Peter Cook News

The United States said on Tuesday it had received an underwater drone "unlawfully seized" by a Chinese vessel last week and called on China to refrain from further efforts to impede its lawful activities in the South China Sea. China had earlier announced it had returned the drone after "friendly" talks between the two countries. The USS Mustin received the vehicle for the United States in international waters approximately 50 nautical miles northwest of Subic Bay in the Philippines, near where it was taken, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said in a statement.   Reporting by Lincoln Feast

U.S. strikes target three coastal radar sites; Radar enabled launch of missiles against U.S. destroyer. The U.S. military launched cruise missile strikes on Thursday to knock out three coastal radar sites in areas of Yemen controlled by Iran-aligned Houthi forces, retaliating after failed missile attacks this week on a U.S. Navy destroyer, U.S. officials said. The strikes, authorized by President Barack Obama, represent Washington's first direct military action against suspected Houthi-controlled targets in Yemen's conflict. Still, the Pentagon appeared to stress the limited nature of the strikes, aimed at radar that enabled the launch of at least three missiles against the U.S. Navy ship USS Mason on Sunday and Wednesday.

China's government sought to downplay fears of conflict in the South China Sea after an influential state-run newspaper said on Tuesday that Beijing should prepare for military confrontation. Editorials in the Global Times newspaper ahead of a July 12 international court ruling on competing claims in the South China Sea by China and the Philippines said the dispute had already been complicated by U.S. intervention. It faced further escalation due to the threat posed by The Hague-based tribunal to China's sovereignty, the paper said. "Washington has deployed two carrier battle groups around the South China Sea, and it wants to send a signal by flexing its muscles: As the biggest powerhouse in the region, it awaits China's obedience," the Global Times said.

Russia has sent two tank landing ships and additional aircraft to Syria in the past day or so and has deployed a small number of forces there, U.S. officials said on Wednesday, in the latest signs of a military buildup that has put Washington on edge. The two U.S. officials, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the intent of Russia's military moves in Syria remained unclear. U.S. officials have not ruled out the possibility that Moscow may be laying the groundwork for an air combat role in Syria's conflict to bolster Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Assad, a longtime Russian ally, has seen the area he controls whittled down to a fifth or less of Syria's territory after more than four years of grinding civil war.

Somali pirate attacks down by 95 pct since 2011 -Maritime bureau. Cash-strapped maritime security firms are being forced to use fewer costly elite guards and to diversify into other businesses such as cyber security, as a steep decline in Somali pirate attacks and hotter competition erode fast-thinning margins. Hundreds of security firms sprang up over the past seven years to offer protection to shipping companies, with scores of merchant vessels being boarded and sailors taken hostage in pirate raids off the coast of conflict-torn Somalia. However, attacks in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean have dropped from a peak of 237 in 2011 to just 10 in the first nine months of this year, the lowest since the piracy scourge began in 2008, according to the International Maritime Bureau.

Tundra International announced it has entered an exclusive partnership with Mr. David Hammond, Barrister of 9 Bedford Row International Chambers to identify and develop new technology based training methods to test personnel on their knowledge and application of the Rules for the Use of Force and the '100 Series Rules' as it applies to the maritime security environment. The 100 Series Rules, created by David Hammond, a U.K. Counsel and barrister-at-law who heads up the maritime practice at the International division of 9 Bedford Row Chambers, are intended to be a model set and example of best practice for maritime Rules for the Use of Force…

AdvanFort receives key “green light” accreditation in the Stage 1 process from Security Association for the Maritime Industry (SAMI). The company says it has achieved key certification status in the Standard Private Maritime Security Company (PMSC) accreditation program of the Security Association for the Maritime Industry (SAMI) pointing out that it is part of AdvanFort's on-going rigorous program of matching and exceeding emerging international benchmarks for quality and standards in maritime security. "We have just been told by Peter Cook, SAMI’s founder and director, that AdvanFort has been now certified in the Stage 1 process, attesting to our company's bottom line of transparency, honesty and integrity," said AdvanFort President and COO William H. Watson.

Swedish anti-pirate water cannon manufacturer, Unifire AB (unifire.com), has announced that it has become a full Member of the Security Association for the Maritime Industry (SAMI). SAMI Founder and Security Director, Peter Cook, says, "The Security Association for the Maritime Industry (SAMI) is extremely pleased to welcome Unifire into the global membership. The use of equipment, technology and hardware solutions is increasingly important for shipping, and our members are at the forefront of these developments.

The Security Association for the Maritime Industry (SAMI) welcomes the IMO’s progress on its revised guidance and recommendations for the use of privately contracted armed security on-board ships. Following last week’s Intersessional Maritime and Piracy Working Group, the IMO has released new guidance and recommendations on the use of privately contracted armed   security personnel. SAMI believes the new guidance and recommendations are timely, as violent pirate attacks are set to reach record levels as they resume after the lull during the monsoon period and a reduction in scale and operation of the world’s navies. There has also been praise for the work undertaken by the IMO on facilitating the passage of armed guards and their weapons on merchant ships.