Maritime Security News

Wisconsin-based power solutions manufacturer Fairbanks Morse said it has delivered four FM 6L48/60CR engines to shipbuilder General Dynamics NASSCO in San Diego for the newbuild USS John L. Canley (ESB 6). The ship is the sixth in the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command Expeditionary Transfer Dock (ESD)/Expeditionary Sea Base (ESB) program and is designed to serve as a mobile sea base that provides access to critical infrastructure for the deployment of forces and supplies.The four FM 6L48/60CR engines are rated at 6,480 kW and will deliver a total of 25,920 kW of installed power.

The U.S. Navy awarded Austal USA a $235 million undefinitized contract action modification on Feb. 26, 2021, for the detailed design and construction of Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) 15.The EPF program, currently operating on schedule and under budget, has delivered 12 ships to the fleet. The versatility of the EPF design has enabled each ship to provide a significant operational capability tailored to the needs of each geographic command. EPF 15 will include enhanced medical capability to increase its operational capability.“At its core…

An Israeli-owned ship, the MV HELIOS RAY, was hit by an explosion in the Gulf of Oman overnight Thursday and a U.S. defense official said the blast left holes in both sides of the vessel's hull. The cause was not immediately clear.The vehicle-carrier ship is owned by a Tel-Aviv based company called Ray Shipping through a company registered in the Isle of Man, according to a U.N. shipping database."Investigations are ongoing. Vessel and crew are safe," the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said in an advisory notice on Friday.

Among his first key appointments since taking the helm of Lloyd’s Register (LR) in January, Chief Executive Nick Brown has named three new members of LR’s executive leadership team: Mark Darley as Business Director, Marine and Offshore, Andy McKeran as Business Director, Maritime Performance Services and Philippa Charlton as Chief Marketing Officer.“LR recognizes that maritime stakeholders must rise to the demands of changing technology and the drive to decarbonize our industry.

Enhanced cooperation and implementation of best practices are needed to avoid, deter and report attacks threatening ships and crew in the world's top piracy hotspot, says the United Nations' (UN) maritime agencyKitack Lim, Secretary-General of the UN's International Maritime Organization (IMO) expressed his deep concern about the escalation in the number and severity of attacks on ships and crew in the Gulf of Guinea region, and insisted on the need for a collaborative approach…

The U.S. Navy seized thousands of weapons from two stateless dhows during a maritime security operation off the coast of Somalia last week.A boarding team from guided-missile destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill’s (DDG 81) discovered the illicit cargo during a flag verification boarding in international waters, and the confiscation took place February 11 and 12.The cache of weapons consisted of thousands of AK-47 assault rifles, light machine guns, heavy sniper rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers…

The Pakistan navy’s seventh biennial multinational “Aman” (peace) exercise in Pakistani waters aimed at fostering international cooperation to fight piracy, terrorism and other crimes threatening maritime security concluded on Tuesday.Around 45 navies, including those of the United States, Britain and China, took part in the Arabian Sea exercise with ships and observers.“The purpose of this exercise to bring regional and extra-regional navies on one platform and conduct exercises to enhance intra-operability in addition to counter terrorist threat and the crime which are happening in maritime

Bollinger Shipyards delivered the USCGC Frederick Hatch, the 166th vessel the Louisiana shipbuilder has delivered to the U.S. Coast Guard over a 35-year period and the 43rd Fast Response Cutter (FRC) delivered under the current program.The USCGC Frederick Hatch is the final of three FRCs to be home-ported in Apra Harbor, Guam, increasing the presence for the U.S. Coast Guard in the Indo-Pacific Theater. Additionally, in 2020, Bollinger delivered two of six FRCs that will be home-ported in Manama…

DG Risk Group announced Monday it has acquired armed maritime security company Protection Vessels International, along with its trading division Halcyon Yacht Security. The acquisition was completed in 2020.UK-based Protection Vessels International (PVI) specializes in armed maritime security solutions for commercial and governmental agencies. Most recently PVI, in unison with DG Risk Group, supported and partnered with several navies in the Gulf of Guinea in support of two major…

A Lebanese shipbuilder at the center of a $2 billion debt scandal in Mozambique said it made payments to its now-president and ruling party in 2014, but said these were legal campaign donations not bribes, according to a London court filing.Privinvest said payments made to President Filipe Nyusi in the run-up to his election and to the Frelimo party were allowed under Mozambican law, according to the Jan. 15 filing at London’s High Court.The case relates to a series of tuna fishing…

Eagle Bulk Shipping confirmed reports that one of its bulk carriers was hijacked in the Gulf of Guinea, and said the vessel and crew are safe now that the incident has been resolved. Maritime security groups had reported that the Marshall Islands-flagged Rowayton Eagle was boarded by pirates off the coast of Nigeria, and AIS tracking suggests the vessel had been adrift since January 27."As you may have read in the press, the M/V Rowayton Eagle was hijacked about 240 miles southeast of Lagos (Nigeria).

Pirate attacks against merchant ships off the African coast have been reported regularly over the past decade. And despite measures to suppress it, Somalia-based piracy remains a concern. On the other side of the continent, the Gulf of Guinea is now viewed as presenting a much more serious piracy problem.Last year a record 130 crew members were kidnapped in 22 separate incidents, according to the International Maritime Bureau. The cluster of attacks in November and December has…

Maritime security risk management firm Dryad Global announced Tuesday it has appointed Teresa Peacock as its first non-executive director.Peacock is currently managing director at maritime staffing and recruitment firm Spinnaker Global and a member of the Maritime UK’s Diversity Taskforce, a board member of the Women's International Shipping & Trading Association (WISTA UK) and a part of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Women and Work. Her experience spans a career in recruitment of over 30 years…

Is neo-colonialism in the Gulf of Guinea the answer to West Africa’s maritime crime crisis?In October 2020, China’s transport ministry established an ad hoc workgroup to lay down precautionary measures for ships and seafarers passing through high piracy risk West African waters.The move came as China told its vessels to up vigilance and implement a series of precautionary measures to ensure the security of ocea-going vessels and seafarers amid rising attacks and a surge in kidnaps in the Gulf of Guinea.Plans outlined by Wu Chungeng…

NOAA has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing across borders and promote sustainable fisheries abroad, as the U.S. ramps up its fight against practices that threaten global food security, damage economies and risk the sustainability of fisheries and marine ecosystems.This partnership builds on NOAA's larger work with the U.S. State Department and U.S. Coast Guard under the Maritime SAFE Act…

Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps seized a South Korean-flagged tanker in Gulf waters and detained its crew, Iranian media said on Monday, amid tensions between Tehran and Seoul over Iranian funds frozen in South Korean banks due to U.S. sanctions.Seoul confirmed the seizure of a South Korean chemical tanker by Iranian authorities in the waters off Oman, and demanded its immediate release.Several Iranian media outlets, including state TV, said the Guards navy captured the vessel for polluting the Gulf with chemicals."According to initial reports by local officials…

Bollinger Shipyards has delivered the USCGC Robert Goldman to the U.S. Coast Guard in Key West, Fla. This is the 165th vessel Bollinger has delivered to the U.S. Coast Guard over a 35-year period and the 42nd Fast Response Cutter (FRC) delivered under the current program.The USCGC Robert Goldman is the second of six FRCs to be home-ported in Manama, Bahrain, which will replace the aging 110-foot Island Class Patrol Boats, built by Bollinger Shipyards 30 years ago, supporting the Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA), the U.S.

ABB Marine & Ports has opened a new shipping cyber security laboratory ahead of stricter maritime cyber security rules due to enter force on January 1, 2021.In line with the guidelines set out by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the new laboratory features hardware and software systems developed to help shipowners and operators combat the maritime industry’s growing cyber security risks, ABB said. Customers are now being invited for virtual demonstrations of the laboratory’s systems and capabilities.With the rise of smarter…

The Port of Los Angeles is working with IBM to design and operate a Port Cyber Resilience Center (CRC) at the U.S.' busiest container port.A $6.8 million, three-year agreement between the seaport and tech giant includes hardware, software and services to design, install, operate and maintain the first-of-its-kind system aimed at detecting and protecting against malicious cyber incidents potentially impacting cargo flow as well as improving the quality, quantity and speed of cyber…

An explosion damaged a Greek-managed tanker at a Saudi Arabian terminal on the Red Sea just north of the Yemeni border, the ship's manager said on Wednesday, in an attack confirmed by Saudi Arabia.In a statement published by state media, the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen said a commercial vessel suffered minor damage from shrapnel in what it described as a foiled terrorist attack.Athens-based TMS Tankers said the Maltese-flagged vessel it managed was "attacked…

Marine shock mitigation technology provider Allsalt Maritime Corporation announced Thursday it has opened new sales and support offices in the U.S. and Singapore in response to market growth in the commercial and recreational boating industries.Victoria, B.C.-based Allsalt Maritime, owner of the Shoxs and Kinetix brands, said its new U.S. office is located in Edgewater, Fla., and will be led by newly appointed brand development and U.S. managing director Lisa Wood, a marketing and business development professional with more than 20 years of experience managing brands such as Stanley…

The Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT) announced Monday that retired United States Coast Guard (USCG) Captain Dwight Collins has joined the port as Director of Public Safety and Security.Captain Collins directs all law enforcement, physical security, safety, and emergency management and preparedness services in support of more than 200,000 port employees, tenants and customers. He is also responsible for ensuring enforcement of seaport security initiatives in compliance with all federal…

British police were granted more time to question seven men arrested after hostile stowaways aboard an oil tanker in the English Channel prompted special forces to storm the vessel on Sunday.“Officers have been granted more time by Southampton Magistrates Court to question seven men as we continue to lead the investigation into the maritime security incident on board the Nave Andromeda off the coast of the Isle of Wight on Sunday 25 October,” police said in a statement.The seven men, who are all Nigerian nationals, were arrested on suspicion of seizing or exercising control of a ship by use of