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IMO Bodies Urge Continued Anti-piracy Measures
IMO and shipping industry bodies urge continued application of anti-piracy measures despite decrease in pirate attacks. The International Maritime Organization,…
Piracy Dropped to a 5-year Global Low in 2012
Piracy on the world's seas at a five-year low, with 297 ships attacked in 2012, compared with 439 in 2011, according to the ICC global piracy report. Worldwide figures…
Piracy, Armed Robbery Update
To date, the following reports were noted by ICC Commercial Crime Services (CCS), the anti-crime arm of the International Chamber of Commerce. 09.01.2013: 0920 UTC: Guyana, South America.
Pirate Horizons in the Gulf of Guinea
![](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/-11961.jpg)
This article deals with the evolution of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea. It was proclaimed in 2012 that the Somali pirate business model had been broken by a combination of coordinated naval patrols, heightened vessel security, and the ubiquitous presence of armed guards aboard valuable ships. The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) attributed only 71 attacks to Somali pirates in the first 11 months of 2012, down from 237 the previous year.
Somali Pirates Use RPG to Attack Ship: 12 Arrested
![French Warship Apprehends Pirates: Photo credit EU NAVFOR](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/french-warship-apprehends-pirates-photo-11931.jpg)
EU Naval Force French Frigate 'Surcouf' and NATO Warship 'USS Halyburton' work together to apprehend twelve pirate suspects. A merchant vessel sailing 260 miles off the Somali Coast, made a distress call, reporting that she was coming under attack by six men in a fast moving boat, armed with rocket propelled grenades (RPG). Thankfully, having employed avoidance tactics, the merchant vessel was able to escape the attack.
BIMCO Forecasts Growth; Analyzes Challenges to Shipping
![](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/-11867.jpg)
BIMCO has published its Reflections 2013, a concise, condensed and thought-provoking analysis of the challenges facing the shipping industry today and during the coming year. Shipping is a key facilitator of world trade and the performance of this essential sector is completely interdependent with those of the global economy. While there is some optimism that the worst of the global downturn is now behind us…
Suspected Pirates Apprehended by EU NAVFOR
![Photo: courtesy EU NAVFOR archive.](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/photo-courtesy-eu-navfor-archive-11828.jpg)
EU Naval Force Warship BNS Louise Marie Once Again Apprehends Suspect Pirates at Sea. Just 12 days after EU Naval Force warship BNS Louise Marie apprehended five suspect pirates at sea off the Somali Coast, the Belgium frigate has once again located a suspect skiff - this time with three men on board. The warship, which is operating as part of the European Union’s counter-piracy mission - Operation Atalanta…
Somali Hostage Release: S. Korea Applauds Singaporean
The Korean government to honor Singaporean shipping company owner for his efforts to successfully rescue Korean sailors from Somali pirates. Four South Korean crew…
Long Term Somali Pirate Hostages Freed
![Iceberg 1: Photo credit EU NAVFOR](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/iceberg-1-photo-credit-eu-11764.jpg)
Twenty-two hostages seized by pirates nearly three years ago have been freed from the Panama-flagged 'MV Iceberg One'. Authorities in Somalia's semi-autonomous region of Puntland informed the BBC that their maritime force began the operation to free the hostages - and their ship - nearly two weeks ago. The Panama-flagged MV Iceberg One was seized off the Yemeni coast in 2009, and was being held near…
Pirate Alley
![](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/-11755.jpg)
Even with a multi-national flotilla of warships, armed security guards on merchant ships, and phalanxes of lawyers making policy and negotiating ransoms, seemingly unsophisticated Somalis and their small, simple skiffs still attack ships on the high seas and hold seafarers, ships and cargos for ever-growing sums of money. Rear Adm. Terry McKnight, a retired naval officer, had a front row seat in the effort to deter and defend against piracy on the high seas.
Somali Pirates Sleep Not
![Boarding Party & Pirate Skiff: Photo credit EU NAVFOR](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/boarding-party-pirate-skiff-photo-11653.jpg)
EU Naval Force Belgian Frigate 'BNS Louise-Marie' apprehends five suspected pirates off Somali coast. Directed to the scene by ship's helicopter, BNS Louise-Marie issued verbal warnings to the skiff whose crew quickly raised their hands. The boarding party was deployed to apprehend the five suspected pirates on board the skiff, which was equipped with a ladder and a boarding hook, and it eventually taken on board the frigate.
Attempted Somali Pirate Hostage Rescue: Three Dead
Puntland, a Province of NE Somalia, Maritime Police Force (PMPF) in shoot-out with pirates aboard hijacked 'MV Iceberg 1' in rescue attempt. The crew on board the Iceberg 1…
MAST Partners with Beazley Group
MAST (‘Maritime Asset Security and Training’), a leading security organization that provides specialist global security services for the maritime community, has…
New Maritime Security Book Published
![Maritim Security: Image credit NI](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/maritim-security-image-credit-ni-11362.jpg)
The Nautical Institute publish a guide to making a vessel truly secure with a security culture that works both onboard & ashore. Written by Steven Jones MSc BSc (Hons) MNI, Maritime Director of the Security Association for the Maritime Industry (SAMI), the book examines the threats to maritime trade, and to specific ship types, before discussing in detail how the ISPS Code came into being and its underpinning principles and requirements.
Splash & Grab – Oil Theft Blights Gulf of Guinea
Dryad Maritime, the UK-based specialist in maritime intelligence, has completed an analysis of a specific type of maritime crime that poses a risk to shipping in the Gulf of Guinea, West Africa.
Isolate Piracy Ringleaders & Financiers Advises UNODC Chief
Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime, Yury Fedotov summed up his advice at the conclusion of his East Africa visit. During the visit to East Africa…
Somali Pirate Craft Sunk by EU NAVFOR Warship
![ROS Regele Ferdinand: Photo credit EU NAVFOR](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/ros-regele-ferdinand-photo-credit-11186.jpg)
Warships hunt down pirate skiff off the coast of Somalia, take 9 suspected pirates into custody and sink their boat. Romanian frigate ROS Regele Ferdinand, under command of the EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) worked in close co-operation with Turkish warship TCG Gemlik of Combined Task Force 151 (CTF-151) to apprehended nine suspected pirates at sea off the coast of Somalia. In the early hours of the morning…
Pirate Ship 'Black Pearl' Embarks on Piggy-Back Voyage
![Black Pearl Hoisted: Photo credit Yacht Path Marine Group](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/black-pearl-hoisted-photo-credit-11073.jpg)
Yacht Path Marine Group were contracted to transport the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' 140-ft replica tall ship across two oceans. The 270-ton, 140-foot custom-build pirate ship 'Black Pearl', was loaded aboard a BBC heavy lift vessel in Barbers Point, Hawaii for the three-week voyage to St. Thomas, USVI. The replica pirate ship "Black Pearl" was most famously known for her role in Disney's blockbuster 'Pirates of the Caribbean' franchise…
Somali Counter-piracy Offensive Paying Off
Piracy off the Somali Coast falls to lowest levels in years as result of tough measures on land & at sea. As Kenyan Defense Forces continue to weaken Al-Shabaab on the ground in Somalia…
Jailed Pirates Fired RPG's at Tanker 'For Fun' Said Defence
The Supreme Court of the Seychelles recently found 15 Somalis guilty of piracy and jailed them for up to 18 years. Judge Mohan Burhan rejected their defence that…