Maritime Intelligence Report Series

Transcription

1 10th February 2016 Issue: 11 Maritime Intelligence Report Series MAST UK +44 (0) MAST USA MAST Singapore /7 Emergency Telephone: +44(0)

2 Making the maritime environment a safer place to live and work Foreword Issue 11 of the series continues to follow the developing conflicts in Yemen and Libya, as well as detailing reports on security instances and news from around the World. - The Maritime Intelligence Report Series focuses on: Areas of instability which could affect the passage or port call of your vessel; Changes or impediments to navigation/restrictions of; and Charts and analysis detailing piracy, suspicious approaches, boardings and hijackings. MAST has a global reach and presence, delivering first hand, accurate and exclusive intelligence. MAST is entrenched and committed in continuing to support and promote the awareness of the very real risks that seafarers and stakeholders face. This Intelligence Report Series is a brief snapshot of MAST s Intelligence capabilities. MAST Intelligence specialises in providing clients with a suite of products, including; detailed port and vessel security briefs, vessel passage plans, threat and risk mitigation, travel risk management. Working closely in conjunction with a host of experts, MAST Intelligence offers a market leading service pertaining to all maritime affairs. Please follow MAST on LinkedIn and Twitter to keep abreast with these insightful weekly reports and more including real time security updates! Contents Libya - Update - National Oil Company Yemen - Update - Yemen Ports Regional theatres of piracy, crime, terrorism and news - Indian Ocean Region - Gulf of Guinea - South East Asia - Central & South America Mast Services Editor: Alexander Farrow 2

3 Making the maritime environment a safer place to live and work Libya UPDATE: Tunisia has completed a 200km barrier along its frontier with Libya. The British ambassador to Tripoli, Peter Millett, has said that Libya s central bank has been fuelling the civil war by continuing to pay government salaries to various warring factions. According to Peter Millett, when asked why the central bank continued to pay these salaries he said "I am told that in 2012, a gun was held to the minister of finance's head and he was told 'sign that cheque'. They were told that the easiest thing was simply to buy off the militias." For the full article click here. Controlled by the New General National Congress and Libya Shield Force Controlled by the Council of Deputies and Libyan National Army Controlled by so called ISIS Control of Northern Libyan territory (6th January 2016) Source: Wikimedia Commons National Oil Company (NOC): A letter from the NOC has been circulated around London traders and shipbrokers, detailing that the NOC is aware that there have been attempts by several companies to charter tankers in order to load illicit cargos of Libyan oil at the Marsa el - Hariga oil port terminal (Tobruk). The NOC s marketing manager, Ahmed Shawki said Shipping market participants are advised that these contracts and individuals who signed them have no legal standing in a letter to Intertanko s Managing Director. This is a continuation of the East and West government/noc power feud. 3

4 Making the maritime environment a safer place to live and work Yemen UPDATE: On the 9th February it was reported that Al Qaeda had engaged local security forces in Aden s Mansoura district. 4 Yemeni soldiers and 3 civilians were killed. On the 6th February it was reported that Al Qaeda overran a police headquarters in Zanjibar. On the 4th February, a US drone strike is thought to have killed the AQAP commander Jalal Belaidi alias Abu Hamza in Abyan province. Port Aden: The port of Aden is now under the protection of the Republic of Yemen security forces. Curfew in effect for Aden, daily. Merchant vessels wishing to enter Yemeni ports must first apply for a permit through the Yemeni Ministry of Transportation; contact: yemen.transport@gmail.com for more information. Final clearance to enter Yemeni ports (with permits in place) is authenticated by the coalition guard ship. Aden is the only port in Yemen currently able to facilitate container vessels. The container terminal has recently increased its capacity. Houthi Pro Hadi Government Forces Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) Control of Yemen territory (2nd February 2016) Source: Wikimedia Commons Port Hudaydah: Capacity 5 berths. Reduced vessel berth capacity from 8 to 5 due to substantial damage from air strikes in July, especially to cranes. Container vessels must be geared to operate here. Port Mokha: No recorded activity since August Port Salif: Capacity 2 berths. No container ability. Operating at capacity. Vessels experience severe delays due to minimal port equipment. Port Al Mukalla: Capacity 2 berths. Mukalla remains under AQAP control. Higher port tariffs have resulted in fewer calling vessels. 4

5 Making the maritime environment a safer place to live and work Libya Indian Ocean Region News Hijack Kidnap Approach/Attack Suspicious Activity 1st December 2015 HRA limits Hijack Boarding Approach/Attack Suspicious Activity Somalia: The explosion on board a plane which forced to make an emergency landing at Mogadishu, has been attributed to a bomb in a laptop. The bomber was originally targeting a Turkish airliner, but the passengers were diverted onto a Daallo airlines plane, as the Turkish flight was cancelled. The explosion occurred at around 11,000ft, creating a hole in the fuselage, above the right wing of the plane, which is an area identified in Al Qaeda literature as being an effective area to detonate a bomb. The bomber was sucked out of the fuselage, and all passengers survived. 20 people have been arrested in connection, including airport staff. Somalia: It has been reported that the Somali government has secured control of Merka again, killing several Shabaab fighters, just one day after Islamists swept into the city. There was a short fire fight, but the insurgents soon fled. Kenya: Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) Managing Director Gichiri Ndua, top officials and police officers at the Mombasa Port have been sacked over corruption. Seychelles: On 31st January 2016, the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) officially came into effect for Seychelles. The treaty seeks to prevent and eradicate the illicit global trade of arm s. 5

6 Gulf of Guinea Incidents 1. Nigeria: On the 5th February, whilst underway Singapore-flagged container ship, MV Safmarine Kuramo reported coming under attack by 1 speedboat at 0801 UTC in position N E, approximately 25nm SW of Bonny Island, Nigeria. A speedboat carrying 5-6 armed persons fired upon the bridge as the captain made a distress call and ordered the 25 crew (South Africa, Filipino, Thai and British) into the engine room citadel. The captain gave covert briefings to the Nigerian naval vessels dispatched to the scene. The pirates attempted to enter the citadel with no success and on sighting the naval patrol ships the pirates escaped from the vessel. The Nigerian navy boarded the vessel and conducted searches of the compartments and cabins. All crew were unharmed. 2 Hijack Kidnap Approach/Attack Suspicious Activity 2. Nigeria: On the 5th February, around 7 persons wearing dark boiler suits with red caps in a speed boat chased and attempted to board the Liberia-flagged LNG tanker MV Pskov while underway at 0720 LT in position N E, around 16nm SW of Bonny Island, Nigeria. The alarm was raised and fire hoses activated. The master increased speed and took evasive manoeuvres. Machine guns and a ladder were sighted. Due to the hardening measures taken by the Master, the persons aborted the attempted boarding and moved away. 1 Making the maritime environment a safer place to live and work 3. Nigeria: Update As reported in last weeks issue, Leon Dias, a Greek chemical tanker was hijacked. Since then the Nigerian Navy has confirmed that the pirates were not associated with Biafra separatists, as they claimed. Following the hijack the attackers left the vessel 2 days later, kidnaping 2 Filipinos, 2 Russians and 1 Georgian. 6

7 Making the maritime environment a safer place to live and work South East Asia Incidents Nothing Serious to Report News Hijack Boarding Approach/Attack Suspicious Activity South China Sea: It has been reported that the US and India have held talks regarding possible joint patrols in the South China Sea. For the full article click here. South China Sea: A game of shark and Minnow - a Philippine insight. 7

8 Making the maritime environment a safer place to live and work Incidents Central and S. America Hi-Jack Boarding Approach/Attack Suspicious Activity Nicaragua: Luxury yacht Golden Eagle managed to escape an attempted pirate attack at the end of last month (January 27) in the Caribbean Sea off the east coast of Nicaragua. The 21 metre yacht was attacked by an 18 metre fishing vessel while transiting from Colon in Panama, to Roatán in Honduras. The skipper said We are all fortunately okay, but the sixty-foot steel fishing vessel tried to ram and board us, Peterson said. A chase ensued, and we were able to outrun them going full speed at fourteen knots. I think we lull[ed] ourselves into a false sense of security cruising the Caribbean Sea. This case demonstrates how quickly a criminal attack on a vessel can turn a peaceful cruise sour. When underway, yacht owners and skippers should take the security of their vessel as seriously as navigational safety, said Gerry Northwood, COO at MAST. Not only is it important to maintain a good lookout and build situational awareness, but to also understand the pattern of life and vessel behaviour for the area being sailed through. Early and decisive action should be taken to ensure that suspicious vessels are kept at a safe distance, and suspicious activity should be reported. For the full article click here 8

9 Making the maritime environment a safer place to live and work MAST Services MAST has the experience, capability and global presence to provide comprehensive support to our clients: Counter piracy Physical security Training services ISPS services Consultancy & risk management Travel management Explosives ordnance management/disposal Technical security system design and installation Security prevention and response services 9

10 This report is copyright of Maritime Asset Security and Training (MAST) All rights reserved. This report is intended to provide general information about maritime intelligence topics but does not provide individual advice and the creators assume no liability for the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of any information contained herein, or though links you will find in it. Furthermore, using this report or sending MAST s does not create a service provider- client relationship. It is intended only as an introduction to ideas and concepts only. It should not be treated as a definitive guide, nor should it be considered to cover every area of concern or regarded as an advice. If you copy from this report, you have to refer to Maritime Asset Security and Training (MAST) Ltd as the source of the copied material. You may not, except with our express written permission, commercially exploit the content. Endeavour House Coopers End Road Stansted Essex, CM24 1SJ UK Telephone: +44 (0) Operations@mast-security.co.uk 10