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IMB Urges Vigilance to Avoid Pirates off Somali Coast
![Photo: ICC Commercial Crime Service](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/photo-icc-commercial-crime-service-17683.jpg)
As the monsoon in the NW Indian Ocean begins to subside and the weather once again becomes conducive to the operation of small pirate skiffs, the ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB) has urged Masters not to be complacent as they transit the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden. It has called for vessels to remain alert and apply the Best Management Practices (BMP), including its reporting requirements, as it transits the area.
Dryad Release Special West Africa Advisory Report
![mage of the report’s front cover (Dryad)](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/mage-of-the-reports-front-17529.jpg)
U.K. maritime intelligence provider, Dryad Maritime issued their latest report, “Special Advisory, The West Africa Problem; Mission Not Impossible,” which focuses on the rapidly evolving nature of maritime crime in the Gulf of Guinea. The report provides a detailed insight into the main types of criminal activity in the area and provides practical advice on how these threats can be mitigated. It contrasts…
Trawlercat Develops High Speed Pocket Patrol Boats
![Photo: Trawlercat Marine Designs](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/photo-trawlercat-marine-designs-17507.jpg)
Trawlercat Marine Designs (TMD) of Nova Scotia Canada developed a range of four carbon fiber High Speed Pocket Patrol Boats(HSPPB) for response to piracy or any other maritime criminal activities. The HSPPBs catamarans are available in 20m & 26m x 9m and 30m & 35m x 10.6m and will meet the needs of countries requiring improved coastal and offshore maritime surveillance and security. They are not warships and do not carry any mounted weapons…
Caribbean Pirates Loot Message-in-the-Bottle
![Bottle on the beach: Photo courtesy of Solo/Arjuna Maciel Camargo](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/bottle-on-the-beach-photo-17435.jpeg)
In a page straight out of the next Pirates of the Caribbean-script, a well-known promotional campaign involving a 26 feet long message-in-a-bottle, has been robbed by aquatic pirates somewhere east of Barbados. Solo, a Norwegian soft drink company, released the 2.5 tons replica soda bottle outfitted with solar panels, a camera, and tracking technology to the ocean currents of Tenerife back in March, 2013.
Nigeria Navy Takes Gloves Off Against Pirates
The pirates engaged the navy in a gun battle late Sunday off the coast of Calabar in Nigerian and Cameroonian waters, according to ABC News/AP citing Delta state navy spokesman Lt. Delightsome Yohana.
West African States Lack Means to Fight Piracy
![John A. C. Cartner, member of the Board of Advisors, AdvanFort](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/john-a-c-cartner-member-17337.jpg)
By John A. The western African states have said clearly they do not have the naval, coast guard or customs resources to deal with the piracy evident in the Gulf of Guinea. Further, they do not say, but it is clear, they do not have the money to do it. Piracy is now confined to one principal area. But piracy is similar to blood — a little spilled goes a long way. Piracy will spread elsewhere when and if strong emphasis is put on the Gulf of Guinea.
USVs and the Future of Subsea Defense
Unmanned Revolution: USVs Set to Conquer the Seas. According to Frost & Sullivan, replacing manned systems with USV is not a question of if but when. Unmanned surface…
Somali Pirates Shift Long-term Hijacked Vessel Closer to Beach
![Montage courtesy of EUNAVFOR](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/montage-courtesy-of-eunavfor-17254.jpg)
A Spanish Maritime Patrol Aircraft from EU Naval Force has overflown the pirate controlled fishing vessel 'FV Naham 3'and observed that the vessel had moved from its sea anchorage to a Somali beach in the Galmudug region. Armed men were sighted on board FV Naham 3, however, no hostages have been seen in or near the vessel. FV Naham 3 has been in armed pirate hands since it was pirated in the Indian Ocean on 26 March 2012.
Hijacked Tankship Freed in Nigerian Waters After Gunfight
Pirates took control of the St. Kitts and Nevis-flagged MT Notre on August 15, but an emergency signal was sent to the navy and several gunships were deployed to recover the vessel…
WISTA Forum Highlights Personal Cost of Piracy
![Chirag Bahri, India and South Asia regional representative for the Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Program](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/chirag-bahri-india-and-south-17120.jpg)
A Chief Engineer who was held by Somali pirates for eight months will be the main speaker at a session on piracy at the WISTA UK Forum, running as part of London International Shipping Week, 9-13 September 2013. Chirag Bahri, now the India and South Asia regional representative for the Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Program, who will give a unique insight into his experience of surviving captivity by Somali pirates.
Life in Prison for Somali Pirates who Murdered Four Americans
![](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/-16840.jpg)
Somali nationals Ahmed Muse Salad, a/k/a “Afmagalo,” 25, Abukar Osman Beyle, 20, and Shani Nurani Shiekh Abrar, 29, who were previously found guilty by jury of all 26 counts charged to include piracy, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, hostage taking resulting in death, kidnapping resulting in death and multiple firearms offenses, were sentenced today by a federal jury. The three defendants were sentenced to life-in-prison for their roles in the February 22…
New Book: 'Ninety Percent of Everything: Inside Shipping ...'
![Book cover: Photo courtesy of Amazon](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/book-cover-photo-courtesy-of-16757.jpg)
'Eye-opening and compelling', according to Amazon where the book is on sale, the overlooked world of freight shipping, revealed as the foundation of our civilization. On ship-tracking websites, the waters are black with dots. Each dot is a ship; each ship is laden with boxes; each box is laden with goods. In postindustrial economies, we no longer produce but buy. We buy, so we must ship. Without shipping there would be no clothes, food, paper, or fuel.
Counter Piracy Firm's Vessels Join AMVER
![AMVER plaque presentation](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/amver-plaque-presentation-16754.jpg)
The AdvanFort Company has volunteered its counter-piracy vessels in the waters in and around the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean to join the U.S. Coast Guard-coordinated Automated Mutual Assistance Vessel Rescue System (AMVER). The AdvanFort fleet, which has vessels strategically positioned in key sea lanes surrounding the High Risk Area (HRA), is now “on plot” in the official USCG program, a computer…
AdvanFort to Aid Voluntary USCG Amver Program
![2012 photo of US Coast Guard Commandant Robert J. Papp, Jr. presenting AdvanFort President William H. Watson a plaque for service to the Amver program and Amver Logo](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/2012-photo-of-us-coast-16718.jpg)
Maritime security company AdvanFort announced Wednesday that it has volunteered for service in the piracy-infested waters in and around the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean as part of the U.S. Coast Guard-coordinated Automated Mutual Assistance Vessel Rescue System (Amver), whose members assist any nearby vessel in distress. The AdvanFort fleet which has vessels strategically positioned in key sea lanes surrounding the High Risk Area (HRA)…
Kenya Jails Nine Somali Pirates
A Kenyan court in the coastal city of Mombasa has sentenced 9 Somalis to 5 years in prison each for attempting to hijack the German merchant vessel 'MV Courier' in the Gulf of Aden in March 2009…
Somali Pirates Now Protect Illegal Fishing Vessels, UN Reports
![AP photo/ Farah Abdi Warsameh](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/ap-photo-farah-abdi-warsameh-16614.jpg)
The maritime industry has recently seen a decrease in Somali piracy, but many pirates have turned to a new criminal activity: protecting illegal fishing boats off the Somali coast. Instead of carrying out acts of traditional piracy, the criminals are seeking new, more profitable ways to generate illegal revenue, guarding illegal fishing vessels and participating in arms, drugs and human trafficking, according to a report recently published by the UN.
Piracy Threats as Seen Through the Eyes of the Beholder
As the threat posed by maritime piracy continues in several parts of the world, there is a growing debate among different governments, private sector analysts, non…
Hijacked Turkish Ship Released by W. Africa Pirates
![Tankship Cotton: Photo credit Geden Lines](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/tankship-cotton-photo-credit-geden-16544.jpg)
Pirates have released a Turkish cargo ship with a crew of 24 Indians which they hijacked near Port Gentil off the coast of Gabon in West Africa last week, reports BBC News. Citing officials at Geden Lines, the Turkish company owning the MT Cotton the BBC report that the captain has been asked to move the ship at "fullest possible speed" from its present location at the Gulf of Guinea to a "safe port" in West Africa. It is unclear if a ransom demand was made by the pirates.
Shipping Registries and Piracy Response
![Brad Berman, ship finance and registry lawyer, Partner at Holland & Knight (H&K)](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/brad-berman-ship-finance-and-16488.jpg)
International shipping registries have continued to sharpen their aim taken at a longstanding maritime problem: What is the appropriate response to piracy? As attacks have shifted from Somalia to West Africa, the issue remains at top of mind. Armed guards have proven to be a successful deterrent against attacks. Ship finance and registry lawyer Brad Berman, a Partner at Holland & Knight (H&K), sums up a sea change in views over the past year in views about guns aboard ships…
Somali Pirate Victims: Crew Whereabouts Unknown
![Fishing Vessel Naham 3: Photo credit EUNAVFOR](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/fishing-vessel-naham-3-photo-16428.jpg)
An EU Naval Force helicopter overflying a Somali coast anchorage in a search for survivors from the wrecked 'MV Albedo' took a photo of hijacked 'FV Naham 3 with its vigilant pirate guards. Last week EU Naval Force confirmed that the Malaysian flagged Motor Vessel, MV Albedo, held by armed pirates in an anchorage close to the Somali coast since November 2010, had sunk in rough seas. Since then…