ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre released the August 2020 Report on the situation of piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia. Overall Situation In August 2020, six incidents of armed robbery against ships were reported in Asia No piracy incident was reported There was no report of abduction of crew in the Sulu-Celebes Seas and waters off Eastern Sabah, Malaysia in August 2020 However, the abduction of crew for ransom remains a serious concern as demonstrated by the Warning issued by ReCAAP ISC on 2 July 20 that five Abu ...

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, piracy and other crimes have surged in Asian waters in the first seven months of the year, many committed by a Philippines-based Islamist group linked to Islamic State, according to a report released on Wednesday. Especially hard hit have been the Sulu Sea and coastal areas of the southern Philippines, said the report by Babel Street, an open source data analysis company based in Virginia. The author, McDaniel Wicker, a former U.S. Air Force intelligence officer and a company vice president, said rising crime in that ...

Pirates kidnapped two Russians from the refrigerator ship Water Phoenix, the Russian embassy in Nigeria has confirmed. “We confirm that two Russians were kidnapped from the ship Water Phoenix as a result of an attack by pirates 30 kilometers away from Lagos on September 8,” the embassy said on its official portal. “In cooperation with Nigerian law enforcement agencies we are exerting efforts to establish the hostages’ whereabouts and secure their release.” According to the Nigerian portal Nigerian Tribune, the pirates seized the ship’s captain and another crewmember. Both are ...

THE Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) and EUNAVFOR have held discussions about developing their partnership in conducting counter-piracy operations in the region. CMF’s Combined Task Force 151, an anti-piracy task force led by the Turkish Navy, held discussions with Commander of EUNAVFOR’s CTF 465, Rear Admiral Riccardo Marchiò via a video teleconference. CTF 151 Commander, Rear Admiral Inanir said: “It is important that we continue discussions with our partners, especially in this crucial part of the world.” “Today we talked about planning joint exercises, focused operations and information sharing. We need ...

Increasing threats to, and intimidation of, commercial vessels have been reported in recent weeks. Members with vessels, particularly tank vessels, transiting these regions are encouraged to remain thoroughly vigilant. Vessels transiting the Arabian Gulf (AG), Straits of Hormuz (SoH) and Gulf of Oman (GOO) are encouraged to observe the Industry Reporting Guidance 19-07-21 released as a joint advisory from BIMCO, the International Chamber of Shipping, INTERTANKO and the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF). Your Managers strongly recommend that this guidance is posted on a vessel’s bridge for ease of ...

Communication equipment, diving equipment, tools, wiring, metal caps, navigation instruments, watches, cell phones, and even wallets, stolen by groups of pirates from oil platforms and ships that sail in the probe of Campeche, Dos Bocas, and Veracruz, are offered through the Internet, as well as in local markets and flea markets in the State of Mexico, Tabasco, Queretaro and Iztapalapa in Mexico City. According to a federal government report, organized crime groups operating at sea -to which Organización Editorial Mexicana had access- pirates have increased their illegal activity in Mexican ...

The threat of piracy and kidnap has been persistent in the Niger Delta region and wider Gulf of Guinea waters for some time. However, that threat has escalated in recent months. During July 2020, pirates kidnapped 15 crew from a tanker vessel up to 244 nautical miles from shore. The pirates were apparently supported by a mother ship allowing them to perpetrate their attacks beyond state counter piracy efforts. The attack was one of the furthest attacks from shore ever reported. The prevalence of reported armed robbery, piracy and kidnapping ...

The Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh has commended the Nigerian Navy for the successful enforcement of the new anti-piracy law in Nigeria. Jamoh, in a commendation letter to the Naval Headquarters, which was disclosed by the naval spokesman, Commodore Suleiman Dahun for Chief of the Naval Staff, he lauded the achievements of the Nigerian Navy in the discharge of its responsibilities on security and other related matters. He also expressed the agency’s appreciation on the high level of professionalism ...

Within an interval of seven days, two incidents of armed robbery against ships occurred while they were berthed/anchored in Batangas, Philippines. In both incidents, the perpetrators demonstrated violence toward crew with a knife. In the first incident on 14 Aug at 1000 hrs, the perpetrator entered the cabin of the general steward, threatened him by pointing a long knife at him and stole his personal belongings. The perpetrator left the ship immediately via the mooring lines in a small unmarked blue motor banca stationed at the astern of the ship. ...

The EU’s anti-piracy military mission in the Indian Ocean, Atalanta, has exonerated Somalia’s police force after reports police had hijacked a Panama-flagged cargo ship last Thursday. “There had been certain incidents on board the vessel” but these “cannot be classified as a maritime security incident,” Atalanta said. Somali police boarded the ship because it was adrift due to hull-damage and a Spanish warship was monitoring the situation, the EU said. Source: EU Observer

Somali pirates have released three Iranian hostages held for five years, a maritime security official said on Thursday, as conflicting reports emerged whether another ship had been seized after a three-year hiatus in hijackings. The three Iranians are the last of the crew of the Iranian fishing vessel FV Siraj, which was captured by pirates on March 22, 2015. “This marks the end of an era of Somali piracy and the pain and suffering of Somalia’s forgotten hostages,” said John Steed, the coordinator of the Hostage Support Programme, a volunteer ...

Somali pirates have released three Iranian hostages held for five years, a maritime security official said on Thursday, as conflicting reports emerged whether another ship had been seized after a three-year hiatus in hijackings. The three Iranians are the last of the crew of the Iranian fishing vessel FV Siraj, which was captured by pirates on March 22, 2015. “This marks the end of an era of Somali piracy and the pain and suffering of Somalia’s forgotten hostages,” said John Steed, the coordinator of the Hostage Support Programme, a volunteer ...

Reporting suggests that Emirati Coast Guard vessels shot at a number of Iranian fishing vessels, which resulted in the deaths of two of their crew, on 17th August 2020. Further reports also suggest that the UAE detained an Iranian fishing vessel during the incident. In response Iran has demanded compensation and that the UAE take measures to ensure such incidents cannot happen again. Further reporting also suggests that on the same day, Iran detained a UAE-flagged vessel which it claimed was illegally within Iranian TTW’s, and detained the crew. Within ...

Cyber security is a major concern for vessels at sea today. The impact of unauthorized, and even authorized, access to ships’ systems can be catastrophic, potentially resulting in reputational, financial and environmental damage, robbery, piracy or simply malicious interference. These are all distinct risks for an unprotected vessel. Consider potential cyber risks Not all threats, of course, may be immediately obvious. While an attack on the main propulsion system that causes the vessel to drift without control will be picked up immediately, navigation and positioning systems can be manipulated to ...

The Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh, has described the conviction of three persons in connection with vessel hijack on the Gulf of Guinea, as a signal that Nigeria is on the right path in the war against piracy and other crimes on the nation’s waterways. The Federal High Court in Port Harcourt had, two days ago, convicted the persons who were accused of involvement in the hijack of an Equatorial Guinean flagged vessel named, MV ELOBEY VI, off Equatorial Guinea’s coast on ...