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Pirated Tankship Freed by Nigerian Navy
Pirates fled from 51,000 DWT tankship 'Abu Dhabi Star' after crew took refuge in 'citadel' while Nigerian Navy intervened. The Singapore-flagged product tanker 'Abu…
Ship Owners Urged to Keep Up Counter-piracy Guard
![Counter-piracy Warships: Photo credit EUNAVFOR](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/nterpiracy-warships-photo-credit-eunavfor-9957.jpg)
European Union Naval Force Somalia – Operation Atalanta, NATO & Combined Task Force 151) advise continued caution despite respite in attacks. In a recent report published by the International Maritime Bureau it was announced that there was a 54% drop in global piracy during the first half of 2012. One of the key contributors to this welcome development was the fall in both Somali hijackings and attacks.
Pirates Kill Hostage to Protest Ransom Delay
Somali pirates holding a hijacked ship for nearly two years killed a Syrian hostage crew member and wounded another. This is believed to be the first time Somali…
Tankship Looted, Released by Pirates in Gulf of Guinea
Tankship 'Energy Centurion' has been released east of Lagos, Nigeria, after theft of 3,000 tons of oil, now heading for a safe port. An official with Golden Energy Management…
Liberia Approves Seagull Security Training Package
Maritime Training specialist, Seagull, has secured Liberia’s approval for its unique Security training package. Liberian approval comes little more than a month…
Pirates Hijack Tankship in Gulf of Guinea
A maritime security alert has been issued after pirates hijacked a Greek-owned and Isle of Man flagged oil tanker. A Togolese patrol boat exchanged gunfire with…
Somali Counter-piracy Operations Effective, Should Continue
UK House of Lords Select Committee states naval 'Operation Atalanta' has turned the tide on Somali pirates but should extend. The House of Lords EU Committee for…
SOS Supports EU Anti-Piracy Efforts
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Campaign supports continued EU anti-piracy operations off the Somali coast. The SOS SaveOurSeafarers campaign welcomes the UK House of Lords Select Committee for External Affairs Report which contains a series of recommendations on how to curb piracy off the coast of Somalia. These include the continued use of naval warships to tackle piracy under EUNAVFOR's ongoing anti-piracy operation Operation Atalanta.
Landlocked Switzerland Employs Private Maritime Security
Swiss shipping operators confirm they employ armed security guards to protect their ships off Somalia & Gulf of Aden. Landlocked Switzerland plays a surprisingly…
Off Somalia Two Pirated Vessels Freed in Three Days
![Pirated Dhow Boarded](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/pirated-dhow-boarded-9698.jpg)
EU Naval Force Somalia (EU NAVFOR) Operation Atalanta & NATO disrupt 2 pirated dhows in the Gulf of Aden & free hostage crew. A suspicious dhow, reportedly pirated in Bosaso – Somalia, was located off the coast of Oman by the Spanish EU NAVFOR Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft (MPRA). The French EU Naval Force frigate La Fayette was dispatched and a boarding party found the pirates had already fled from the scene in another dhow they had taken over.
British Warship Home from Middle East
![HMS Westminster: Photo credit MOD](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/hms-westminster-photo-credit-mod-9687.jpg)
Portsmouth-based 'HMS Westminster' returns home from a Middle East deployment which included a £14-million drugs bust. During seven months away - clocking up more than 44,000 miles (71,000km) - the ship disrupted three groups of suspected pirates who were targeting merchant shipping and conducted security patrols in the Gulf and Indian Ocean. The Type 23 frigate also seized more than 70 bales containing pure heroin from a dhow in the Indian Ocean.
Maritime Life Historical Anthology Free Offer
![Image credit BiblioLabs](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/image-credit-bibliolabs-9684.jpg)
BiblioLabs & the British Library make hundreds of historic works from the popular 19th Century Historical Collection available. BiblioBoard is a free iPad® app that offers a platform to explore places, events, people and themes from across the centuries. Three British Library Anthologies are being offered for free with every BiblioBoard download, including Trains: The History and Pleasures of Railroading…
Somali Pirates Arrested, to be Detained in Holland
Counter-piracy warship 'HNLMS Rotterdam' frees captives from pirated dhow, the accused to face trial in The Netherlands. After a three day hunt by NATO and EU counter piracy forces…
DOJ: Second Indictment for Somali Pirates
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More Charges for Alleged Somali Pirates Indicted for Attack of the USS Ashland. A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia has returned a second superseding indictment, charging five men from Somalia with engaging in piracy and related offenses pertaining to the attack on the Navy ship, the USS Ashland. Neil H. MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, made the announcement.
Somali Pirates Jailed by Kenyan Court
![The Pirate Skiff Boarded: Photo credit EUNAVFOR](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/the-pirate-skiff-boarded-photo-9656.jpg)
Seven Somali's found guilty of piracy against a French fishing vessel, sentenced to 20 years. Following a terrifying attack against the MV Captain St. Vincent in October 2009 the pirates, operating in 2 attack skiffs, were located by a EU an Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) warship that was conducting counter-piracy patrols nearby. A boarding team from the warship detained the suspect pirates, and they were subsequently transferred to Kenya for trial.
Warships Protect Drifting Tanker in Pirate Waters
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WHILE Royal Navy ships protect the London Olympics others have rushed to prevent a pirate attack in the Middle East. The minehunters HMS Middleton and HMS Pembroke were in the Gulf of Aden on their way home when they received a distress call from the MV New Delhi Express on July 27th. The 40,000-tonne merchant ship, laden with valuable containers, contacted HMS Middleton to say she was 12 miles to the south west and had suffered an engine failure.
Navy Researches Find Way to Track AIS 'Silent' Vessels
!['Rough Rhine' Trials: Photo credit USN](https://images.marinelink.com/images/maritime/w200h200c/rough-rhine-trials-photo-credit-9502.jpg)
The Navy will soon get a leg by using 'Rough Rhino', an electronic system for locating illegal fisherman, drug smugglers, pirates, human traffickers and others at sea who don’t want to be found and thus switch off their Automatic Identification System (AIS). Today’s technology only allows ships to track other vessels not transmitting AIS if they are within the horizon, or about 25 to 35 miles, according to Dr. Michael Pollock, director for the electronics, sensors and networks division at ONR.
Pirates are Here to Stay Says Professor
Tom Oertling, who teaches in the Maritime Studies Program in the General Academics Department at the Galveston campus, says pirates have been around about as long as there have been ships.
Somali Piracy Declines, Gulf of Guinea Attacks Increase
The number of pirate attacks has fallen sharply in the first half of 2012, led by a drop in Somali piracy, but the report warns that these numbers were offset by…
IMCA Produces Anti-Piracy Awareness DVD
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Piracy is a threat to all sizes of vessels in some parts of the world. The more we know, the more we can minimise the risks and react to dangerous situations – or avoid them altogether. To this end the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) has produced an Anti-Piracy & Hostage Situation Awareness DVD (IMCA SEL 028) in five languages on the one DVD (English, French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese) as guidance for personnel working on board vessels operating in high risk areas.