U.S. Coast Guard issues new port security advisory
U.S. Coast Guard issues new port security advisory
Tuesday, 25 March 2008
The U.S. Coast Guard has alerted the maritime community that Iran has been placed on the port security advisory list. The Coast Guard determined that Iran has not maintained effective anti-terrorism measures. The determination was made in accordance with the Maritime
Transportation Security Act of 2002, which authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to take into account several factors, including whether a foreign port poses a high risk of introducing terrorism to international maritime commerce.
Vessels will be targeted for increased boardings when arriving in U.S. ports if they have visited one of the countries in the port security advisory list during their last five port calls.
Source: GAC
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US Coast Guard modifies conditions of entry
US Coast Guard modifies conditions of entry,
The US Coast Guard has just released Port Security Advisory 5-08 concerning the modification of conditions of entry on vessels arriving from ports not maintaining effective anti-terrorism measures.
Specifically, that Conditions of Entry Requirements for armed guards while vessels are in the US may be waived upon verification that appropriate measures were taken while the vessel was in a country found to not be maintaining effective anti-terrorism measures.
In addition, the Coast Guard has identified three additional port facilities in Indonesia that are exempted from the conditions of entry.
See attached pdf file.
Source: BIMCO
Violent attacks in S China sea
Violent attacks in S China sea
Wednesday, 16 April 2008
Two ships underway have been subject to violent attacks close to the Indonesian Island of Mangkai in the South China Sea, according to the latest International Maritime Bureau weekly report. The IMB also notes that, in addition to the well publicised Le Ponant incident another vessel, a fishing boat, was freed after being hijacked in Somalia due military action by an specified country. The IMB also notes a number of apparent attempts at boarding vessels underway in the Gulf of Aden.
The incidents off Mangkai both occurred in the early hours of 13 April and were within a few miles of each other. In first incident12 pirates armed with guns, swords and iron bars approached a bulk carrier underway in a speedboat. The master raised alarm, crew directed fire hoses and Ship Security Alarm System was activated. Nevertheless the pirates managed to board the ship and stole crew personal belongings, ship's cash and property. After 50 minutes, they left the ship. No serious injuries to crew were reported
The almost identical second incident involved a product tanker. Again pirates crew personal belongings and ship's property and escaped. The were no injuries to crew.
In a brief report of an incident south of Mukalla port on Somalia's Gulf of Aden coast the IMB says pirates armed with guns attacked and hijacked a fishing vessel and sailed into Somali territorial waters. The fishing vessel, along with its 34 crew was released when a military helicopter intervened.
Source: Maritime Global Net (Hellenic Shipping News)
New Somali piracy warning from IMB
Πηγή: Hellenic Shipping News
Tuesday, 22 April 2008
The ICC International Maritime Bureau has issued a new warning top shipping sailing in the Gulf of Aden after suspected Somali-based pirates fired on 264,567 dwt Japanese flag VLCC. According to reports one of the 1993-built Takayama's bunker tanks was breached after the hull was hit by a rocket. In a separate incident the Spanish flag fishing vessel Playa de Bakio was hijacked some 240 miles off the Somali coast with 13 Spanish nationals and 13 other crew who were thought to be Somalis
In its advisory the IMB warns: “All vessels transiting the Gulf of Aden are advised to take additional precautionary measures and maintain a strict 24 hour anti piracy visual and radar watch. Report all incidents including suspicious sighting to IMB Piracy Reporting Centre. An unidentified ship attacked a Japanese oil tanker Monday off the east coast of Yemen without causing any injuries, the tanker's operator said, but a news report said the vessel was leaking fuel.”
Source: Maritime Global Net
VLCC Takayama Safe after Attack in the Gulf of Aden Tuesday, 22 April 2008
Around 10:10 a.m. Japan time (4:40 a.m. local time) on April 21, 2008, a small unidentified boat about 440 Kilometers east of the Yemeni city of Aden approarched the NYK VLCC Takayama and fired some form of munition. According to a report from Takayama, the unidentified boat sped away at 11:03 and has not been seen since. Takayama was on a ballast voyage to Yamboo in Saudi Arabia from Ulsan, Korea from which the tanker departed at 2:40 a.m. on April 4.
No injuries were reported. Navigation remains unaffected, and possible damage to the tanker is still being investigated.
Source: NYK Line
Piracy: Worldwide *Updates*
► 11th June 2008: Philippines - SSA issue Piracy Alert for Celebes Sea
On the 10th of June 2008 the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) issued a Piracy Alert for the Celebes Sea following an incident report received from the Information Sharing Centre of the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia, (ReCAAP ISC).
The attack took place approximately 100 nautical miles south of Mindanao on the 9th of June at about 1454hrs local time and caused extensive damage to a general cargo vessel's communication antenna.
This is the second attack to take place in this part of the Celebes Sea during daylight hours in the last four months. Masters are being advised by the ISC to maintain vigilance at all times and take all necessary precautionary measures when operating in the area.
Click here for the Singapore Shipping Association Alert
Click here for the ReCAAP ISC website
► 5th June 2008: Somalia
Following discussions with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the United Nations Security Council has adopted resolution UNSCR 1816 (200 8 permitting cooperating States to use "all necessary means" to repress acts of piracy off the coast of Somalia.
The resolution permits naval vessels of Member States who are cooperating with the transitional Somalia government to enter Somalia territorial waters in order to combat acts of piracy and armed robbery against ships.
Authorized for a period of six months with the approval of the Somalia government, resolution 1816 encourages States interested in the use of commercial routes off the coast of Somalia to increase and coordinate their efforts to deter attacks in cooperation with the country's government.
The text of resolution 1816 was adopted subject to the provision that it is only applicable to the territorial waters of Somalia and does not affect rights and obligations under the Law of the Sea Convention.
Click here for more information on UNSCR 1816
Click here for the text of UNSCR 1816
Πηγή: North of England P&I Club E News July 2008
IMO informal consultative meeting on piracy off the coast of Somalia
Source: BIMCO
IMO informal consultative meeting on piracy off the coast of Somalia
The recent upsurge in acts of piracy and armed robbery against ships off the coast of Somalia and, in particular, the hijacking of ships for ransom, indicates that more needs to be done to manage the risk to merchant shipping passing through the Gulf of Aden. To this end IMO called the subject meeting at which BIMCO was invited to give an industry perspective on the situation.
Following sustained pressure from the Secretary-General and the Member States of IMO, on 2 June 2008 the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted resolution 1816 on the situation in Somalia. As has been reported, despite the provisions of resolution 1816 many navies are unable, through national legal constraints, to take action to suppress piracy and armed robbery against ships within Somali territorial waters. There are also particular concerns with respect to the legal challenges to the arrest, prosecution, trial, punishment and subsequent repatriation of suspected pirates and armed robbers.
Furthermore, concerns have been expressed by various parties, including operational officers from navies, that either the situation does not merit increased intervention by naval forces, or that so many naval assets would be required as to make the exercise impractical. The concerns, however, have often been based on an inaccurate understanding of the scale of the dangers involved, both economic and environmental. As previously reported, this situation is exacerbated by a general lack of understanding by many stakeholders on the position taken by the industry on the armed self protection of merchant vessels.
Given the strategic significance of the Gulf of Aden as a conduit for some 35% of the world’s energy shipping, and given that four tankers have been subject to rocket attacks (and another two have been chased) since the beginning of April 2008 (to say nothing of smaller vessels), the protection of global maritime trade passing through the area cannot be ignored. Indeed, this was the focus of the BIMCO presentation.
IMO therefore held the meeting for interested governments in order to encourage them to adopt a strategy of deterrence and containment until such time as a sustainable political solution ashore in Somalia can be found. The strategic focus was on the maintenance of security of commercial shipping transiting the area, not on the protection of commercial fishing vessels or other craft operating within the Somali EEZ.
The major purpose of the meeting was to develop and propose an interim strategy for safeguarding shipping and to explore ways for implementing resolution UNSC/Res/1816(2008) until such time as a more permanent political settlement can be achieved in Somalia. The meeting agreed a form of words in discussion and agreed strategies that will now be promulgated to governments and industry for wider consideration and action at a formal meeting of IMO to be called in early September 2008.
The following bullet points summarise the discussions and will be presented to the formal meeting in September:
1. Merchant ships transiting the Gulf of Aden to, or from, the Bab el Mandeb should be advised to follow a route approximately [35-40] miles from the southern coast of Yemen;
2. Details of such routes should be promulgated by IMO and should consist of a series of waypoints for both East bound and West bound traffic routes at first contact with the designated co-ordination centre;
3. Such routes should be far enough from the Yemeni coast as to de-conflict with Yemeni fishing grounds, but as far as practicable from the Somali Coast;
4. Ships transiting the area should be advised to notify [NATO Shipping Centre,] [UKMTO Dubai,] [MARLO Bahrain] and the [Yemeni Government] of their intentions and to maintain contact throughout their transit;
5. Ships transiting the area should be advised to comply fully with the guidance given by IMO in MSC/Circ.623/Rev.3 [and any other guidance issued by their flag state; coastal states pursuant to SOLAS regulation XI-2/7 on threats to ships, insurance company, etc. ;
6. An “information operations” campaign should be conducted along the Northern and Northeastern coastline of Somalia, sensitizing potential pirates and armed robbers to the need to stay away from the shipping routes;
7. Member states of IMO operating warships and other government vessels and aircraft clearly identified as such, should be encouraged to request such vessels and aircraft to maintain a visible presence in the vicinity of the recommended routes and to coordinate their activities with such vessels and aircraft operated by other governments in the area, through the [NATO Shipping Centre,] [UKMTO Dubai,] [MARLO Bahrain] and the [Yemeni Government], until such time as the regional agreement on countering piracy comes into operation;
8. Any actions taken by warships and other government vessels and aircraft to suppress piracy should be robust and focused on deterring or preventing further attacks;
9. Warships and other government vessels should as far as is practicable, assist the other state in the area in their activities to suppress piracy and armed robbery against ships, for example through the carriage of law enforcement detachments from the Yemen Coast Guard on board;
10. The escorting of humanitarian shipping into Somalia should remain subject to existing procedures with bilateral agreements between the flag states of the escorting ships and the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia; and the flag states of the escorting and escorted ships, in accordance with IMO Assembly Resolution A.1002(25); and
11. Governments should be encouraged to use the anti-money laundering and similar provisions of legislation to counter terrorism or transnational organised crime in order to trace ransom payments and to take appropriate action to prosecute the offenders.