Piracy News

From the sinking of the Titanic to the current piracy phenomenon plaguing the world's oceans, Maritime challenges requires a conserted and collaborative global effort at maintaining safety of live and protection of property at sea.To this the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) collaborated with its global partners from the European Uninon Gulf of Guinea Interregional Network (EU-GoGIN), and the Inter-Regional Coordination Centre (ICC) and organized a four-day crisis response training for security experts and players in the maritime sector.Participants were drawn from the Ghana Maritime Authority…

The National Maritime Law Enforcement Academy (NMLEA), and its subsidiary International Maritime Law Enforcement Academy (IMLEA), announced a teaming agreement with AMES Maritime Security (AMES) of Kingston, Georgetown (Guyana) to provide international level maritime safety and security services. The cadre of professionals from within both organizations are recognized for their military, maritime, and security skills and competence, and their ability to provide training, exercise, education, assessment, consultation, and other services.

Signatory States to an agreement aimed at repressing piracy, armed robbery and illicit maritime activity in the western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden Area have agreed that building response capability and information sharing are vital steps towards achieving a more safe and secure maritime environment. The signatories to the revised Code of Conduct concerning the repression of piracy, armed robbery against ships and illicit maritime activity in the western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden Area…

The Special Tripartite Committee approved amendments of the Maritime Labour Convention providing for seafarers to continue to be paid if held captive as a result of piracy or armed robbery against ships. Seafarers held captive as a result of an act of piracy or armed robbery against ships will continue to receive their wages and entitlements during their period of captivity under amendments  to the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, as amended (MLC, 2006)  adopted by the Special Tripartite Committee  of the MLC, 2006 at a recent meeting at the ILO in Geneva.

Mauritius has become the 15th signatory to the Jeddah Amendment to the Djibouti Code of Conduct – the instrument developed and adopted by countries in the Western Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden that has been a key factor in repressing piracy and armed robbery against ships operating in that region.The Amendment significantly broadened the scope of the Djibouti Code when it was adopted at a high-level meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in January 2017.It covers measures for suppressing a range of illicit activities…

Nigerian-based Homeland Integrated Offshore Services has signed a contract with Damen Shipyards Group for another Damen 3307 Patrol Vessel. The vessel marks another collaboration between the companies, who have been in cooperation since Damen delivered Homeland’s first 3307 Patrol Vessel in 2014.The vessel named, Guardian 6, will join its sister vessels in the Gulf of Guinea providing security services to oil majors operating in the region. It will perform roles such as deterring and intervening in piracy attacks, as well as crew transfers and equipment deliveries.

Nigerian pirates have kidnapped 35 seafarers from vessels in the Gulf of Guinea so far this year, according to security firm EOS Risk Group.Nigeria continues to be the world’s epicenter for piracy activity. From January through June 2018, EOS recorded 34 Nigerian pirate attacks on merchant and fishing vessels in the Gulf of Guinea. These attacks resulted in the kidnap of 35 seafarers for ransom and the hijacking of several vessels, EOS Risk Group disclosed in its half year review…

Pirate attacks around South American and Caribbean waters are growing, and violence is increasingly used during robberies committed on vessels at anchor, a report showed on Wednesday. The Oceans Beyond Piracy (OBP) non-profit group recorded 71 incidents in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2017, a 163 percent increase over 2016. OBP said the majority of the attacks occurred in territorial waters, with around 59 percent of incidents involving robbery on yachts. Anchorages in Venezuela, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Colombia and St. Lucia were the regional hot spots during 2017, it said.

Why insurers cannot afford to be left behindAccording to Maersk, “everything that can be digitized will be digitized”, and there is no doubt that the world of shipping is currently undergoing a digital revolution. From vessel movement data to port statistics and engine diagnostics and data, the latest technology empowers insurers to segment and optimize their existing portfolio, identify new opportunities and offer truly connected policies.However, risk measurement and ratings remain an issue.

As the International Maritime Organization (IMO) celebrates its 70th anniversary, Kitack Lim, Secretary-General, sits in his London office with a sense of satisfaction that in his two plus years at the helm of IMO tremendous strides have been made toward significant greenhouse gas emission reductions, punctuated by the recent MEPC meeting where the target was set for a 50% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050. But the Secretary- General’s sense of satisfaction is tempered with the fact that his job has just begun and his plate is full.

ReCAAP Information Sharing Center (ISC) and World Maritime University (WMU) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to strengthen the cooperation between the two organizations in the shared interest in increasing the knowledge of the evolving situation of piracy and sea robbery in Asia. The cooperation will see ReCAAP ISC share its Asian experience in combating piracy and armed robbery against ships with the next generation of maritime leaders pursuing their postgraduate studies at WMU’s campus in Malmö…

International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s mandate on piracy and armed robbery against ships broader maritime security measures has been presented at the International Maritime Seminar for Judges held in Abuja, Nigeria (3-5 July). Gisela Vieira from IMO’s maritime security team provided input as part of a discussion on ‘Piracy and Armed Robbery at Sea: Legal Interpretation and Judicial Application’. Over 300 participants from across Nigeria’s maritime industry and stakeholders attended the conference…

A total of 40 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships (comprising 29 actual incidents and 11 attempted incidents) were reported in Asia during January-June 2018 compared to 47 incidents (comprising 40 actual incidents and seven attempted incidents) during January-June 2017.ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ISC) in its Half-Yearly (January to June 2018) Report said that it was the lowest number of incidents reported among the 10-year reporting period of January-June…

BP Shipping has taken delivery of British Partner, the first of a half dozen new 173,400 cubic meter capacity liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers to be delivered through 2018 and 2019 from the DSME shipyard in South Korea.BP Shipping, which launched a fleet rejuvenation program in 2016 that includes 32 new vessels for delivery over a three-year period, says the six new Partnership class ships will increase its ability to transport LNG in emerging new markets, such as Pakistan, Jordan, Egypt and Bangladesh, in addition to established markets, such as India, China, the U.S.

Unmanned systems are finding a growing number of applications in the maritime sector, and have the potential to make a significant contribution to safety and risk management, says the Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty's (AGCS) Safety and Shipping Review 2018.These include assessing environmental pollution, monitoring cargo loading and pirate activity along coastlines and carrying out cargo tank inspections. Drones could enable faster, more informed decisionmaking on board, reducing the impact of any incident.

The second quarterly report from the ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB) shows that all 2018 crew kidnappings have so far occurred in the Gulf of Guinea in six separate incidents.A total of 107 incidents were reported to the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC) in the first six months of 2018. In total, 69 vessels were boarded, with 23 attempted attacks, 11 vessels fired upon and four vessels hijacked. No vessels were reported as hijacked in the second quarter.The number of crewmembers…

The headquarters of the EU’s anti-piracy missions off the coast of Somalia will be moved from the UK to Spain next year as EU leaders revealed the latest consequence of Brexit."EU NAVFOR confirms that following the decision from the Council of the European Union the mandate of Operation ATALANTA will continue until 31 December 2020," said a press release. EU NAVFOR Somalia, also known as Operation Atalanta, is a current counter-piracy military operation at sea off the Horn of Africa and in the Western Indian Ocean…

The International Maritime Organization approved the Bering Strait and Bering Sea ship routing measures proposed by the United States and Russian Federation. Taking effect Dec. 1, 2018, the six two-way routes and six precautionary areas are the first internationally recognized ship routing measures the IMO has approved for polar waters. In November 2017, the U.S. and Russia proposed a system of two-way routes for vessels to follow in the Bering Strait and Bering Sea in response to increased shipping traffic there.

A team of Italian specialist Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) divers carried out mine-countermeasures training on Friday, April 13, to prepare for potential threats that may affect international shipping and delay essential sea cargoes.As part of the training, the EOD divers from Italian Navy Frigate ITS Margottini put a floating ‘dummy’ mine into the sea and then carried out a controlled explosion.ITS Margottini is currently deployed on counter-piracy operations as part of EU NAVFOR’s Op Atalanta.

The RMS St. Helena, Britain’s last working postal ship, was for nearly three decades the main source of contact between one of humanity’s remotest islands and the outside world.Now the ship, cherished by the 4,500 residents of British-ruled St. Helena, will start a new life as a floating armory, packed with automatic weapons, bullet-proof jackets and night vision goggles, all stored for maritime security operatives.Renamed the MNG Tahiti, the 340-foot ship will undergo some tweaks…

The Navy will commission its newest amphibious transport dock, the future USS Portland (LPD 27), during a 10 a.m. PDT ceremony Saturday, April 21, at the Port of Portland, Marine Terminal 2 in Portland, Oregon. Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick M. Shanahan will deliver the ceremony's principal address. Bonnie Amos, wife of the 35th Commandant of the Marine Corps, retired Gen. James F. Amos, serves as the ship's sponsor. "USS Portland enters service in a period of dynamic security challenges…

The U.S. Navy commission its newest amphibious transport dock ship during a ceremony Saturday, April 21, at the Port of Portland, Marine Terminal 2 in Portland, Ore.Built by Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Miss., USS Portland (LPD 27) is the 11th ship in the San Antonio class designed to support embarking, transporting, and landing elements of more than 800 Marines with both a flight deck, which accommodates CH-53E Sea Stallion, and MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, and a well deck…

The first in a series of regional maritime security courses, funded by the Government of Japan, has been held at the Djibouti Regional Training Centre (DRTC). During a five-day workshop (22-26 April 2018), officials from 10 countries (Comoros, Djibouti, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa and United Republic of Tanzania)  were able to learn about and share ideas on best practices for maritime domain awareness, including measures to promote coordination and sharing of information at national level as the basis for effective regional cooperation.