Maritime Security News

Israel launched strikes against ports and energy infrastructure in Houthi-held parts of Yemen on Thursday and threatened more attacks against the Iran-aligned militant group, which has launched hundreds of missiles at Israel over the past year.As Israeli jets were in the air, the Israeli military said it intercepted a missile headed towards central Israel which destroyed a school building in Ramat Efal in the western part of Tel Aviv with what a military spokesperson described as falling shrapnel.The Houthis - who have launched attacks on international shipping near Yemen since November 2023…

Russia is disrupting mobile communications and ship-tracking data across the Baltic Sea, endangering vessels and energy supplies to test how Western powers will respond, a Polish admiral overseeing the area said.Vice Admiral Krzysztof Jaworski said Moscow was systematically using such tactics to hide the movements of its own vessels and disrupt the operations of others in the sea which is bordered by eight NATO countries and Russia."Hybrid war in the Baltic is the biggest challenge we are facing…

Japan and the Philippines signed a 1.6 billion yen ($10.65 million) security assistance deal on Thursday to boost the Southeast Asian nation's maritime security and surveillance abilities amid heightened tensions in the South China Sea.Both the Philippines and Japan, two of the United States' closest Asian allies, have taken a strong line against what they see as aggressive behavior by Chinese vessels amid decades-old disputes over maritime sovereignty.Japan will provide the Philippine…

A Chinese fishing vessel is under the control of alleged pirates in Somalia's waters in the semi-autonomous Puntland region, the European Union's anti-piracy naval force said on Thursday.The anti-piracy force said the vessel with up to 18 crew members on board had been taken over by pirates, some armed with AK-47s and machine guns. It classified the incident as a robbery at sea.No crew members were injured in the incident, the anti-piracy force added.Somali pirates caused havoc in the waters off the Horn of Africa nation's long coastline between 2008 and 2018.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said Chinese navy and coast guard vessels had taken "aggressive actions" against a routine patrol by it and the fisheries bureau near the contested Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea on Wednesday.A Chinese coastguard fired a water cannon at a PCG vessel "aiming directly at the vessel's navigational antennas", Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for the South China Sea, said in a statement.Philippine vessels also faced "blocking, shadowing, and dangerous manoeuvres" from Chinese navy and coastguard ships, he added.Tensions between China and the Philippines over

Eleven men and two juveniles have been charged following an investigation into a transnational organized crime syndicate accused of conspiring to import 2.34 tonnes of cocaine into Australia by sea.This is the largest ever seizure of cocaine in Australia. The cocaine had an estimated street value of about A$760 million ($494 million) with the potential to equate to 11.7 million individual street deals, had it reached the community.The men, including the crew of a vessel allegedly…

Australia will partner with India to boost investment in renewable energy, including solar manufacturing, battery and mineral processing, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a meeting with his Indian counterpart on the G20 sidelines.Australia and India will also look to enhance defense and maritime security cooperation, Albanese said in a meeting with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday.The two countries, along with the United States and Japan, are members of the Quad, which has sought to balance China's rising military and economic clout in the Indo Pacific r

November 19 marks the one-year anniversary of the seizure of the crew of the car carrier Galaxy Leader by Yemen’s Houthis, with the International Chamber of Shipping renewing calls for their release.Guy Platten, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Shipping, said: “It seems incredible that a year has passed, and the crew of the Galaxy Leader are still being held hostage. Innocent seafarers and families who have had their lives irrevocably changed by geopolitical forces wholly out of their control.“The seafarers…

Japanese troops will begin regular deployments in northern Australia as part of military cooperation with Australia and the U.S., Australia's Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Sunday.Around 2,000 U.S. Marines are already hosted in Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory, for six months of the year amid growing concern among Washington and its allies about China's growing military power in the Indo Pacific region."Today we are announcing that there will be regular deployments of Japan's amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade to Australia…

Nigeria and India on Sunday agreed to deepen collaboration in maritime security, intelligence and counter-terrorism during a state visit to the West African country by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Modi is the first Indian premier to visit Nigeria in 17 years after an invitation by President Bola Tinubu, who is seeking investments from some of the world's biggest economies.Modi arrived in the capital Abuja on Saturday night and met Tinubu at the presidential villa on Sunday where the two leaders also discussed economic development, defence, healthcare and food security, a joint statement

A ship passing through the Red Sea 25 nautical miles west of Al-Mukha, Yemen, reported on Sunday that a missile had splashed into the sea nearby, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said.It did not name the vessel or the owner but cited the relevant company security officer as saying the vessel and crew were safe and proceeding to the next port of call.Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi militants have been attacking commercial shipping in the Red Sea for more than a year in a bid to enforce a naval blockade on Israel, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in I

U.S., Japanese and South Korean naval forces exercised together in East Asian waters on Thursday in their most complex and final joint drills before President Joe Biden hands over one of his signature national security initiatives to Donald Trump.Led by the USS George Washington carrier and its jet fighters, the Freedom Edge naval exercise in waters south of the Korean peninsula and west of Japan's main islands comes after a pact brokered by Biden in 2023 in which Seoul and Tokyo…

The Philippines' foreign ministry said on Wednesday it summoned China's ambassador to protest Beijing's drawing of baselines around the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea."The said baselines infringe upon Philippine sovereignty and contravene international law," the ministry said in a statement.The move follows China's definition on Sunday of the baseline for "territorial waters" around the shoal, which Beijing claims as Huangyan Island. The shoal is a key point of contention over sovereignty and fishing rights.In response…

U.S. warships shot down drones and missiles fired by Yemen's Houthis while they were transiting the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.Earlier on Tuesday, the Houthis said they conducted two military operations against U.S. naval vessels in the Red and Arabian seas which the group's military spokesperson said lasted for eight hours.Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder said that on Monday two U.S. warships were attacked by at least eight drones, five anti-ship ballistic missiles and three anti-ship cruise missiles.

A Russian Navy frigate equipped with new generation hypersonic cruise missiles has conducted drills in the English Channel and is carrying out tasks in the Atlantic Ocean, Russian news agencies reported on Tuesday.The crew of the frigate, equipped with Zircon (Tsirkon) hypersonic anti-ship missiles, conducted counter-terrorism drills, repelling air and sea drone attacks of a mock enemy, Russian state agencies reported."The Northern Fleet frigate Admiral Golovko has completed its…

Russian and Indonesian ships practiced freeing a vessel captured by terrorists and fought unmanned boats during the first joint naval exercises between the two countries in the Java Sea, Russia's RIA state news agency reported on Monday.The joint exercise, which started last week, came as newly inaugurated Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto pledged closer ties with Russia on defence, in a bid to forge links with any country as part of Jakarta's long-held non-aligned foreign policy.The crews of the joint detachment of ships practiced manoeuvring and communication…

Taiwan's coast guard said on Friday it would offer rewards worth thousands of dollars for spotting Chinese activity at sea, including warships or submarines, saying it was harnessing "people power" to boost its own limited workforce.Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has complained for the past five years of stepped up Chinese military activity, and the Taiwanese coast guard has increasingly been involved in patrolling sea areas.China's coast guard's involvement in these activities has grown, which Taiwan officials say is part of a "grey zone" strategy that stops short of war and

Maritime AI company Windward has launched a new system: Advanced Intelligence, an AI-powered solution designed to empower intelligence and security organizations to uncover and handle threats more efficiently.The solution streamlines the entire investigation process from early anomaly detection and strategic investigations to vital context provided by MAI Expert™, Windward’s generative AI-powered virtual analyst. By controlling all aspects of the investigative process within one platform…

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 have said they are 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 enemy are working to sell their assets and transfer their properties from shipping and maritime transport ship

Maritime AI company Windward has launched Early Detection, an AI-based solution that identifies anomalies that could impact maritime operations.Early Detection analyzes vast amounts of maritime data to spot irregular activities, thus enabling organizations to passively uncover anomalies or new trends automatically with no required user input. The capability alerts stakeholders to global events that would otherwise remain hidden, such as an increase in vessels loitering in specific locations or a surge in ships changing their flags even before the cause is apparent.

Yemen's Houthis said on Monday that they targeted three ships in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea, attacks they called part of their efforts to enforce a naval blockade on Israel.Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a televised address the vessels were targeted for attempting to approach ports bound for Israel.According to the latest data from LSEG, all three targeted vessels were Liberia-registered.One of the vessels, identified by the Houthis as bulk carrier Motaro, was last seen off Yemen's western coast in the Red Sea…

China's Ministry of State Security said on Tuesday that it had retrieved spying devices both on the ocean surface and in the depths of the sea, including underwater "lighthouses" that could guide the transit of foreign submarines.The ministry said it had uncovered devices that had been hidden on the ocean floor and were sending back information that could "pre-set the field for battle," in an article on its official WeChat account, China's most popular social media app.Recent…

A merchant vessel reported two explosions near a ship travelling 14 nautical miles southwest of Yemen's Al Dhubab, British maritime security firm Ambrey said on Monday.The report followed statements by the U.K.