Maritime Security Eye On The Navy News

British maritime agency says vessel approached by armed small craft near Yemen.The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) said on Friday that a vessel was approached by a small craft on Thursday carrying armed personnel that came within three cables of the vessel.The incident was part of a larger sighting where the vessel observed nine to fifteen small craft in the area, approximately 53 nautical miles southwest of Aden, Yemen, the agency said.All crew members aboard the vessel were safe and the ship continued to its next port of call, it added.

Yemen's Houthis said on Sunday they would maintain their maritime blockade against Israeli vessels in response to "intelligence information" regarding Israeli shipping companies selling their assets to other companies.The Iran-aligned Houthis claim to be intensifying their attacks to support Hamas and Hezbollah in their resistance against Israeli actions in the region. "Intelligence information confirms that many companies operating in maritime shipping affiliated to the Israeli…

Iran, China and Russia began joint naval drills on Friday in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Oman, in what Moscow said was an unprecedented exercise in naval cooperation and training.Waters around Iran have become a focus for international tensions, with the United States exerting pressure for Iranian crude oil sales and other trade ties to be cut off."The message of this exercise is peace, friendship and lasting security through cooperation and unity... and its result will be to show that Iran cannot be isolated…

RIBCRAFT announced that the United States Navy has awarded a five-year indefinite quantity contract to the company to provide the 11-Meter RIBs.Under the contract, RIBCRAFT will build and deliver the 11-Meter Expeditionary Mine Counter Measure Boat. RIBCRAFT has also been providing the U.S. Navy with 7-Meter shipboard RIBs since 2014.A critical component of the Expeditionary Mine Countermeasures Company, the 11-Meter RIBs will serve to support explosive ordinance disposal mine counter measure platoons in both shallow and deep water operations.

Pirates have released three crew taken hostage from a Greek oil tanker off the coast of the West African country of Togo in November, the vessel's manager said on Friday.A fourth hostage, a Filipino, died from illness during captivity, European Products Carriers Ltd added.It did not give details of the release.The tanker, Elka Aristotle, was attacked on Nov. 4 about 18 km (11 miles) from the port of Lome.

Wärtsilä has announced the divestment of shares in Wärtsilä ELAC Nautik GmbH (ELAC Nautik) to Cohort plc, a UK listed company.ELAC Nautik became part of Wärtsilä as a result of the acquisition of L-3 Communications MSI in 2015. Its main market focus is on hydroacoustic products, including sonars, underwater communication systems and echo systems for small and medium sized military submarines. The company is located in Kiel, Germany and currently employs approximately 120 people. It generates annual revenues of approximately $23 million.Subject to approvals, completion of the transaction is expected in the early part of 2020.

Qatar and Kuwait have told the United States that they will join a U.S.-led naval coalition in the Gulf which was established in response to a series of attacks on oil tankers, a U.S. military official said on Monday."Qatar and Kuwait have already told us they are going to join, so it is just a matter of time," U.S. Army Colonel John Conklin, chief of staff of the coalition, said.The coalition, based out of Bahrain, is known as the International Maritime Security Construct (IMSC)Reporting by Idrees Ali

Pirates attacked a Greek oil tanker off the coast of Togo in the early hours of Monday and fled after taking four crew members as hostages, the West African nation's navy said, two days after a similar attack in the waters of neighbouring Benin.Of the missing crew members, two are Filipinos, one is Greek and one is Georgian, the navy said in a statement. One security guard was also shot and wounded in the attack, it said."Monday, 4th of November 2019, around 0300, the tanker boat Elka Aristotle was attacked around 18 kilometers (11 miles) from the port of Lome by armed individuals," the statement said.While piracy has decreased worldwide…

Malaysia needs to boost its naval capabilities to prepare for possible conflict in the South China Sea, its foreign minister said on Thursday, even as Southeast Asia's third-largest economy pursues non-militarisation of the disputed waterway.Tensions have escalated in recent weeks, especially after a U.S. Navy destroyer sailed near islands claimed by China last month as a challenge to what the U.S. Navy described as excessive Chinese territorial claims in the region.Foreign Minister…

Iran on Monday urged regional powers to use diplomacy to reduce tensions including Yemen's war, but cautioned that an Iranian tanker damaged in the Red Sea last week had been hit by rockets and there would have to be consequences.Addressing a news conference, President Hassan Rouhani reiterated policy towards the Trump administration, ruling out bilateral talks unless Washington returns to a landmark nuclear deal and lifts crippling U.S. economic sanctions.Tensions in the Gulf have risen to new highs since May 2018, when the administration of President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 accord with Tehran that put limits on its nuclear programme in exchange for the easing of sanctions.

Iran has released seven of the 23 crew members of the British-flagged tanker Stena Impero that was seized earlier this summer, Sweden's foreign minister said on Wednesday.The Swedish-owned Stena Impero was detained by Iran's Revolutionary Guards on July 19 in the Strait of Hormuz waterway for alleged marine violations, two weeks after Britain detained an Iranian tanker off the territory of Gibraltar. That vessel was released in August.Sweden's Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said in a statement that the Swedish embassy in Tehran had confirmed that seven of the 23 members had been released."I note with relief that part of the crew has been released. I now look forward to the release of the entire ship and the rest of the crew.

Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (NYSE: HII) Newport News Shipbuilding division successfully completed the initial sea trials on the newest Virginia-class submarine, Delaware (SSN 791).The submarine, in the final stages of construction, spent three days at sea proving all of its systems, components and compartments. Delaware submerged for the first time and performed high-speed maneuvers on the surface and underwater.“Delaware performed well during sea trials, which is a testament…

The Iranian oil tanker Adrian Darya 1 at the centre of a dispute between Tehran and Western powers appears to have turned off its transponder in the Mediterranean west of Syria, Refinitiv ship-tracking data showed on Tuesday.The tanker which is loaded with Iranian crude oil, sent its last signal giving its position between Cyprus and Syria sailing north at 15:53 GMT on Monday, the data showed.The vessel, formerly named Grace 1, was detained by British Royal Marine commandos off Gibraltar on July 4 as it was suspected to be en route to Syria in violation of European Union sanctions.Two weeks later, Iran in retaliation seized a British…

Turkey said on Friday that an Iranian tanker at the centre of a confrontation between Washington and Tehran was headed to Lebanon after changing course several times, although Beirut said it was not informed of the plan.According to Refinitiv tracking data, the Adrian Darya, formerly called Grace 1, made a U-turn on Friday and headed for Turkey's Iskenderun port - 200 km (124 miles) north of Syria's Baniyas refinery, the tanker's suspected original destination.However, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the tanker, which was carrying 2 million barrels of oil when released at Gibraltar, was headed to "the main port in Lebanon."On the sidelines of a forum in Oslo…

Iranian tanker Adrian Darya, at the centre of a dispute between Washington and Tehran, has changed course away from the Turkish coast, Refinitiv ship tracking data showed on Thursday.The tanker, formerly called Grace 1, was released from detention off Gibraltar in mid-August after a five-week standoff over whether it was carrying Iranian oil to Syria in violation of European Union sanctions.A Turkish official told Reuters earlier on Thursday that the Iranian tanker had not entered Turkish waters. The tracking data showed the ship was currently between the coasts of Turkey and Cyprus, heading west.On Monday, IRIB news agency quoted an…

Greece said on Tuesday it had had no request for an oil tanker at the centre of a row between Iran and the U.S. to dock at one of its ports, as Washington warned Greece against helping the vessel.The Adrian Darya 1 - formerly the Grace 1 - left Gibraltar on Aug 18. Ship tracking data on Tuesday showed the vessel was heading to the Greek port of Kalamata on the southern coast of the Peloponnese, and was scheduled to arrive on Aug. 26."The vessel is cruising at low speed and there is still no formal announcement that it will arrive at Kalamata," a Greek shipping ministry spokesman said.Reporting By Michele Kambas and George Georgiopoulos

Italy's Transport Minister has welcomed Spain's decision to send its navy to pick up migrants on board the Open Arms charity ship and take them to Spanish shores."I hope that Spain answers our appeal and commits to stopping Open Arms in the future with the means and in the ways it deems right," Toninelli said in a statement.The Open Arms, at sea for 19 days with almost 100 migrants onboard, has been waiting just off the Italian port of Lampedusa asking to bring the migrants ashore despite an Italian ban on private rescue ships docking.Reporting by Stephen Jewkes

British warship HMS Kent set sail for the Gulf on Monday to join a U.S.-led mission protecting commercial shipping vessels in the region amid heightened political tension between the West and Iran.Britain has joined the United States in a maritime security mission in the Gulf to protect merchant vessels.That comes after Iran seized a British oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. On July 4 British marines seized an Iranian vessel, which is suspected of smuggling oil to Syria, off the coast of Gibraltar.“Our focus in the Gulf remains firmly one of de-escalating the current tensions…

The continued detention of British-flagged tanker Stena Impero is "unacceptable and unjustifiable" and there are concerns for the welfare of the crew after 19 days in confinement, the vessel's owner said on Tuesday.Iran's Revolutionary Guards on July 19 seized the Stena Impero in the Strait of Hormuz waterway for alleged marine violations. That came two weeks after Britain seized an Iranian oil tanker near Gibraltar, accusing it of violating sanctions on Syria.Britain has repeatedly ruled out any swap of tankers.The saga has exacerbated frictions between Tehran and the West since the United States pulled out of an international agreement…

The U.S. maritime agency has told U.S.-flagged commercial vessels they should send transit plans in advance to American and British naval authorities if they intend to sail in Gulf waters following several incidents over tankers involving Iran.The seizure of commercial vessels and attacks on tankers near the Strait of Hormuz have unsettled shipping lanes that link Middle Eastern oil producers to global markets.The United States, which has increased its military forces in the region…