Maritime Security News

Three ships from Russia’s Baltic Fleet will arrive in Cuba on Saturday, official media said on Thursday, the second visit by Russian naval vessels since June.A brief statement by the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces said the visit was routine, but back-to-back naval visits by any country to Cuba have not occurred in decades.Russian news agencies earlier reported on the planned visit, citing Cuba's Defense Ministry.(Reuters - Reporting by Marc Frank, Writing by Natalia Siniawski; Editing by Christian Plumb)

Iran has released the oil cargo of a Greek-owned, Marshall-Islands-flagged tanker it seized in the Gulf of Oman earlier this year, a shipping source told Reuters on Thursday.The vessel, M/T St. Nikolas, is still being held by Iran, the source added. It was laden with 1 million barrels of Iraqi crude oil destined for Turkey when it was seized."The cargo was released earlier this week after negotiations," the source said.Turkish refiner Tupras said in a statement that the St. Nikolas…

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has intercepted a Togo-flagged, UAE-managed products tanker carrying 1,500 tons of marine gas oil, the IRGC and British security firm Ambrey said on Monday.The vessel had loaded marine gas oil off the coast of Iraq and was destined for UAE's Sharjah when it was intercepted on Sunday, 61 nautical miles southwest of Iran's port of Bushehr, Ambrey said.Iran's Revolutionary Guards' Navy confirmed seizure of the tanker in a statement quoted by Iran's state news agency, saying "the tanker was systematically engaged in fuel smuggling ...

Russia and China are increasingly cooperating in the Arctic region, which could impact regional stability, the U.S. military said as it released its strategy for the Arctic region on Monday.Russia has reopened hundreds of Soviet-era military sites in the Arctic, the report said. China, which describes itself as a "near-Arctic" state, also has ambitions there and has said it intended to build a "Polar Silk Road." China has its eye on mineral resources and new shipping routes as ice packs recede with rising temperatures."Increasingly…

The Philippines and China have "reached an understanding on the provisional arrangement" for resupply missions to a beached Filipino naval ship in the South China Sea, Manila's foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday.The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) did not provide details on the arrangement for the Philippines' resupply missions to the Sierra Madre on the Second Thomas Shoal.But it said it followed "frank and constructive discussions" between the two sides at the…

Russian warships conducted training drills in the White Sea to convoy and defend a caravan of ships, state-run TASS news agency reported on Sunday, citing the Russian Defence Ministry, in what it said was routine combat training.During the drills two small anti-submarine ships, the Onega and the Naryan-Mar, practised organising combat usage of weapons and radio-electronic warfare equipment in a scenario of a simultaneous attack from air and sea."The day before, the small anti-submarine ships Onega and Naryan-Mar carried out training and combat missions to repel an air attack by a conditional e

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has informed that the Singapore-flagged container vessel LOBIVIA had been struck by unidentified projectiles while transiting the Gulf of Aden.The impact caused the fire onboard, which has been extinguished by the crew.According to MPA, all crew are accounted for and are safe and there are no Singaporeans onboard.LOBIVIA is moving under her own propulsion and has arrived at Berbera Port, Somalia to assess the damage and repairs needed.“MPA is in contact with the vessel manager to provide any assistance required.

The mayor of the Russian Black Sea port city of Novorossiisk issued a sea drone alert on Thursday morning, he said on the Telegram messaging app.Mayor Andrei Kravchenko urged locals to stay away from the shoreline. Ukrainian sea drones have in the past attacked Russian ships near the port, disrupting traffic.Novorossiisk is Russia's largest Black Sea port and a key outlet for crude oil and oil product exports in Russia's south.

The Philippines and China have agreed to set up new lines of communication to improve their handling of maritime disputes, according to a document and a Philippine diplomatic source, as ties sour over clashes about territory in the South China Sea.The two countries have traded barbs repeatedly over jurisdiction in the contested South China Sea as the Philippines, emboldened by support of defence ally the United States, challenges China's permanent presence around strategic features…

China and Russia have begun live-fire naval exercises in the South China Sea, Russian and Chinese state media reported, with the two countries having strengthened military and trade ties in recent years following U.S. sanctions on both.The opening ceremony of the Russian-Chinese naval exercise 'Maritime Cooperation - 2024' took place in the Chinese port of Zhanjiang, the Russian defence ministry said on the Telegram messaging app.During their sea manoeuvres, the crews of ships…

Liberia-flagged oil tanker Chios Lion was assessing damage and investigating a potential oil spill after it was attacked by Yemen's Houthis in the Red Sea, the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) said on Tuesday.An unmanned watercraft inflicted minor damage to Chios Lion's port side on Monday as part of a swarm of attacks by the Houthis on the vessel and another ship sailing around 100 nautical miles northwest of Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah."While originally headed south, following the attack the vessel turned around and back north out of the threat area to furt

Yemen's Houthis targeted three vessels, including an oil tanker, in the Red and Mediterranean seas with ballistic missiles, drones and booby-trapped boats, they said on Monday.Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the latest Houthi military operations were a response to the Israeli airstrike on the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis on Saturday, an attack that killed at least 90 Palestinians and wounded 300 others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.In dozens of attacks since November…

Yemen's Houthis said on Sunday they had conducted two military operations, one in the Gulf of Aden and one in Eilat at the southern tip of Israel.Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group had targeted the Israeli ship MSC UNIFIC in the Gulf of Aden with ballistic missiles and drones in addition to attacking military targets in Eilat with drones.The spokesperson said that the latest Houthi military operations came in response to the Israeli airstrike on Khan Younis on Saturday…

British security firm Ambrey said early on Friday that a merchant vessel reported two explosions about 21 nautical miles (39 km) west of Yemen's Mocha.One "missile" impacted the water and another exploded in the air, the vessel reported to Ambrey, adding that both explosions occurred within 0.5 nautical miles of the vessel."The vessel was withholding its automatic identification system transmissions at the time.

Shipping giant Maersk said one of its vessels, the Maersk Sentosa, reported being targeted by a flying object in the north of the Gulf of Aden early on Tuesday.Maersk told Reuters that no injuries to the crew or damage to the ship or cargo were reported.A spokesperson for the Copenhagen-based company said the ship was one of its U.S.-flagged vessels sailing for the subsidiary Maersk Line, Limited.The captain of an unnamed merchant ship reported an explosion close to the vessel some 180 nautical miles (333 km) east of Yemen's Nishtun…

Ethical Farming Ireland (EFI) has raised concerns that the livestock carrier Shorthorn Express is currently sailing to Israel from Greenore despite having previously been subject to a Houthi attack in the Red Sea region in June. The Shorthorn Express was travelling to Haifa port from Portugal with 12,000 sheep on board at the time.EFI continues to raise other concerns about the trade. The organisation is calling for an immediate end to live export to countries outside the EU that do not share Ireland’s animal welfare standards.

The Russian navy's Black Sea Fleet has been forced to rebase nearly all its combat-ready warships from occupied Crimea to other locations, and its main naval hub is becoming ineffectual because of attacks by Kyiv, Ukraine's navy chief said.Vice-Admiral Oleksiy Neizhpapa said Ukrainian missile and naval drone strikes had caused heavy damage to the Sevastopol base, a logistics hub for repairs, maintenance, training and ammunition storage among other important functions for Russia."They were established over many decades, possibly centuries.

Two corvettes of the Russian navy's Pacific Fleet left the port of Vladivostok in Russia's Far East to carry out training missions in the Asia-Pacific region, the Interfax news agency cited the fleet's press service as saying on Monday."When leaving the main base of the fleet, the crews of the ships practiced emergency preparations for battle and sailing, and when passing through a narrow area, they conducted training in repelling a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) raid of a mock enemy," the agency reported, citing the press service.The corvettes, the Rezky and the Gromky, will conduct a number o

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Saturday that China's largest coastguard vessel has anchored in Manila's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea, and is meant to intimidate its smaller Asian neighbour.The China coastguard's 165-meter 'monster ship' entered Manila's 200-nautical mile EEZ on July 2, spokesperson for the PCG Jay Tarriela told a news forum.The PCG warned the Chinese vessel it was in the Philippine's EEZ and asked about their intentions, he said."It's an intimidation on the part of the China Coast Guard," Tarriela said.

The EU naval mission protecting ships crossing the Red Sea said its frigate Psara had destroyed two unmanned aerial vehicles in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday.The Aspides mission began in February in response to drone and missile attacks on vessels by Iranian-aligned Houthi militants. The Houthis describe the attacks as acts of solidarity with Palestinians in Israel's war in Gaza.Other countries, including the United States, also have naval forces operating in the area.(Reuters - Reporting by Renee Maltezou and Lefteris Papadimas; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has ordered his armed forces to defuse tensions in the South China Sea, his military chief said on Thursday, after a flare-up with China over missions to resupply Filipino troops on a contested shoal.Marcos' instructions came after Manila and Beijing agreed on the need to restore trust and confidence to better manage maritime disputes during a round of talks which Manila hosted on Tuesday.But that did not stop the Philippine military from…

Yemen's Houthis are sending drone boats packed with explosives into the Red Sea as they intensify their attacks on merchant ships that have little defense against the "sophisticated shift" in tactic, maritime security sources say.Iran-aligned Houthi militants first launched aerial drone and missile strikes on the trade route in November in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. In over 70 attacks, they have sunk two vessels, seized another and killed at least three seafarers.In recent weeks…

An abandoned tanker that was drifting off Yemen's coast in June has disappeared and is believed to have sunk, three navy and security sources said, the latest vessel lost in the strategically important Red Sea.The area, on the main shipping route from Europe to Asia, is considered high risk as Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi militants have launched more than 70 attacks on merchant vessels since October in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.Maritime security sources said last week the abandoned tanker, the Lavant, was unlikely however to have been targeted by the Houthis.