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Piracy and Security News

‘Piracy, Armed Robbery and Conflict at Sea’ – Countering the Growing Threat to the Shipping Industry

Houthi attacks close vital Red Sea route’ ‘Red Sea – Somali piracy shakes shipping industry and international trade’ ‘Houthi drone detonation opens a new chapter’ ‘US and UK ‘shoot down’ one of biggest Houthi airstrikes in Red Sea’ ‘Pirates strike again? Armed gangs board ships’ ‘Crew members kidnapped in Gulf of Guinea tanker hijacking’ These are but a glimpse of the multitude of recent international news articles on maritime security you may have seen. The evolving geopolitical security situation is bringing additional and increasingly challenging security risks that many ship ...

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New IMB report reveals concerning rise in maritime piracy incidents in 2023

London and Kuala Lumpur 11 January 2024: Released today, the annual Piracy and Armed Robbery Report of the ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB) raises concern over the first successful Somali based hijacking since 2017. The IMB annual report recorded 120 incidents of maritime piracy and armed robbery against ships in 2023 compared to 115 in 2022. The 2023 annual report reveals that 105 vessels were boarded, nine attempted attacks, four vessels hijacked and two fired upon. Where the number of 2023 reported incidents has slightly increased compared to 2022, the ...

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Ship owner loses contact with tanker off coast of Oman

Greek shipping company Empire Navigation said Jan. 11 that it has lost contact with its oil tanker the St. Nikolas off the coast of Oman and has activated an emergency plan. Separately, the UK maritime authorities reported an incident Jan. 11 of a ship having been boarded by armed men and now heading toward Iranian waters, although it was not immediately clear whether this was the same vessel. Contact was lost with the St. Nikolas at about 6:30 am Greek time (0430 GMT) as it was sailing off the coast ...

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Security Council strongly condemns Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping

Russia first proposed three amendments to the draft text but all were defeated, paving the way for a vote on the draft resolution. There were 11 votes in favour, none against, and four countries abstained: China, Russia, Algeria and Mozambique. The meeting follows an emergency briefing and consultations last week to address the growing threat posed by militant attacks in one of the world’s key shipping channels. The United States reported earlier in the day that together with UK naval forces it had shot down 21 drones and missiles fired ...

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Bulk carrier reportedly boarded in eastern Indian Ocean off Yemen -Ambrey

A Malta-flagged, Bulgarian-owned bulk carrier was reportedly boarded on Thursday after being involved in an incident in the Arabian Sea off Yemen’s Socotra Island, British maritime security company Ambrey said in an advisory note. An Iranian-flagged fishing vessel in the area had switched off its AIS transponder six hours before the incident close to where the bulk carrier appeared to come adrift, Ambrey said. “The Iran-flagged fishing vessel had previously been operating offshore Somalia,” Ambrey added. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency also sent an advisory saying it ...

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Attacks on Merchant Shipping Unlikely to Escalate

The question of whether, how, and when the Israel-Hamas war may escalate remains, and in the past two weeks, there is some evidence that international shipping may be a new area where at least some expansion of the conflict might take place. The fighting has not remained limited to Israel and the West Bank/Gaza Strip even since the outset of hostilities. Other types of horizontal escalation have taken place almost since the start of the fighting. Houthi rebels in Yemen fired cruise missiles and drones at Israel that were intercepted ...

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ReCAAP ISC holds Dialogue Session with Shipping Industry to discuss Sea Robbery in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore

The ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ISC) today held a dialogue with the shipping industry to discuss security concerns of vessels transiting the Straits of Malacca and Singapore (SOMS). The dialogue comes on the back of a 37% increase in incidents of armed robbery against ships in the SOMS from July to September 2023 compared to the same period last year. The ReCAAP ISC during the dialogue session, presented the situation of Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia from Jan – Oct 2023. A total of 91 incidents of ...

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UKMTO Weekly Piracy Report 26 October – 01 November 2023

Warnings, advisories and piracy incidents in the Indian Ocean Area by the UKMTO in the past week.

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ReCAAP: Capacity Building Workshop to Strengthen Focal Points’ Capability to Combat Piracy and Sea Robbery against ships

The ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ISC), in cooperation with its Bangladesh Focal Point, the Bangladesh Department of Shipping, Ministry of Shipping, concluded a three-day Capacity Building Workshop (CBW) held in Dhaka, Bangladesh from 24 to 26 October 2023. The workshop served to strengthen the skillsets of ReCAAP Focal Point officers to report and verify incidents of piracy and sea robbery in Asia. Mr Tipu Munshi, Honourable Minister of Commerce, Bangladesh, on 25 October 2023, graced as the Chief Guest for the inaugural function of the capacity building workshop. He said ...

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UKMTO Weekly Piracy Report 19 – 25 October 2023

Warnings, advisories and piracy incidents in the Indian Ocean Area by the UKMTO in the past week.

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ReCAAP: Piracy And Armed Robbery Against Ships in Asia Up During Third Quarter

Executive Summary All incidents reported during January-September 2023 were incidents of Armed Robbery Against Ships (ARAS). No incident of piracy (on high seas) was reported. The ships boarded invariably were of low in freeboard and manoeuvring at slow speed in restricted waters, and with crew ill-prepared while traversing the area of concern. However, perpetrators escaped empty-handed or aborted their attempts to board ships where crew were alert and vigil. During the third quarter (Q3) (July-September) of 2023, a total of 23 incidents of ARAS in Asia were reported to the ...

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UKMTO Weekly Piracy Report 12 – 18 October 2023

Warnings, advisories and piracy incidents in the Indian Ocean Area by the UKMTO in the past week.

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Update of ReCAAP ISC Advisory – Abduction of Crew from Ships in Sulu-Celebes Seas

The ReCAAP ISC was extremely concerned with the large-scale increase in incidents of abduction of crew for ransom situation in the Sulu-Celebes Seas and waters off Eastern Sabah since March 2016. On 21 Nov 2016, the Centre published an Incident Alert titled Increasing Cases of Abduction of Crew for Ransom from Ships, advising ships to re-route from the area, where possible. The ship masters and crew are otherwise urged to exercise extra vigilance while transiting the area and report immediately to the Operation Centre of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ...

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UKMTO Weekly Piracy Report 05 – 11 October 2023

Warnings, advisories and piracy incidents in the Indian Ocean Area by the UKMTO in the past week.

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IMB calls for regional efforts to safeguard shipping and trade as maritime incidents rise

The ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB) has revealed a rise in reported incidents in the Gulf of Guinea and concerns for the Singapore Straits in its latest report for the period of January-September 2023, released today. Ninety-nine incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships were reported in the first nine months of 2023, an increase from 90 incidents for the same period in 2022. This year, 85 vessels were boarded, nine had attempted attacks, three were hijacked and two were fired upon. Perpetrators successfully boarded 89% of targeted vessels ...

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