Maritime Security Updates Archive

28th October 2015
Over the past five years, the concept and practice of maritime security has emerged into the mainstream of political thinking and industry practice.

9th October 2015
Shipping associations have agreed to revise and make smaller the high risk area around the Horn of Africa. The changes take effect from December 1 and reflect the declining levels of piracy in the region and the fact pirates no longer make long distance forays for their prey.

7th October 2015
Moves to review the high risk area in the Indian Ocean could lead to a return to hijackings and hostage taking.

1st October 2015
Maritime consultant Thomas Timlen explains why the downplaying breaches of international maritime security measures can have globally catastrophic consequences.

25th September 2015
The UK P&I Club has issued practical guidance to members regarding piracy threats in West Africa.

23rd September 2015
HOEGH Autoliners has confirmed that undeclared weapons were discovered aboard Höegh Transporter during a search at Mombasa over the past few days.

13th September 2015
In response to renewed interest in placing armed guards on board vessels because of an increase in pirate activity in certain areas of the world and new cases of cargo theft and crew kidnappings, The Shipowners Club has produced an Armed Guard Checklist.

18th August 2015
Along with all the hype and talk about autonomous ships and big data has inevitably come a debate highlighting cyber-security and the risk of ships being deliberately steered off course.

4th August 2015
Djibouti seems set to become dangerously overcrowded with foreign military bases.

23rd July 2015
The Indian Ocean Naval Symposium Counter Piracy Working Group gathered in Pretoria to look at counter piracy solutions for the Indian Ocean region.

7th July 2015
The plan announced by EU foreign-policy chief in May to combat human smuggling in the Mediterranean demonstrated a failure of EU advisers, ministers and bodies to understand the entirety of the problem to be addressed, to seek relevant lessons on counter-migration policy, or to develop the kind of comprehensive approach that could stand a chance of working. Unfortunately, it seems that the initial plan put forward to the UN has become a cross that political and military leaders across Europe will now have to bear – and it will not work.

2nd July 2015
Sailors’ Society, one of the largest seafarer support charities operating internationally, has launched a Crisis Response Centre to support seafarers in need throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

2nd July 2015
The EU has launched a new project called EU CRIMARIO to tackle cross-border issues in the Indian Ocean by developing regional cooperation and coordination between maritime agencies. This project builds on the success of its predecessor, which led to the signature today of the Mombasa Protocol between Djibouti, Kenya, Tanzania and Yemen, to increase cooperation on maritime security.

15th June 2015
The French government in collaboration with the United States of America government has set up a project dubbed Gulf of Guinea Maritime Security Sector Reform Support (ASECMAR) to help fight maritime crimes in West Africa. The project is expected to train Maritime administrators on the laws of the sea and to share information on maritime.

9th June 2015
Strong liaison across different agencies, including the commercial shipping sector will need to be a central element in the EU’s plans to act against human traffickers in the Mediterranean says leading maritime security company MAST.

1st June 2015
Following the April opening of a modern court complex in Seychelles that has special jurisdiction to handle piracy and maritime crime cases, the court started to hear its first case on Monday June 1 2015.

28th May 2015
The three task forces of NATO Allied Maritime Command, together with allied forces, are helping Somali and neighbouring countries patrol their own waters as piracy incidents decrease following naval patrols and the adoption of best management practices. Nevertheless, anti-piracy patrol in the Gulf of Aden and Mozambique Channel continue.

26th May 2015
On 26 May 2015 EUCAP Nestor and the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) co-hosted the second Workshop on maritime cooperation for maritime security and law enforcement agencies currently deployed along the Somali coast.

20th May 2015
With the EU approving the use of force against people-smugglers in Libya, Malta-based security expert Marshall Consultants investigates the maritime security threats that are forcing them to act.

1st May 2015
Ongoing humanitarian crises in the Mediterranean have focused the world’s media on the developing security context there. From a number of complex regional security situations – the conditions for human trafficking have emerged, and with them an acute concern for maritime security in the region.

29th April 2015
The trend in maritime security is one of growing complacency that could result in loss of life.

25th April 2015
Western powers will not finance armed forces to patrol the Indian Ocean indefinitely. The maritime industry will price the risk according to the threat. The probability of piracy has diminished. The business of maritime security must adjust. As the perception of threat falls, so will the cost of protection. Competition will force prices down and many armed security companies will not survive. Some will merge. Consolidation is inevitable. Or so it seems.

23rd April 2015
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has agreed to establish a liaison office in Djibouti to boost anti-piracy efforts off the Horn of Africa.

9th April 2015
Given the recent development in the areas in and around Libya and Yemen, the Norwegian Maritime Authority has decided to give instructions to SSOs and Masters on board Norwegian flagged vessels.

2nd April 2015
Houthi rebels in Yemen have strengthened their positions on two islands in the strait of Bab el-Mandeb, deploying weapons that may put commercial and military vessels at risk, Djibouti’s foreign minister said.

1st April 2015
Seychelles is on track to establish a European Union-funded Operation Coordination Centre to promote maritime security

17th March 2015
Denmark failed to prosecute nine pirates for an attack on the Danish-flagged tanker Torm Kansas and ordered to pay the pirates 20,000 Danish crowns (approx $3,247) in damages. The same pirates have now been sentenced to 14 years in prison in the Seychelles, according to Danish news agency, Ritzau.

16th March 2015
Libya and Algeria in North Africa, and Nigeria and Angola in West Africa will become central to Europe’s energy security as it moves to sharply reduce its reliance on Russian oil and gas imports.

13th March 2015
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission is to inaugurate the Multinational Maritime Coordination Centre (MMCC) for a maritime zone known as Pilot Zone E.

11th March 2015
As the humanitarian crisis in the Mediterranean Sea is spiralling out of control, the ICS has published new Guidance on Large Scale Rescue Operations at Sea

2nd March 2015
A new UN report says Libya's ability to prevent the flow of weapons into and out of the chaotic country is "almost non-existent," and it calls for the tightening of an arms embargo that the government says must be loosened so it can defend itself.

8th February 2015
A Kuwaiti oil tanker sailing through the Gulf of Aden managed to fend off a pirate attack on Sunday, February 8th.

6th February 2015
The recent violent attack on the Malta-flagged VLCC MT Kalamos off the Nigerian coast has sparked a fresh round of talks in the shipping industry about the escalating piracy threat in West Africa and its potential implications.

5th February 2015
The purpose of this advisory is to highlight recent events in the region and reinforce guidance.

2nd February 2015
The Nigerian Federal Government has said that it will not hesitate to detain any vessel entering the country territorial and coastal waters with security escorts on board, whether armed or unarmed.

30th January 2015
Are additional instruments needed to support UNCLOS in the maritime security threat and threat-response arena in order to provide sufficient legal basis to meet and regulate contemporary security responses at sea?

26th January 2015
The year ahead will doubtless present new challenges for the industry, but good preparation and consideration of the diverse range of threats will hopefully result in favourable, downward trends in maritime crime. Outside of the normal areas of maritime crime we are likely to see other risks from terrorism to civil strife.

22nd January 2015
The world maritime transportation system (MTS) plays an important role for the national economy. The security of this system–which includes ports, the littorals, and the nation’s Economic Exclusive Zone (EEZ) into the world’s global maritime commons–is absolutely critical. The important thing to keep in mind is that this “layered” framework, which starts at the pier and works its’ way out to global maritime commons presents unique risks and vulnerabilities that need to be considered as does the authorities and jurisdictions that might apply.

19th January 2015
Underpinning the regulatory framework for security in the shipping industry is the IMO's ISPS Code, which first came into force in 2004. While some may see it as "just another regulation" that has to be complied with by way of paperwork, it is a key part of the process of a ship's security and her ability to trade effectively across many different jurisdictions. In particular, but not exclusively, the US Coast Guard (USCG) takes compliance very seriously.

15th January 2015
Piracy incidents are at their lowest level for eight years, but ship hijackings almost doubled between 2013 and 2014, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) has revealed in its end-of-year report. The overall reduction is largely attributable to the continuing suppression of Somali piracy.

30th December 2014
One of the priorities of the 2014 EU Chairmanship of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) has been to adequately document the lessons learned from the Contact Group.

25th December 2014
When considering maritime chokepoints worldwide, the Mozambique Channel should come to mind; however, because of greater instability and vulnerability in other geographic bottlenecks it is often overlooked. Yet, for the past millennium, the Mozambique Channel has served as a key transit and trade hub linking the Indian Ocean to the world. Today is no different.

24th December 2014
The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) has joined other maritime organisations in expressing concern over the decision to compensate convicted Somali pirates.

18th December 2014
The explosion of piracy off the coast of Somalia, which reached its peak between 2008 and 2010, led to a similar explosion in the maritime security industry. International naval patrols struggled to cope with the vast ocean area in which the pirates operated. So, private companies, many of them British, stepped in to fill the gap by providing armed guards for merchant vessels. Somali piracy has reduced dramatically as a result. But how to arm the private security guards, and how to store the weapons when they are not in use?

17th December 2014
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) enshrines the concept of innocent passage through a coastal state’s territorial sea. Passage is innocent so long as it is not prejudicial to the peace, good order or security of the coastal state. A vessel in innocent passage may traverse the coastal state’s territorial sea continuously and expeditiously, not stopping or anchoring except in force majeure situations.

11th December 2014
It is almost predictable that within every piece on pirate attacks in the Gulf of Guinea, the writers will point to Nigeria as its source.

9th December 2014
Various types of state jurisdiction can be enforced under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and international law broadly.

30th November 2014
Yemen's Interior Ministry has ordered increased security along the country's coastline in response to information that al-Qaeda's Somalia-based affiliate al-Shabaab is planning to carry out attacks in the country.

28th November 2014
Marine based businesses are warned of the threats they face through breaches of cyber security and the liabilities that could arise from such breaches.

27th November 2014
Despite the significant reduction in piracy attacks over the last few years it is now widely accepted by the maritime community that the safety of the High Seas cannot always be guaranteed by Governments.