Mogadishu News

Somali pirates released a hijacked ship, MV Abdullah, and its crew of 23 early on Sunday after a $5 million ransom was paid, according to two pirates."The money was brought to us two nights ago as usual... we checked whether the money was fake or not. Then we divided the money into groups and left, avoiding the government forces," Abdirashiid Yusuf, one of the pirates, told Reuters.He added the ship had been released with all its crew.Somalia government officials did not respond to a request for comment.The MV Abdullah…

As a speed boat carrying more than a dozen Somali pirates bore down on their position in the western Indian Ocean, the crew of a Bangladeshi-owned bulk carrier sent out a distress signal and called an emergency hotline.No one reached them in time. The pirates clambered aboard the Abdullah, firing warning shots and taking the captain and second officer hostage, Chief Officer Atiq Ullah Khan said in an audio message to the ship's owners."By the grace of Allah no one has been harmed so far," Khan said in the message, recorded before the pirates took the crew's phones.

Twenty armed people have boarded a cargo ship off the coast of Somalia and have taken control of it, a maritime security firm said on Tuesday.The vessel is the latest to be targeted following a resurgence of attacks by Somali pirates in recent months although the maritime security firm, Ambrey, did not specify that it was Somali pirates who boarded the ship.Ambrey said the ship was a Bangladesh-flagged bulk carrier - a type of merchant ship used to transport large amounts of cargo…

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…

A Panama-flagged ship boarded by Somali police is safe and underway, the EU Naval Force said on Saturday, after conflicting reports two days earlier about whether it had been hijacked by Somali pirates.The Aegean II had originally altered its course due to a damaged hull and after local police had boarded it, "there had been certain incidents on board the vessel", the EU force said in a statement."At this point, it cannot be classified as a maritime security incident, but a more detailed investigation is in progress…

Somali pirates have released three Iranian hostages held for five years, a maritime security official said on Thursday, as conflicting reports emerged whether another ship had been seized after a three-year hiatus in hijackings.The three Iranians are the last of the crew of the Iranian fishing vessel FV Siraj, which was captured by pirates on March 22, 2015.“This marks the end of an era of Somali piracy and the pain and suffering of Somalia’s forgotten hostages,” said John Steed…

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.

Risk Intelligence provides security data, information, analysis and assessment to enable safe navigation in areas of risk in an increasingly uncertain worldSince its founding in 2001, Denmark-headquartered security information specialist Risk Intelligence has developed a fully integrated risk assessment and planning tool that provides valid, actionable intelligence to any fleet, on land, in port or at sea, 24/7/365. The company has three information and intelligence products that together assess security risks at sea…

Risk Intelligence provides security data, information, analysis and assessment to enable safe navigation in areas of risk in an increasingly uncertain world.Since its founding in 2001, Denmark-headquartered security information specialist Risk Intelligence has developed a fully integrated risk assessment and planning tool that provides valid, actionable intelligence to any fleet, on land, in port or at sea, 24/7/365. The company has three information and intelligence products that together assess security risks at sea…

Somalia has more than 3,300 km of coastline, the longest and perhaps the most geographically significant in the Horn of Africa, four main commercial seaports and about five minor ports.But plagued by decades of civil war, a lot of effort is required to rebuild the sector, pointed out a press release form the International Maritime Organization (IMO).IMO and the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) have organized a workshop in Mogadishu, Somalia (25-27 August 2019) to finalize the much-awaited Somalia Shipping Code with the hope that it will be enacted in parliament.The Somalia Shipping Code includes the necessary steps required to accede all key IMO treaties…

CMA CGM announced the service improvement connecting Middle East to East Africa, in the effort to maintain a high service reliability and punctuality with our lead product NOURA service.Effective from M/V CMA CGM MANET voyage Jebel Ali  today (January 3), direct product with a comprehensive coverage of East Africa and Indian Ocean markets, Noura service will benefit of a 6th sister ship of 2,200 TEU to address the recurrent port congestion.Mombasa is added in the port coverage to permit significant service improvement for Asia cargo bound to Somalia and transiting via Kenya hub, said a press note from CMA CGM.NOURA new rotation: Jebel Ali - Mombasa - Mogadishu - Longoni - Nacala (fortnightly) - Beira (fortnightly) - Port Victoria - Jebel Ali

The European Union and the Global Maritime Crime Programme of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC GMCP) have a long and effective relation in building capacities to tackle maritime crimes.The EU and the Global Maritime Crime Programme of UNODC started partnering in 2010 to support Eastern African states (Kenya, Seychelles, Mauritius and Tanzania) prosecuting piracy incidents off the coast of Somalia.Currently, the EU and UNODC GMCP are jointly working on  capacity building support in Somalia, including training and mentoring of the Mogadishu Maritime Police Unit.The Global Maritime Crime Programme is currently preparing…

Dubai state-owned port operator DP World launched on Thursday a $101 million project to expand a port in the breakaway region of Somaliland.Somaliland broke away from Somalia in 1991 and has acted as a de-facto independent state since then but is not internationally recognized. The United Arab Emirate's Dubai government owns DP World.The port in Berbera exports camels to the Middle East and imports food and other items, but Somaliland hopes it will provide an alternative for neighboring Ethiopia - a landlocked country of 100 million which relies on Djibouti for its trade.On Thursday…

In a continued effort to provide our customers with reliable and efficient service, CMA CGM Group will upgrade its service offering connection India and Middle East to East Africa., said press release from the company.Starting 17th August 2018, the group will offer a new product to East Africa whilst combining NOURA 1 and NOURA 2 former rotations.Strengths of this new offer is one direct service serving 6 ports of call in East Africa range.Revised port coverage as follows: Khor Fakkan, Jebel Ali, Mogadishu, Longoni, Beira (1/2), Port Victoria, Khor Fakkan; Khor Fakkan, Jebel Ali, Mogadishu, Longoni, Nacala (1/2), Port Victoria, Khor…

Global maritime piracy activity fell to its lowest level in over two decades, according to the latest International Maritime Bureau (IMB) report. The 180 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships reported to the International Chamber of Commerce’s (ICC) IMB in 2017 was the lowest annual number since 1995, when 188 incidents were reported. According to the IMB, pirates boarded 136 vessels in 2017, while 22 attacks were attempted, 16 vessels fired upon and six vessels hijacked.

A fundraising campaign to build a international memorial dedicated to the estimated 100,000 people who lost their lives during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II, as well as those who served and survived, is being launched in Liverpool. The Battle of the Atlantic Memorial (BOAM), the charity leading the campaign, will stage a press call with war veterans on the Liverpool’s iconic waterfront to launch the fundraising effort to build the 28 meter monument in the shape of a merchant ship split in two.

A suicide truck bomb hit the entrance of Somalia's biggest port on Sunday, killing at least 29 people, police said, an attack claimed by Islamist al Shabaab militants. The fighters said they were trying to disrupt protracted parliamentary elections - part of efforts to rebuild the fractured nation after decades of war. The three-month vote is due to end on Dec. 29. Gunfire rang out after the blast at Mogadishu Port, Mohamed Hussein, a worker there, told Reuters. Two others said work had been halted and staff sent home. The bodies of victims lay strewn outside the capital's terminal in a street filled with rubble from damaged tea shops. "At least 29 civilians died and 50 others have been injured in the blast.

Swahili Express service will be dedicated to Kenya and Tanzania markets with very fast transit times. Mombasa will be reached from Mundra in 12 days and Dar Es Salaam in 14 days. Noura Express service will have an improved transit time to Somalia by 4 days. Mogadishu port will be reached in 7 days from Jebel Ali and in 17 days from Mundra. SWAHILI service:  As from m/v CHIEF at Nhava Sheva on February 24th, 2017, Swahili service will be operated with 4 vessels. We will add Mombasa direct call in complement to the current Dar Es Salaam call. The port coverage at origin will be upgraded with 2 direct port calls in India. Longoni and Zanzibar calls are discontinued.

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.

The EU anti-piracy operation in the Horn of Africa  region said that  Pirates are demanding a ransom for the release of the Comoros-flagged oil tanker Aris 13 seized off the coast of Somalia and the crew is being held captive, the AP reported. An EU naval force statement said the operation had finally made contact with the ship’s master, who confirmed that armed men were onboard the 1,800 dwt ship. The reported seizure Monday of the ship, which was the first such seizure of a large commercial vessel off Somalia since 2012, came as a surprise to the global shipping industry as patrols by the navies of NATO countries, as well as China, India and Iran, had suppressed Somali pirate hijackings for several years.

Somali pirates released a hijacked oil tanker and its eight Sri Lankan crew on Thursday, a Somali security official and the pirates said, bringing the first hijacking since 2012 to an unusually swift conclusion without the payment of a ransom. The release followed a gunfight earlier in the day between the pirates and the marine force, and then intensive negotiations between the marine force, clan elders and the pirates. "There has been discussion going on after the gunfight of this afternoon ...

The crew members from ESPS Rayo continued the regional cooperation EU NAVFOR has established with the AMISOM Marine unit off the coast of Mogadishu. This was the third time this year that EU NAVFOR has had the opportunity to exercise and train with AMISOM forces. This visit to Mogadishu followed on from ESPS Relampago in February and ESPS Galicia in May. The training included briefings and exercises on fire fighting, search and rescue, first aid and boarding procedures. Maritime training with regional partners, such as AMISOM, is an extremely important aspect of Operation Atalanta’s work to deter piracy off the coast of Somalia. The…

To better respond to our customers’ needs in the dynamic East Africa market, CMA CGM will upgrade and broaden its service offering connecting India and Middle East Gulf to East Africa. Swahili Express service remains unchanged. A wide range of intermodal solutions to Eastern Africa domestic and cross border destinations service offering is proposed by CMA CGM Group in addition to the maritime services.