Port Of Mogadishu News

On Friday, August 13, EU NAVFOR ATALANTA Joint Operation Centre received an alert according to which the Turkish-flagged cargo vessel Anatolia (IMO 9005869) was under attack by a skiff with four or five armed persons on board.Reportedly, the skiff attempted to approach the vessel and opened fire with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades (RPG). One of these RPG caused damage in the vicinity of the bridge. After almost two hours of exchange of fire between the assailants and the privately contracted armed security personnel on board…

Somalia begins to build its national tax revenue from imported goods with new freight building up at the Port of Mogadishu. For the first time since the country slid into anarchy, container arrivals hit more than 1,200 in March 2013, reports Xinhua. The Port of Mogadishu was hit by war and piracy that kept off international shipping liners away from its coastline. State officials are presenly in talks with several international investors to modernize the port in readiness for the cargo buildup that is critical in helping to revitalize the stalled national economy. Somalia's Finance Ministry is yet to compute the annual gross domestic product growth that will build up from the past few months of trade generated by the Port…

At first light on 12 January 2012, having just completed the escort of a World Food Programme ship carrying food-aid into Somalia and while operating close to the Somali port of Mogadishu, the EU NAVFOR Flagship, the ESPS PATINO, was approached by one skiff with a group of suspected pirates onboard. The suspected pirates opened fire with light calibre weapons and tried to board the PATINO. The ship’s force-protection team returned fire in self-defense and the ship’s helicopter was launched.

Countering piracy, or any other threat, comes naturally to U.S. Navy personnel patrolling critical sea lanes around the world, and October was been a busy month for those monitoring pirate activities off the east coast of Africa. On October 30, a U.S. Navy destroyer answered a call for help -- relayed through the International Maritime Bureau -- from the North Korean crew on a vessel that had been overtaken by pirates in international waters October 29. The USS James Williams dispatched a helicopter to the sugar-laden Dai Hong Dan, poised 60 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia, to investigate the situation. The helicopter confirmed…

The U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) issued a Special Warning stating that mariners are advised to avoid the port of Mogadishu and to remain at least 200 nautical miles distant from the Somali coast. Pirates are reported to have used previously hijacked ships as bases for further attacks. They are also reported to issue false distress calls to lure ships closer to shore. Be constantly alert if in this vicinity. Source: HK Law