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.

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…

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.

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 tanker with 19 crew members on board has docked at a port in Togo after going missing for over a week in a suspected hijacking off the West African coast, the crew's agency said on Friday.The Ialkani agency and the ship's managers lost communication with the Panama-registered Pantelena on August 14, when it was about 17 miles (27 km) from the port of Libreville, in Gabon.Two Russian nationals and 17 Georgians were aboard the vessel, a dual purpose oil or chemicals tanker managed by Athens-based Lotus Shipping.

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.

Maritime security is a key element of International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s work and, over many years, the Organization has developed a number of measures to help promote and sustain it.The focus is now on helping countries build their capacity to put these measures into practice, said a press note from IMO.IMO regularly partners with other agencies to do this. As part of a continuing collaboration with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), a national contingency-planning…

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…

Navigate Response, the global crisis communications network for the maritime sector, is introducing unlimited response hours contracts to help its shipping company clients manage the potentially open-ended costs of media management work during a crisis.Navigate Response Director Bill Lines said: "Through a small premium on Navigate Response's standard media response contracts, companies can manage their risk profile by choosing a plan which guarantees an unlimited response from our crisis response teams headquartered in London and Singapore."Whether the threat is from cyber…

The blue economy can be the engine of economic growth, the basis of socio-economic development and industrialization for many African countries, if well utilized.The maritime industry, for example, is estimated at over $1 trillion, and there are other related and emerging sectors of tourism, offshore renewable energy, aquaculture, seabed extractive industries, marine biotechnology and bio prospecting.Said Adejumobi, Southern Africa Director, UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) said that  the Economic Commission for Africa is fully committed to supporting the African Union…

Security guards aboard a Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship repelled an attack by pirates in a gunbattle off Somalia's coast this week, the European naval force in the region said on Friday.It was only the second reported attempt by Somali pirates to seize a commercial ship this year, after a resurgence of attacks in 2017 following years of relative calm brought about by regular patrols of the European Union Naval Force (EUNAVOR).On Tuesday, pirates approached and opened fire at the Hong Kong-flagged MV KSL Sydney freighter 340 nautical miles off Somalia…

Archaeologists in Greece have discovered at least 58 shipwrecks, many laden with antiquities, in what they say may be the largest concentration of ancient wrecks ever found in the Aegean and possibly the whole of the Mediterranean.The wrecks lie in the small island archipelago of Fournoi, in the Eastern Aegean, and span a huge period from ancient Greece right through to the 20th century. Most are dated to the Greek, Roman and Byzantine eras.Although shipwrecks can be seen together in the Aegean…

ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ISC) and Philippine Coast Guard this week co-organised a meeting between government agencies and the shipping industry to enhance maritime safety and security in the Sulu-Celebes seas and waters off eastern Sabah.The meeting brought together key littoral stakeholders including relevant government agencies in the Philippines, the Philippine shipping industry, the Indonesia Coast Guard (BAKAMLA), as well as members of the diplomatic community in Manila to review the current situation in the Sulu-Celebes Seas…

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…

San Diego shipbuilder General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. (NASSCO) has been awarded a $136.8 million undefinitized contract for the procurement of long lead time material, preproduction and engineering support for the Expeditionary Sea Base 6.This action allows the procurement of ship sets of the purchase specifications supporting integrated propulsion, main diesel generator engines, propeller and shafting, integrated bridge electronics, centrifugal pumps, fuel and lube oil purifiers and steering gear components.NASSCO delivered the fourth expeditionary sea base vessel…

A tanker vessel with 19 crew members on board, most of them Georgians, has gone missing in pirate-plagued waters off Gabon in West Africa and no word has been heard from it for a week, the ship's managers and the crew agency said on Wednesday.Communication was lost with the Panama-registered Pantelena at about 2 a.m. local time on Aug. 14, at which time it was about 17 miles from the port of Libreville, in Gabon, Athens-based Lotus Shipping said in a statement.The head of the Georgian crew agency Ialkani, Anzhela Oganesyan, said two Russian nationals and 17 Georgians were aboard the tanker.

A total of 64 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships were reported in Asia during January-September 2018, a 3 percent increase compared to the same period for 2017, ReCAAP ISC said in its latest report.Of the 64 incidents so far in 2018 (including 50 actual incidents and 14 attempted incidents), three were incidents of piracy and 61 were incidents of armed robbery against ships.Of the 50 actual incidents reported, one was a CAT 1 incident, five were CAT 2 incidents, 10 were CAT 3 incidents and 34 were CAT 4 incidents.