Dryad News

War underwriters have raised the premiums they charge to U.S., British and Israeli firms by as high as 50% for ships transiting the Red Sea and some providers are avoiding such business due to targeting of the vessels by Yemen's Houthis, sources said.Attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthis since November have slowed trade between Asia and Europe and alarmed major powers. The Houthis say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians as Israel's war against Hamas militants in Gaza…

Shipping companies remain in the dark over a new international navy coalition being assembled by the United States to combat attacks in the Red Sea, with many vessels continuing to avoid the area or cancelling contracts, sources said on Wednesday.The sources, who include shipping and maritime security officials, say few practical details are known about the initiative launched on Tuesday by Washington or whether it will directly engage in the event of further armed attacks at sea.Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen have since Nov.

A merchant ship sailing off Somalia has been hijacked by unknown raiders, Spain's defence ministry said on Tuesday, fuelling fears pirates are returning to the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea waters already plagued by a surge in attacks on shipping.A Spanish warship rushed to check on the Maltese-flagged vessel Ruen on Friday after reports it had been hijacked. It "has been under piracy (control) since the morning of Dec. 14," the ministry said in a statement, in its first confirmation of the ship's fate."The MV Ruen has indeed been hijacked.

War risk insurance premiums edged up for Red Sea voyages after three vessels were attacked in the area on Sunday and fears grow over worsening perils for commercial shipping, maritime and insurance sources said on Monday.The incidents are the latest in a series of attacks in Middle Eastern waters since a brutal war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas broke out on Oct. 7.The three commercial vessels came under attack in international waters in the southern Red Sea, the U.S.

Activity at Israel's ports is slowing after Saturday's attacks by Islamist group Hamas on towns close to Gaza, with the cost of insurance premiums for Israeli shipments soaring amid tightening supplies of food stocks, according to sources and data.Israel's southern coastal city of Ashkelon, which has a small port well in range of Hamas rockets, is not allowing ships to enter, shipping sources said.While the main Israeli ports of Ashdod further up the coast and Haifa in the north…

Iran seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman in international waters on Thursday, the U.S. Navy said, the latest in a series of seizures or attacks on commercial vessels in sensitive Gulf waters since 2019.Iran's army said it had seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman after it collided with an Iranian boat, injuring several crewmen, Iranian state media reported."Two members of the boat's crew are missing and several were injured due to the collision of the ship with the boat," an army statement said.The U.S.

Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday it had intercepted an explosive-laden boat off the Red Sea port of Yanbu after maritime security firms cited "unconfirmed reports" of an attack on a vessel in the area.A Saudi defense ministry statement on state media did not say whether there had been any damage as a result of the operation by the Saudi navy to intercept and destroy the remote-controlled boat.Security firm Dryad Global had earlier said it received "unconfirmed reports" that a vessel…

The chief executive of Saudi Arabia's Bahri said none of the firm's vessels have come under attack after a maritime security group cited unconfirmed reports of an assault off the Saudi Red Sea port of Yanbu."None of our vessels have been attacked," Abdullah Aldubaikhi, CEO of National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri), told Reuters by telephone.He said no vessel had been involved in any incident.Dryad Global said earlier it is receiving "unconfirmed reports" that a vessel, possibly the NCC Dammam oil tanker, which is owned by a Bahri unit, has been attacked off Yanbu.(Reporting by Ghaid

A challenged world is an alert world. Individually, we're all responsible for our own thoughts and actions—all day, every day.We can all choose to challenge and call out gender bias and inequality. We can all choose to seek out and celebrate women's achievements. Collectively, we can all help create an inclusive world.From challenge comes change, so let's all choose to challenge.In this guest blog, Dryad's Belle Davenport, shares how her preconceptions about the maritime industry…

An Israeli-owned ship, the MV HELIOS RAY, was hit by an explosion in the Gulf of Oman overnight Thursday and a U.S. defense official said the blast left holes in both sides of the vessel's hull. The cause was not immediately clear.The vehicle-carrier ship is owned by a Tel-Aviv based company called Ray Shipping through a company registered in the Isle of Man, according to a U.N. shipping database."Investigations are ongoing. Vessel and crew are safe," the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said in an advisory notice on Friday. It urged vessels in the area to exercise caution.The U.S. defense official told Reuters in Washington…

How will Biden read Iranian hostilities? Forceful diplomacy or reckless militancy?Anticipating the Biden Administration’s Iran strategy is crucial for understanding future risks for maritime operators in the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf of Oman and wider Indian Ocean.Though the new U.S. Administration and the Iranian regime have stated their willingness to rejoin the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), otherwise known as the Iran Nuclear Deal, they are unlikely to do so.

Eagle Bulk Shipping confirmed reports that one of its bulk carriers was hijacked in the Gulf of Guinea, and said the vessel and crew are safe now that the incident has been resolved. Maritime security groups had reported that the Marshall Islands-flagged Rowayton Eagle was boarded by pirates off the coast of Nigeria, and AIS tracking suggests the vessel had been adrift since January 27."As you may have read in the press, the M/V Rowayton Eagle was hijacked about 240 miles southeast of Lagos (Nigeria). We are very pleased to report that the incident has been resolved and our crew are safe and unharmed, and the vessel is fully operational," Eagle Bulk wrote in a social media post on Monday.

Maritime security risk management firm Dryad Global announced Tuesday it has appointed Teresa Peacock as its first non-executive director.Peacock is currently managing director at maritime staffing and recruitment firm Spinnaker Global and a member of the Maritime UK’s Diversity Taskforce, a board member of the Women's International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA UK) and a part of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Women and Work. Her experience spans a career in recruitment of over 30 years…

Is neo-colonialism in the Gulf of Guinea the answer to West Africa’s maritime crime crisis?In October 2020, China’s transport ministry established an ad hoc workgroup to lay down precautionary measures for ships and seafarers passing through high piracy risk West African waters.The move came as China told its vessels to up vigilance and implement a series of precautionary measures to ensure the security of ocea-going vessels and seafarers amid rising attacks and a surge in kidnaps in the Gulf of Guinea.Plans outlined by Wu Chungeng…

Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps seized a South Korean-flagged tanker in Gulf waters and detained its crew, Iranian media said on Monday, amid tensions between Tehran and Seoul over Iranian funds frozen in South Korean banks due to U.S. sanctions.Seoul confirmed the seizure of a South Korean chemical tanker by Iranian authorities in the waters off Oman, and demanded its immediate release.Several Iranian media outlets, including state TV, said the Guards navy captured the vessel for polluting the Gulf with chemicals."According to initial reports by local officials, it is purely a technical matter and the ship was taken to shore for polluting the sea…

Maritime security intelligence agencies have reported that the Water Phoenix reefer vessel was boarded Tuesday morning off Nigeria by an unknown number of persons and that two Russian nationals have been kidnapped.Per Praesidium International, a risk consultancy and maritime security company, the incident happened at 5:50 a.m. UTC Tuesday, approximately 34 nautical miles south of Lagos."According to the initial reports, the perpetrators managed to board the vessel and kidnap the master and another crew member, both Russian," Praesidium said, adding that the crew includes 18 seafarers, of which seven Russians and 11 Filipinos. Apart from the two crewmembers who have…

A merchant ship has reportedly been hijacked off the northeast coast of Somalia, marking the first successful hijacking by Somali pirates since 2017.The Panama-flagged ship was en route from the United Arab Emirates to Mogadishu port when it appeared to develop mechanical problems, Reuters reports.The 112-meter chemical tanker Aegean II was said to be attacked by six armed pirates on Wednesday night, according to maritime security intelligence group Dryad Global, who described the incident as an "isolated and opportunistic piratical activity which seized on a vessel in a vulnerable situation".According to Dryad Global, the Aegean II slowed from its 6-knot cruising speed to 1 knot, giving pirates a "window of opportunity" to attack.

North America is historically one of the world’s safest regions for maritime transit and operations. Our data shows that of the 2,915 reported global maritime crime incidents that have occurred in the last decade, only nine of them took place in North America. This figure comes from a range of threats against both commercial, and pleasure craft vessels, primarily, attempted, or successful: attacks, suspicious approaches, illegal boardings, hijackings, kidnappings, robberies and exchanges of gunfire. This is what many of us boil down to the eye-catching buzzword “piracy”.

Maritime safety intelligence firm Dryad has cited reports according to which the containership Maersk Regensburg was illegally boarded by one individual at the Banana Anchorage 3nm from shore in Congo.According to Dryad's report on Monday, the duty crew on deck spotted the intruder on board removing lashing from a deck. The alarm was raised, and the crew mustered. The intruder fled the vessel in a small boat with an outboard motor, Dryad said."Vessel search conducted and no other abnormalities noted. One container had one lashing bar removed. All attempts to contact Pilot/shore by VHF 16 failed. All crews are reported safe," Dryad reportedAccording to Dryad, this is only the second incident in this location within the last 12 months.

An offshore supply vessel was reportedly attacked offshore Mexico on Friday, July 24, in an incident that was described as a "violent armed boarding and robbery of personal belongings."The maritime safety intelligence company Dryad said Monday that the offshore supply vessel Natalie was boarded while conducting operations in the vicinity of the ODIN Offshore platform 12nm NE of Coatzacoalcos."It is understood that the vessel was boarded early morning within hours of darkness. A channel 16 broadcast received from the vessel stated “We would like to inform you that at this moment pirates are getting on board the ship NATALIE which is near the ODIN platform…

Armed pirates have reportedly kidnapped 13 seafarers from a Liberian-flagged product tanker in the Gulf of Guinea off West Africa, continuing a rise in attacks on vessels in the world's most dangerous piracy hot spot.The Curcacao Trader was approached by eight armed individuals aboard a single speedboat and boarded 232 nautical miles southwest of Lagos, Friday. Among those abducted are seven Russian nationals, according to the Russian embassy in Nigeria. The other five crew members taken from the ship are believed to be Ukranian.The 116.5-meter vessel had been sailing south after departing the port of Lomé, Togo when her speed dropped to 3 knots at the indicated time of attack, according to maritime security intelligence group Dryad Global.

The maritime security intelligence group Dryad has reported that general cargo vessel KOTA BUDI was boarded by heavily armed men resulting in the kidnap of 5 crew."The kidnapped crew are believed to all be Chinese nationals," Dryad said. The incident reportedly happened on Thursday.According to Dryad, the vessel can be seen to have been drifting at the time of the incident at 153nm offshore. AIS indicates that the vessel has been in position for approximately a week having previously visited the Nigerian port of Warri, Dryad said."This is the 7th incident in the waters off Benin within 2020. This latest kidnapping brings the total number of kidnapped personnel in maritime incidents off West Africa in 2020 to 80.

The article has been updated to include a statement by BW Offshore who confirmed the attack on its FPSO and the kidnapping of several crew members.Pirates on Thursday attacked BW Offshore's Sendje Berge FPSO and kidnapped several crewmembers.Security intel group Dryad Global first reported of the attack on the 349 meters-long FPSO on Thursday, citing a "high confidence" source."Reporting indicates that the FPSO SENDJE BERGE has been attacked by unknown armed men. Further reports indicate that up to 11 personnel may have been kidnapped from the vessel," Dryad said.BW Offshore then released a statement confirming the attack had indeed happened and that nine crew members were kidnapped…