Stephen Askins – a partner at maritime and commercial solicitors, Tatham & Co, writes; There seems to be no sense that Nigeria piracy is slowing and in the past month, we have seen a step-change in tactics as the pirates have upped the ante by taking hostages from laden vessels in numbers not seen before[1]. … More Nigerian Piracy – Have We Reached a Tipping Point?
Despite overall piracy incidents declining in 2019, there was an alarming increase in crew kidnappings across the Gulf of Guinea, according to the International Chamber of Commerce’s International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB) annual piracy report. In 2019, IMB’s Piracy Reporting Centre received 162 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships worldwide, in comparison to 201 … More Unprecedented Number of Crew Kidnappings in the Gulf of Guinea Despite a Drop in Overall Global Numbers
Dryad Global, Experts in Maritime Risk and Global Security, have reported that the Oil Dredger AMBIKA was attacked on 2nd January 2020 while operating 3 nautical miles from the mouth of RAMOS river and 9 nautical miles east of the Forcados oil terminal, Nigeria It is understood that a firefight occurred between the embarked security … More Four Killed and Three Kidnapped After Firefight on Oil Dredger Off Nigerian Coast
On December 15, the chemical product tanker MT DUKE was attacked by pirates, South East of Lomé Togo in the Gulf of Guinea, kidnapping all of the Indian crew. The Marshal Island’s flag vessel managed by V.Ships Ship Management (India) Pvt Ltd., reported that contact was lost with the vessel between 0700 hrs-0800 hrs local … More Tanker Attacked in the Gulf of Guinea – All Indian Crew Kidnapped
ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ISC) in cooperation with ReCAAP Vietnam Focal Point (Vietnam Coast Guard) today convened the Capacity Building Senior Officer’s Meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam. The three-day programme will gather senior officers from 16 ReCAAP member countries as well as Malaysia and Indonesia to review the situation of piracy and armed robbery against ships in … More ReCAAP Conducts Anti-Piracy Capacity Building Programme for Senior Officers of Maritime Authorities and Law Enforcement Agencies in Cooperation with Vietnam Coast Guard
France is seeking to renew its mandate at the International Maritime Organization. The election of Council members will take place in London on 29 November 2019 during the 31st session of the International Maritime Organization Assembly. France is a great shipping nation with the world’s second-largest maritime space. Through the Paris Memorandum of Understanding and the implementation … More France Looking to Renew Mandate at IMO Assembly
There have been more seamen kidnapped by pirates this week. The seamen; two Filipino, one Greek and one Georgian were taken off the Greek flagged vessel the Elka Aristotle off the coast of Togo, a West African nation on the Gulf of Guinea. According to a report in the Manila Standard armed guards climbed aboard … More More Kidnappings in the Gulf of Guinea
03.11.2019 – The J.J. Ugland Companies, bulk vessel MV Bonita was boarded by pirates very early Saturday morning (1st November 2019) off Cotonou/Benin while she was at anchor. Nine crew members were kidnapped from the vessel while she was waiting to berth to discharge her inbound cargo of gypsum. The remaining crew notified the local authorities, and … More 9 Kidnapped by Pirates from MV Bonita
A passenger has been confirmed dead, after going overboard the Costa Cruises liner, the Costa Pacifica in the Gulf of Cadiz. NATO Allied Maritime confirmed in a release that NATO Maritime Forces assisted with the search and rescue for a person reported missing from an Italian cruise ship sailing off the coast of Spain. NATO … More Passenger Dies After Going Overboard from Costa Pacifica
A Royal Caribbean crew member has died after going overboard the cruise ship, Rhapsody of the Seas. The crew member, identified as a 35-year-old Indian citizen, Mansley Pereira was reported overboard whilst the Rhapsody of the Seas was docked in the Croatian cruise port of Dubrovnik, Croatia. A spokesman for the Ministry of Maritime Affairs … More Crew Member Dies In Croatia, After Going Overboard
