Sulu Sea News

Naval History and Heritage Command confirmed the identity of a wreck site as USS Ommaney Bay (CVE 79) July 10. While operating in the Sulu Sea, Ommaney Bay was hit and eventually mortally wounded by a twin-engine Japanese suicide plane on Jan. 4, 1945.NHHC’s Underwater Archaeology Branch used a combination of survey information provided by the Sea Scan Survey team and video footage provided by the DPT Scuba dive team, to confirm the identity of Ommaney Bay. This information correlated with location data for the wreck site provided to NHHC in 2019 by Vulcan…

Emerging maritime challenges were at the forefront of discussions at the 11th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Inter-Sessional Meeting (ISM) on Maritime Security in Da Nang, Viet Nam, (14-15 March).Participants had the opportunity to exchange views on regional maritime issues, review progress of their maritime security work plan, and discuss proposed activities over the coming year.International Maritime Organization (IMO) took the opportunity to update ARF members on IMO's work in Asia and told senior maritime officials of potential future technical cooperation projects in the region.IMO also talked about improving the implementation, among ASEAN members…

The littoral combat ship USS Coronado (LCS 4) departed Singapore Nov. 4 after completing a 14-month rotational deployment to Southeast Asia. During the deployment, the ship and crew operated with navies of 16 partner nations, participated in 11 multilateral and bilateral exercises, and made 10 strategic port visits across the region. "The rotational deployment of USS Coronado demonstrated the relevance of LCS as a platform tailor made for the dynamic and congested sea lanes, straits and archipelagos of South and Southeast Asia, providing flexible options and tactical advantages," said Rear Adm Don Gabrielson, Commander, Task Force 73. "We made tremendous strides in a challenging, forward deployed environment and the team is already applying lessons learned to future deployments in 2018.

Pirates and armed robbers attacked 43 ships and captured 58 seafarers in the first quarter of 2017, slightly more than the same period last year, according to the latest ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB) piracy report. The global report highlights persisting violence in piracy hotspots off Nigeria and around the Southern Philippines – where two crew members were killed in February. Indonesia also reported frequent incidents, mostly low-level thefts from anchored vessels. In total, 33 vessels were boarded and four fired upon in the first three months of 2017.

Piracy has surged in Sulu, Celebes Seas; waters part of route carrying iron ore to Asia. A surge in piracy to the west of the Philippines is forcing shipowners to divert vessels through other waters, stoking their costs and extending the time it takes to transport goods such as Australian iron ore to key Asian destinations. There have been 16 attacks since last March on ships in the Sulu and Celebes Seas, through which about $40 billion worth of cargo passes each year, according to the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP). That government-backed anti-piracy organisation says over a dozen crew are currently being held hostage by Filipino Abu Sayyaf militants, all from ships sailing through the Sulu and Celebes Seas.

Sea piracy plunged to its lowest levels in 18 years in 2016, but kidnappings of crew members for ransom is escalating off west Africa and in the Sulu Seas near the Philippinessayd International Maritime Bureau (IMB). The global maritime watchdog said  in its annual report that more crew were kidnapped at sea in 2016 than in any of the previous 10 years, despite global piracy reaching its lowest levels since 1998. 191 piracy incidents were recorded worldwide, down from 246 in 2015 and the lowest level since 1998. It said pirates hijacked seven vessels and held 151 hostages, down from 15 ships and 271 hostages in 2015. The report said pirates kidnapped 62 people for ransom in 15 separate incidents in 2016. The maritime kidnappings showed a threefold increase from those in 2015.

The Sulu Sea between eastern Malaysia and the Philippines has become dangerous for merchant shipping due to rising threat of kidnappings, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said on Tuesday. The Sulu archipelago is a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf, an al-Qaeda linked group notorious for kidnappings and, increasingly, piracy. The IMB report was released just hours after armed men attacked a fishing boat, killing eight fishermen, in what appeared to be a pirate attack off the southern Philippines. IMB said global sea kidnappings rose three-fold in 2016, even as global piracy hit its lowest level in nearly 20 years. Pirates kidnapped 62 people for ransom in 15 separate incidents in 2016.

With vessels and crew having become a recent target by the militant jihadist group Abu Sayyaf in the Sulu Sea, it has now become an area of high risk for mariners. Dryad is therefore expanding its Vessel Safety Monitoring (VSM) service to the Sulu Sea. Managed from our 24-hour Operations Centre by experienced mariners and intelligence analysts, this service continuously tracks clients’ vessels and delivers the most up to date intelligence picture to Masters and shore teams on the latest emerging threats in the area. To minimise disruption to planned routes, dynamic routing advice will also be offered to Masters so that they can avoid the current location of assailants if deemed necessary to ensure the safety of the vessel.

Militant group Abu Sayyaf (ASG) has conducted frequent kidnap for ransom attacks in the Sulu and Celebes Seas since March 2016, says a report by Protection Vessels International Ltd. Islamic State-affiliated ASG has successfully extracted millions of dollars' worth of ransom payments for individual releases and has decapitated several hostages when ransom demands have not been met. In November, ASG shifted towards targeting commercial vessels and successfully abducted six crew members from a bulk carrier. Armed robberies have grown increasingly violent in Indonesian waters in 2016 with robbers assaulting crew members who attempt to stop them.

Indonesia will resume some shipments of coal to the Philippines, a government official said on Sunday, after a months-long halt due to concerns about piracy in seas between the two archipelagos. Indonesia earlier this year slapped a moratorium on coal shipments to its neighbour after a string of hijackings by militants based in the southern Philippines, in which several Indonesian sailors were taken hostage. Only ships with a capacity of over 500 tonnes will be allowed to resume sailing while smaller vessels and tugboats are still banned. "For safety and security reasons ... all ships must sail in the recommended corridors and avoid conflict areas or waters (around) the southern Philippines and east Malaysia," Transportation Ministry official Tonny Budiono said.

The Gulf of Guinea, South East Asia and The Indian Ocean High Risk Area (HRA) have all seen a significant reduction of reported maritime crime throughout July, August and September of this year according to Q3 analysis released today by Dryad Maritime. With the exception of the Sulu Sea, incidents of maritime crime in South East Asia are at their lowest since 2009 and in the Indian Ocean HRA there were no confirmed acts of piracy in Q3, with the last recorded incident of piracy reported on a merchant vessel in 2014. In the Gulf of Guinea and within Nigeria’s Economic Exclusion Zone (EEZ) there has been a decrease in the frequency of attacks with a total of just four attacks against commercial shipping at sea off the Niger Delta since early July…

The Philippines and Indonesia have agreed to join forces in combating crime on the high seas, after a surge of kidnappings by Abu Sayyaf bandits in waters between the two countries. Philippines President Rodrigo R. Duterte and Indonesian President Joko Widodo had signed an agreement to ensure maritime security in the region and affirming both countries’ commitment to fight terrorism and illegal drugs. Philippines President gave Indonesian forces the right to pursue pirates into Philippine waters, saying piracy is one of the main problems between the two countries. “We agreed on the implementation of a cooperative framework to address security issues,” Duterte and Widodo said in a joint press statement.

In contrast to the substantial numbers of reported incidents across Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean in recent years, maritime crime now appears to have stabilised in these regions according to the latest Q2 maritime crime statistics released by Dryad Maritime today. There have been 34 incidents of maritime crime and piracy reported across Southeast Asia during the second quarter of 2016, taking the total for the first half of the year to 49. This is a 66% reduction for the half yearly total when compared to the first six months of 2015. However, despite the global downturn, maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea and Sulu Sea continues to give cause for concern with kidnap for ransom the main threat.

Seven Indonesian sailors have been taken hostage in the Sulu Sea in the southern Philippines, Indonesia's foreign minister said on Friday, the latest in a string of abductions in the waters between the two Southeast Asian neighbours. "We got confirmation (yesterday) of an incident of kidnapping involving Indonesian crew of a ship," Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi told reporters. He said the hijackings were carried out by two different armed groups. Six of the 13 crew on board were freed, Marsudi said, and were on their way back to Indonesia. The kidnappings come after the governments of Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia agreed last month to carry out coordinated patrols to secure the region's busy waterways. Reporting by Kanupriya Kapoor

Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines ministers to meet in Jakarta as up to 18 Indonesians, Malaysians held captive in Philippines. Indonesia fears piracy on a busy shipping route along its maritime border with the Philippines could hit levels seen in Somalia unless security is tightened, its chief security minister said on Thursday, following a spate of kidnappings. The route lies on major shipping arteries that analysts say carry $40 billion worth of cargo each year. It is taken by fully laden supertankers from the Indian Ocean that cannot use the crowded Malacca Strait. For the first time, concerns over rising maritime attacks by suspected Islamist militants are disrupting coal trade between the Southeast Asian neighbours…

1820 - Commodore Stephen Decatur was mortally wounded in a duel with Capt. James Barron at Bladensburg, Md., over criticism Decatur had when Barron lost his ship, USS Chesapeake, to HMS Leopard in 1807. 1915 - "Naval Aviator" replaces the title "Navy Air Pilot" for officers who become qualified as aviators. 1929 - Destroyers USS Robert Smith (DD 324), USS Moody (DD 277), and USS Selfridge (DD 320) protect Americans and their property during the Mexican Cristero uprising. 1943 - USS Gudgeon (SS 211) attacks a Japanese convoy 30 miles north Surabaya, Java, sinking an army cargo ship while surviving the depth charge attack by her escort vessels. Also on this date, USS Tambor (SS 198) damages a Japanese transport in the Sulu Sea, off Negros, Philippines.

Last month we were offered an in-depth discussion on marine salvage with Captain Gregg W. Baumann, U.S. Navy, Director of Ocean Engineering, Supervisor of Salvage and Diving. Captain Baumann and his team have a long history regarding difficult missions accomplished, including most recently the location and filming of the lost TOTE containership El Faro. What is the scope of the responsibility of the Supervisor of Salvage & Diving; Director of Ocean Engineering? The responsibilities of the Supervisor of Salvage & Diving…

1910 - USS Michigan, the first U.S. dreadnought battleship, is commissioned. 1943 - USS Shad (SS 235) sinks German minesweeper M 4242 (ex-French trawler Odet II) in the Bay of Biscay. 1944 - USS Bluefish (SS 222) and USS Rasher (SS 269) attack a Japanese convoy off French Indochina; Bluefish sinks a merchant tanker while Rasher damages another tanker. Also on this date USS Cabrilla (SS 288) sinks a Japanese freighter off Cape Padran, French Indochina while USS Tautog (SS 109) sinks a Japanese freighter off southern Honshu. 1945 - During attacks against the U.S.

Members of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps along with their Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) counterparts kicked off the 2015 Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise series during an opening ceremony in Puerto Princesa, Philippines, June 22. The AFP have participated in CARAT since the exercise series began in 1995 and this year's training reflects more than two decades of increasingly sophisticated training ashore, at sea, and in the air. "CARAT remains a practical way to address shared maritime security priorities, enhance our capabilities, and improve interoperability between our forces," said Rear Adm. William Merz, commander, Task Force 74.

On December 16, Secretary of State John Kerry announced an initial commitment of $32.5 million in new regional and bilateral assistance to advance maritime capacity building in Southeast Asia. Including this new funding, our planned region-wide funding support for maritime capacity building exceeds $156 million for the next two years. As an example of our commitment to strengthen maritime capacities in Southeast Asia, the United States intends to provide up to $18 million in new assistance to Vietnam to enhance the capacity of coastal patrol units to deploy rapidly for search and rescue…

Naval Sea System Command's (NAVSEA) Supervisor of Salvage & Diving (SUPSALV) continues to support the removal of the wreck. Guardian ran aground on the coral reef Jan. 17, while transiting the Sulu Sea. After the initial grounding, strong winds pushed the mine counter-measurees ship parallel to the reef and further aground causing flooding and structural damage which prevented refloating of the vessel or removal of the ship intact. SUPSALV is part of a command task unit established to perform the salvage operations and are providing salvage expertise and equipment to conduct operations.

The mine counter-measures ship 'USS Guardian' (MCM 5) still sits on the Tubbataha Reef. Operations to safely recover the ship while minimizing environmental effects are being conducted in close cooperation with allied Philippines Coast Guard and Navy. Prior to leaving port in Subic Bay, Guardian canceled a scheduled fuel stop to Puerto Princesa, thus  the  Guardian departed Olongapo City en route to Indonesia and was transiting the Sulu Sea when the grounding occurred at approximately 2:25 a.m. Thursday, 17, January.

The U.S. 7th Fleet Commander expressed regret over the grounding of 'USS Guardian' on Tubbataha Reef in the Sulu Sea. "As a protector of the sea and a sailor myself, I greatly regret any damage this incident has caused to the Tubbataha Reef," said Vice Adm. Scott Swift. "We know the significance of the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park and its importance as a World Heritage Site. Swift also announced that Rear Adm. Thomas Carney, Commander of Logistics Group Western Pacific, will take over on Jan. 21 as the on-scene commander to oversee the Guardian recovery operations.