HMAS Toowoomba, FS Guépratte exercise in Gulf of Aden

By: Sandy Milne

HMAS Toowoomba has exercised with French frigate FS Guépratte in the Gulf of Aden as part of the Australian warship’s support to Combined Task Force 150.

The CTF 150 mission is to stabilise the region by disrupting piracy operations, as well as seeking to counter weapon and narcotic smugglers. During the exercise, Toowoomba and Guépratte conducted ship handling training including Officer of the Watch manoeuvres and replenishment at sea (RAS) approaches, which form core components of a CTF deployment.

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Source: defenceconnect.com.au

India: Customs cracks down on fishing boats with Chinese tracking devices

By Toby Antony

KOCHI: To ensure the security of the coastline and prevent smuggling activities through the sea route, the Customs has launched a crackdown on fishing vessels operating from Kerala shores using China-made Automatic Identification System-tracking devices which are mandatory for vessels now.The decision was taken after multiple agencies raised concerns regarding security issues following fishing boats fitted with the Chinese AIS were found on the Kerala coast.

Recently, Customs Commissioner Sumit Kumar directed its marine units to intensify checking on fishing vessels which are not using the standard AIS recommended by the government.The marine units have already tracked down 18 such vessels operating from various harbours in Kerala.

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Source: newindianexpress.com

Covid-19 and the threat to maritime and port security

As the UK becomes the latest country to adopt a policy of restricted movement for its citizens, following (at least two metres behind) France, Spain and Italy in Europe, it’s important that we do not lose sight of the risks this presents.

Criminals and non-state threat actors do not necessarily follow health warnings and lockdown measures. If anything, they thrive in an environment like that. One example would be during WWII in the UK, where the German bombing of London turned the city into a criminals’ playground. During the four months of the London Blitz from September to December 1941, a total of 4,584 cases of looting were heard by the Old Bailey court, for example.

Organised crime and the black market flourished, and we should expect something similar to occur in maritime crime hot spots and High Risk Areas.

Over the weekend, seven crew were kidnapped in the Gulf of Guinea, which underlines the risk. In the coming weeks, we should expect further incidents and, should food and energy supply lines be further affected by the pandemic, port and terminal security should be stepped up to mitigate any risk at ports from criminal gangs. It is likely that oil theft will increase in the Delta, although the Nigerian Navy is already making efforts to mitigate this.

In the Indian Ocean, the risks presented by Somali pirates remain low, but still present. An increase in Covid-19 cases in the country could potentially lead to further economic issues which will then drive criminals on to the water to look for ‘easy’ money. Combine this with the current issues being experienced by maritime security companies trying to embark armed security teams and it’s easy to see just how badly wrong things could go.

Organised criminal gangs will be aware that regional and international naval forces will have difficulties with crew rotations, bunkering etc. and may choose to exploit the situation by increasing smuggling operations in the Arabian Sea.

In Yemen, Houthi rebels, already making their presence felt in recent weeks with SVBIEDs (boat bombs), may attempt to disrupt crucial shipping lanes in order to focus world attention on their plight.

It’s a long list of maybes. But mitigation and prevention should be a paramount concern for anyone involved in maritime security.

Finally, thank you all for continuing to support the blog. We’ve had a sharp increase in readers from around the world, and I appreciate your support, even if I’m not in a position to earn any money from this (and that would be rather useful at the moment, as I’ve also lost earnings due to the virus).

Keep well, keep apart and stay safe.

In a first, India, France conduct joint patrols from Reunion Island

Dinakar Peri

India and France, For the first time, have conducted joint patrols from the Reunion Island, signalling New Delhi’s intent to engage with friendly foreign partners in expanding its footprint in the Indian Ocean, focusing on the stretch between the East African coastline and the Malacca straits.

India has so far carried out Coordinated Patrols (CORPAT) only with maritime neighbours and had rejected a similar offer by the US.

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Source: thehindu.com

IMO: Tackling COVID-19 – a voyage together

IMO Secretary-General stresses vital need to maintain commerce by sea and protect seafarers’ welfare in face of coronavirus shut down.

IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim has issued the following statement addressing the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on the shipping industry and the global supply chain.

“The spread of the coronavirus has placed the entire world in an unprecedented situation. To slow the spread of the disease and mitigate its impacts, travel is being curtailed and borders are being closed. Transport hubs are being affected. Ports are being closed and ships denied entry.

In these difficult times, the ability for shipping services and seafarers to deliver vital goods, including medical supplies and foodstuffs, will be central to responding to, and eventually overcoming, this pandemic.

It is, therefore, crucially important that the flow of commerce by sea should not be unnecessarily disrupted. At the same time, the safety of life at sea and protection of the marine environment must also remain paramount.

One of the goals of the IMO, as stated in its Convention, is to ensure availability of shipping services to the commerce of the world, for the benefit of humanity. I urge all IMO Member States to bear this in mind when framing their policy decisions with regard to the coronavirus. Defeating the virus must be the first priority, but global trade, in a safe, secure and environmentally friendly manner must be able to continue, too.

We must also remember the hundreds of thousands of seafarers on ships. They are, unwittingly, on the front line of this global calamity. Their professionalism ensures that the goods we all need are delivered – safely and with minimal impact on our precious environment. These are people, usually far from home and family. Their own health and welfare is as important as that of anyone else.

Again, I urge a practical and pragmatic approach, in these unusual times, to issues like crew changeovers, resupply, repairs, survey and certification and licensing of seafarers.

Together with our industry partners and colleagues in the World Health Organization, IMO has been developing and issuing practical advice and guidance on a variety of technical and operational matters related to the coronavirus. You can find this on our website, and we will be updating this as appropriate as the situation develops.

I will personally be initiating a series of meetings and consultations with leaders from shipping, ports and other key related sectors so that we can all better understand the issues being faced and develop sensible, practical and unified solutions.

I have spoken many times of our “voyage together”. Never has the spirit of those words been more important than it is now.”

Source: imo.org

The Maritime & Port Security ISAO and Templar Executives Launch Maritime Cybersecurity Awareness eLearning Course

To kick-off National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM) activities, the Maritime and Port Security Information Sharing and Analysis Organization (MPS-ISAO) and Templar Executives Ltd. are delighted to announce a strategic partnership and the launch of a new Maritime Cyber Security eLearning course. This industry tailored training allows customers to increase the cyber security competence of their workforce. It also provides a new baseline standard for cyber security awareness across the maritime industry, a mandate from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) required to be in effect by 2021.

The MPS-ISAO is a non-profit established to advance global maritime and port critical infrastructure cyber resilience headquartered at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Templar Executives, is a U.K.-based organization and founder member of the International Maritime Cyber Center of Excellence (IMCCE) encompassing the Maritime Cyber Emergency Response Team (MCERT) and Templar Cyber Academy for Maritime (T-CAM). Both MPS-ISAO and Templar Executives are trusted cyber security partners to the maritime industry. Recognizing the need to increase cyber security awareness across the industry, the partners have developed market leading content that delivers a well-rounded understanding of cyber security principals tailored to mariners, and all those involved the maritime industry, in an easy to consume format.

The Maritime Cyber Security eLearning course content covers a range of topics – from an Introduction to Maritime Cyber Security to Best Practices and Top Tips. It includes a short assessment for learners to test their knowledge and is also perfectly suited for shipboard low bandwidth communication requirements and mobile devices.

“The maritime industry has needed a course like this for a long time, because traditional learning formats which required classrooms or videos were a challenge for individual mariners to complete given the diverse operating environments throughout the industry,” said Scott Dickerson, the MPS-ISAO’s Chief Strategy Officer. “We are offering this eLearning course to the entire maritime community which meets the need across industry to provide awareness and track individual training completion.”

Dickerson continued, “Adversaries are targeting port and maritime critical infrastructure every day, so there is an urgent need to increase cyber security competency across the industry – from the very smallest to the very largest of organizations. Because the maritime industry is a globally interconnected ecosystem, cyber security best practices can no longer be optionally implemented. Protecting critical maritime infrastructure requires an all-hands approach and a cultural shift in our thinking to consider both the safety and security of maritime operations. We encourage everyone in the industry to understand what’s at risk and embrace their role as guardians.”

“Templar Executives is delighted to be partnering with MPS-ISAO to provide exclusive content for an enhanced Maritime Cyber Security eLearning course, delivered through the Templar Cyber Academy for Maritime,” stated Anu Khurmi, Managing Director for Templar Executives’ Global Services division. “The IMO has announced a series of important cyber security measures for shipowners, ship operators and ports within the ISM code which must be addressed by 2021. These include requirements that stakeholders must ’raise awareness on the Cyber risk’; and ’embed a culture of Cyber risk awareness’. Our joint eLearning course is easy to access and assimilate and provides a cost effective and sustainable response to delivering training and education that supports the awareness agenda. It also contributes to the up-skilling of individuals in an industry that is digitalizing at pace and which needs to develop a more sustainable and robust cyber resilience capability across the entire ecosystem.“

Christy Coffey, MPS-ISAO VP of Operations, added, “Since the MPS-ISAO’s inception in 2016, we have had a mission objective to improve cyber security knowledge across the maritime transportation system. MPS-ISAO customers are really enthusiastic about the eLearning course launch, and Templar Executives have been such a wonderful partner for our ISAO. We begin on-boarding existing MPS-ISAO customers with the eLearning October 7th.”

All maritime stakeholders are encouraged to participate in the partners’ Maritime Cyber Security eLearning course opportunity. Please direct Maritime Cyber Security eLearning course inquiries to info@mpsisao.org.

Information about National Cyber Security Awareness Month is available at the Department of Homeland Security’s website: https://www.dhs.gov/national-cyber-security-awareness-month.

Source: einnews.com

Port of Marseille experiments with blockchain

The Marseille-Fos Port in France is taking part in a pilot blockchain project for freight transportation on the Rhône-Saône transport corridor, launching in June 2019.

The focus of the project is to run a trial to evaluate the security of the digital transport chain. It will involve applying blockchain technology to supply chain logistics and freight forwarding, particularly where goods are transported in multiple ways such as sea and road.

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Source: ledgerinsights.com