranian hostages from Somali pirates

LONDON: A British team has helped secure the release of three Iranian sailors from Somali pirates, amid heightened tensions between the UK and Iran over the case of the imprisoned charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

The deal for the sailors’ release involved a ransom payment of $180,000 — brokered by the UK-based Hostage Support Partnership — which was coordinated by Kenya-based former British diplomat John Steed in partnership with Leslie Edwards, a UK-based hostage-negotiation specialist. It ends the longest-running maritime hostage situation in the region to date, with the three men having spent five-and-a-half years in captivity.

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Source: arabnews.com

Troops Rescue 13 Foreigners, 4 Nigerians Abducted by Pirates in N’Delta

SOUTH-SOUTH ZONE

15. Troops of Operation DELTA SAFE have sustained the aggressive fight against economic sabotage in the zone with tremendous successes. For the month of August, subsidiary Operation SILENT HEAT was launched by Operation DELTA SAFE on 1 August 2020 for 90 days. The objective of the operation was to protect critical installations, Key Points and Vital Points as well as combat all forms of illegalities/crimes in the area. The operation is conducted in order to maintain conducive environment for oil and gas industries as well as other economic activities to thrive.

16. Since the activation of Operation SILENT HEAT, several arrests and deactivation of various militant camps have been made. Also, significantly, it was during the course of the operation that on 19 August 2020, Nigerian Navy Ship SOROH intercepted a speed boat with 13 foreigners made of 7 Russians and 6 Ukrainians alleged to have been kidnapped by pirates in Lome waters. The 13 kidnapped foreigners as well as 4 Nigerians on the speed boat have been handed over to Defence Intelligence Agency on 24 August 2020 for further necessary action.

The above is an extract from the Nigerian Navy media update, which can be found here.

Source: prnigeria.com