Americas Peru: Robbers board LNG tanker at Callao port 18 May A group of about five masked robbers boarded an LNG tanker via the hawse pipe at 0055 hrs local time at Callao port. The robbers reportedly took a crew member on routine rounds hostage. Other crew members sounded the alarm and mustered. upon hearing the alarm, the robbers took the crew member’s radio and escaped on a small boat. The incident was reported to port control and a patrol boat was dispatched to the area. PVI Analysis: There is ...

BIMCO’s Documentary Committee has agreed a new standard Cyber Security Clause that requires the parties to implement cyber security procedures and systems, to help reduce the risk of an incident and mitigate the consequences should a security breach occur. In the wake of recent costly cyber security incidents involving large shipping companies, cyber security has become a major focus in the maritime industry. BIMCO has taken a lead position on cyber security issues through its active role at the International Maritime Organization and by co-authoring the “Industry Guidelines on cyber ...

Attacks on Saudi and UAE oil assets built to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, a strategically important waterway in the Gulf, have raised fears that alternative routes could be vulnerable. Four ships including two Saudi oil tankers were damaged in mysterious sabotage attacks Sunday off Fujairah, an emirate located at the crucial entrance to the Gulf. That incident was followed by drone strikes Tuesday by Yemen’s Huthi rebels on a major Saudi oil pipeline, which provided an alternative export route if the Strait of Hormuz closed. Iran has repeatedly threatened ...

Four ships were “sabotaged” off the coast of Fujairah on Sunday, according to the UAE and Saudi governments. However, it is not the first time that the vessels have been targeted in the Gulf region. Despite being one of the most important strategic waterways in the world – and one of the best defended – naval attacks are rare but not unheard of. Here, we look back on some of the other incidents which have occurred in the region over recent decades. The Japanese supertanker When the M Star, a ...

Piracy and sea robbery incidents in the South East Asia region have sharply declined by 62 per cent to 76 incidents from 2015-2018, according to a Singapore-based multi-national maritime security information centre which links ships and ocean monitoring with 41 countries, including India. An average of 1,700 incidents per year were reported for the last few years in the immediate region of Singapore, noted Singapore’s Senior Minister of State for Defence Maliki Bin Osman as the Information Fusion Centre (IFC) provided insights into its monitoring efforts at the International Maritime ...

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

Americas Ecuador: Robbers attempt to board vessel off Cabo Pasado 03 May Ten robbers on two speed boats approached an underway bulk carrier about 52 nm off Cabo Pasado. Crew on duty spotted the robbers and sounded the alarm. The bulk carrier increased the speed, commenced evasive manoeuvres and started to spray the speed boats with fire hoses. The assailants aborted the robbery attempt. Crew and vessel were reported safe. PVI Analysis: Piracy off the coast of Ecuador is frequently reported. However, robbers usually target fishing boats and other smaller ...

Naval Dome CEO Itai Sela, a former senior officer in the military, comments on the recent attacks on tankers operating near the bunkering port of Fujairah. “It is deeply worrying that four tankers have been attacked outside the strategically important Strait of Hormuz. Our indications are that these incidents could develop to include cyber-attacks on vessels operating in the region. “It is highly likely that vessels operating in high-risk areas could be targeted, systems hacked and GPS spoofed in order to render vessels immobile or re-directed as part of wider ...

Global maritime threats are persisting, and more work needs to be done to tackle new security challenges decisively and ensure that terrorism does not become endemic in parts of Southeast Asia, Singapore’s defense minister Ng Eng Hen said. “Collectively, we need to step up intelligence efforts as the center of gravity of global terrorism shifts away from the Middle East and moves to other regions,” Ng said at the Maritime Defense Exhibition and Conference, or IMDEX, in Singapore. The minister’s comments come after the UAE government on Sunday said four ...

Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Dakuku Peterside, Tuesday said Nigeria being the headquarters of poverty in the world was also perceived as the headquarters of piracy worldwide. Peterside who disclosed this in Abuja while defending the Agency’s 2019 budget before the Senate Committee on Marine Transport emphasised that “within international maritime sector, Nigeria is largely seen as headquarters of Piracy in the world”. NIMASA boss who made the submission while responding to question as to why NIMASA’s contributions into the Consolidated Revenue Fund ...

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

– A total of three incidents of armed robbery against ships were reported in Asia in April 2019 – There was no report of abduction of crew in the Sulu-Celebes Seas and waters off Eastern Sabah; and no hijacking of ships for theft of oil cargo reported in April 2019 – However, the abduction of crew for ransom in the Sulu-Celebes Seas and waters off Eastern Sabah remains a serious concern Comparative Data – Compared to April 2018, there was a 70% decrease in the number of incidents reported in ...

A joint Spanish and Equatorial Guinea naval operation has rescued 20 crew members on a merchant ship from a hijacking by pirates in the Gulf of Guinea, the Spanish defence ministry said. The captain of the Maltese-flagged vessel sounded the alarm on Sunday after their ship was approached by armed pirates, the ministry said, with the crew taking refuge in an emergency compartment. “Once on board, the pirates used a megaphone to demand the crew surrender and give them all the money on board,” the ministry added. When the captain ...

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

Peru: Robbers board bulk carrier at Callao port 26 April Robbers reportedly boarded an anchored bulk carrier at Callao port on 26 April and escaped with the ship’s stores. The robbery was noticed by crew on duty at about 0100 hrs local time. The local port authority was informed of the robbery. PGI Analysis: Robberies at Callao port have increased in recent months, highlighting an increased threat to vessels operating at the facility. Robbers are often armed but reports of violent incidents are rare. Venezuela: Robber boards vessel at La ...