We cover piracy, armed robbery at sea, IUU fishing, maritime cyber security and maritime security issues.
The Times of India reports today (Feb. 20th) that up to nine thieves boarded the MV Al-Marjo around eight nautical miles off the Pipavav coast on Wednesday 19th. Reportedly, the vessel was heading for a breakers yard when the group boarded her via a tug.
The ship’s crew sent a distress call and the Indian Coast Guard responded, with a patrol arresting the group and seizing their vessel. The matter has now been handed over to the local marine police.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Sim Seung-seob will embark on a trip to Oman and Thailand next week and visit an anti-piracy unit deployed to the Strait of Hormuz, the Navy said Friday.
The six-day visit, which will kick off Sunday, is aimed at boosting maritime security cooperation with the two countries and supporting South Korea’s broader pitch to expand exchanges with Southeast Asia, it said.
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Source: koreaherald.com
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A U.S. Navy warship seized weapons believed to be of Iranian “design and manufacture,” including 150 anti-tank guided missiles and three Iranian surface-to-air missiles, the American military said on Thursday.
In a statement, the military said the guided-missile cruiser Normandy boarded a dhow, a traditional sailing vessel, in the Arabian Sea on Sunday.
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Source: reuters.com
MarsecNews: USNI has uploaded video of the incident:
As part of its mission, the warship will also support the International Maritime Security Construct to ensure freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
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Source: naval-technology.com
Bengaluru, Feb 10 (IANS): The state-run Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) would strengthen the coastal surveillance system for the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) to heighten the country’s maritime security, an official said on Monday.
“The coastal surveillance system will be enhanced with 38 more radar stations and 5 command and control centres along the coastline for the ICG to step-up maritime security,” an official of the city-based defence enterprise told IANS here.
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Source: daijiworld.com
As the threat of piracy off the East Coast of Africa declines, the significant security costs for transits in the Indian Ocean and through the Red Sea are no longer justified, according to risk intelligence firm Dryad Global.
In its annual piracy report for 2019, Dryad said there is little incentive for the insurance industry to remove its premiums that are linked to the piracy threat off East Africa in spite of the reduced threat. “Despite commanding the largest premiums and associated costs of armed guards, the Indian Ocean ranks fourth in maritime crime incidents with less than one fifth of incidents of the most active; West Africa.”
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Source: defenceweb.co.za
The President of Somalia, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo on Saturday signed into law the controversial petroleum bill, paving the way to extraction and exportation of the end products.
For months now, the law had caused divisions with Somalia, with regional states protesting certain clauses which they deem controversial. Jubaland and Puntland have strongly opposed certain provisions where they termed “draconian” and “unreasonable” after a tussle in both houses.
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Source: garoweonline.com
Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], Feb 7 (ANI): India and several African nations on Thursday called for an increase in maritime security through mutual cooperation to prevent crimes like trafficking and piracy.
“We seek to increase our cooperation in securing sea lines of communication, preventing maritime crimes, disaster, piracy, illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing through sharing of information and surveillance,” as per the Lucknow Declaration adopted by the ministers after the meeting.
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Source: bignewsnetwork.com
New research examines how illegal fishing hurts Somalia’s economy, exacerbates conflicts, and upsets political stability.
In Somali waters, illegal fishing is a pervasive problem. It triggers clashes between foreign and domestic fishers, and destabilizes Somali life.
For at least seven decades, foreign fishers have harvested Somalia’s fish with little or no deterrence. The clashes escalated with the 1991 collapse of the government. As civil war took hold and warlords scrambled to rule, the longest coastline in continental Africa, at 3,333 kilometers, was suddenly unprotected.
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Source: hakaimagazine.com
Whilst operating in direct support of Combined Task Force 150 in the Indian Ocean, Her Majesty’s Ship (HMS) DEFENDER, a United Kingdom Royal Navy destroyer, seized 2,500kg of hashish with an estimated regional wholesale value of around $1.3 million US Dollars.
This was her second significant drugs bust in as many months, as on 19 December she seized and destroyed a record haul of crystal methamphetamine.
Commander Richard Hewitt MBE, Commanding Officer of HMS DEFENDER said “Once again DEFENDER has been able to seize a significant amount of narcotics, reinforcing the Royal Navy’s commitment to ensuring maritime security by disrupting the operations of drug smugglers and terrorists”.
Events unfolded on 30 January when DEFENDER launched her ‘WILDCAT’ shipborne helicopter to begin the search for possible illegitimate marine traffic. Before long, a suspicious dhow was identified and DEFENDER sent a boarding team of Royal Marine Commandos, commanded by Lieutenant Ben Clink RM, to investigate.
Lt Clink RM said “A strong performance from my team once again proved the versatility of the Royal Marines in operating in the maritime environment.”
Once the Royal Marines had secured the dhow, a Royal Navy team followed and searched the vessel for illicit cargo.
It turned out that DEFENDER’s suspicions were warranted as the boarding party discovered 2,500kg of hashish in 119 bags hidden throughout the dhow.
Royal Navy Boarding Officer, Lieutenant Stuart Campbell said “This is yet another example of the Royal Navy putting their first class operational training to use, interrupting narcotic traffickers active in the region.”
DEFENDER’s haul of 131kg of crystal meth in December 2019 was the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) largest ever. It took CMF’s total crystal meth seizures for 2019 to 257kg, compared to only 9kg in 2018. The drug is sharply on the rise in terms of smuggling in the region.
Captain Sean Stewart, Royal New Zealand Navy, Deputy Commander of CTF 150, said “Once again, DEFENDER has done some terrific work and proven to be a high value asset to CTF 150. Following two other successful busts by FS Courbet in 2020, we continue to make an impact on terrorist and criminal organisations in the region, accomplishing CTF 150’s mission of restricting their freedom of manouevre in the maritime domain.”
CTF 150 is one of three task forces operating under Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), a multinational naval partnership that exists to promote security, stability and prosperity across approximately 3.2 million square miles of international waters encompassing some of the world’s most important shipping lanes. The 33 nations that comprise CMF share intelligence, assets and capabilities.
Australia assumed command of CTF 150 in early December. Australian led, CTF 150’s staff is made up of personnel from the Royal Australian, Royal Canadian, and Royal New Zealand navies.
Source: combinedmaritimeforces.com
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