Dryad Maritime Intelligence News

Somali pirates are suspected of hijacking a bulk carrier ship on one of the world's crucial trade routes, Reuters reported. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations piracy watchdog said on its website it had received a report from a vessel under attack and possibly boarded off the coast of war-ravaged Yemen. It gave no further details. However, a security source working at the Puntland Marine Police Force said the vessel was Tuvalu-flagged and is known as OS35. Graeme Gibbon-Brooks, the head of private company Dryad Maritime Intelligence, said industry sources had confirmed the hijacking. "Vessels transiting the area are advised to exercise extreme caution," UKMTO said, without giving more details.

Pirates have hijacked an oil tanker with eight Sri Lankan crew on board, Somali authorities said on Tuesday, the first time a commercial ship has been seized in the region since 2012. Security forces have been sent to free the Aris 13, a regional police official said late on Tuesday. "We are determined to rescue the ship and its crew. Our forces have set off to Alula. It is our duty to rescue ships hijacked by pirates and we shall rescue it," Abdirahman Mohamud Hassan, director general of Puntland’s marine police forces, told Reuters by phone. Puntland is a semi-autonomous northern region of Somalia. Alula is a port town there where pirates have taken the tanker. Experts said the ship was an easy target and ship owners were becoming lax after a long period of calm.

Suspected pirate vessel off Angola. Dryad Maritime - a UK-based maritime intelligence firm - says situation has not changed since yesterday. Dryad Maritime is warning of the possible hijack of a Liberian flagged tanker MT Kerala. The vessel, owned by Dynacom Tankers, has been reported as missing off the coast of Angola, having last been sighted seven nautical miles NNW of Luanda. The tanker’s disappearance may represent a significant extension of maritime crime emanating from the Gulf of Guinea region, most probably from Nigerian criminal gangs.

Dryad Maritime Intelligence have today confirmed the first piracy attack of 2014 which saw an attack launched by Somali pirates south of Salalah in the late hours of January 17. The news comes hot on the heels of the latest International Maritime Bureau (IMB) annual report on piracy and maritime crime, which welcomes a decrease in Somali piracy in 2013. In the incident on Friday, a Mothership-enabled PAG attacked a transiting vessel with small arms fire. The on board security team took appropriate action and repelled the attack with a graduated response, culminating in an exchange of fire. The pirates ignored deterrence and continued their approach, firing at the ship.

Maritime intelligence provider, Dryad Maritime Intelligence, has issued guidance to seafarers on the latest framework of standards to be issued by the maritime security industry. Dryad's advisory considers and comments upon the three main proposed standards that are currently hot topics of debate in the maritime security industry; the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) PAS 28007, the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers (ICoC) and ANSI / ASIS PSC 1 & 4.

Dryad Maritime Intelligence, a U.K. maritime intelligence provider, issued guidance on the latest framework of standards to be issued by the maritime security industry. Their advisory considers and comments upon the three main proposed standards that are currently hot topics of debate in the maritime security industry; the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) PAS 28007, the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers (ICoC) and ANSI / ASIS PSC 1 & 4.

Dryad Maritime Intelligence announced that it has been short-listed in the management/operations category for their Fleet Security Management service in this years’ IHS Safety at Sea Awards. The awards recognize innovation and excellence while paying tribute to outstanding contributions made to the maritime safety industry. In this their seventh year, the awards celebrate the role that safety managers and manufacturers play in saving and protecting lives at sea across the international maritime safety market. Dryad’s Fleet Security Management service is predominantly managed by former Royal Navy operations specialists with over 400 years collective service.

UK's Dryad Maritime, specialists in maritime intelligence, opens a new office in Hastings. Dryad Maritime is a specialist maritime intelligence company helping seafarers to quantify, mitigate and manage the threats from piracy, terrorism and other waterborne threat and crime. The opening of the office is the next phase in a major programme of expansion and comes as Dryad seek to harness growth opportunities, enhance existing 24/7 business continuity and ensure it is at the forefront of the latest technological developments. The expansion marks Dryad’s mandatory commitment to extend the provision of its global maritime intelligence services.

Dryad Maritime Intelligence has announced the appointment of David Hunkin OBE as their new Commercial Director who will be based at their Operations Center in Portsmouth. In this new role, David will lead Dryad’s commercial business development with some exciting plans for international expansion in 2013. Supported by Dryad’s Executive Board, his remit will be to ensure that Dryad clients remain fully informed and prepared for current and future security challenges. The appointment…

From ferrying company directors by taxi in and out of Hereford, to greeting others enthusiastically in the specially prepared car park, maritime security specialist, Ambrey Risk’s Open Day was a meticulously planned affair that brought over forty invited guests together in the middle of the Herefordshire countryside on probably the driest day of the year. The event at Ambreys’ Operations and Training Centre was intended to promote transparency and openness and was a unique opportunity to look at the operations of a private maritime security company.

Dryad Maritime Intelligence the south of England based intelligence firm specializing in military-grade predictive intelligence for superyachts and commercial vessels and shore based maritime operations staff has announced the appointment of Karen Jacques as Commercial Director. In her role, Jacques will be responsible for marketing strategy, sales and after sales customer service. "After graduating with an Honours Degree in Maritime Defence Management and Technology from Plymouth University and the Royal Naval College Greenwich, Karen served in the Royal Navy for 14 years as a Warfare Officer spending 9 years at sea. A Navigator by trade with several years as a boarding officer…