November 2017

November 30, 2017

Work starts on new UAE naval base in Somaliland

Divers Marine Contracting has started construction of a United Arab Emirates naval base in a semi-autonomous region of northern Somalia.

The closely held Sharjah-based engineering group began work on the project after being awarded the $90 million contract in April, Managing Director Abdulla Darwish said in an interview in Dubai.

The facility, being built near the regional port of Berbera, is expected to be completed by June, he said.

Berbera is located on the Gulf of Aden, 260 kilometers (162 miles) south of Yemen, where UAE troops in a Saudi Arabia-led coalition are battling Houthi rebels.

Somaliland’s foreign minister said in May that the UAE leased the airport in Berbera for 25 years as part of a pact for a military base. The gulf country is also building a military installation in Eritrea.

The Somaliland naval base will include a 300-metre L-shaped inland berthing port with a depth of 7 metres “to support the military airport,” accommodating naval vessels to patrol the Gulf of Aden, according to Darwish.

“It’s not a commercial port,” he said. “It’s only for naval vessels.”

Somaliland Foreign Minister Saad Ali Shire didn’t immediately respond to two calls to his mobile and two emails seeking comment. A UAE foreign ministry official didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Source: Shabelle News

November 30, 2017

Government misses delivery target on $186m anti-piracy equipment fighting

The Federal Government may have shelved its promise of floating some high-tech machinery meant to combat maritime crime in the nation’s troubled waters.Under the initial target, the facilities were expected to have arrived Nigeria in August, but three months after, the project now appears elusive.

President Muhammadu Buhari had earlier this year, approved the sum of $186million (about N56.9billion) to procure machineries to fully combat maritime crimes.

The fund is meant to acquire three helicopters, three aircrafts, three big battle-ready ships, 12 vessels, and 20 amphibious cars to combat the menace of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.

The Minister for Transportation, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, who disclosed the plan at an industry forum in Lagos, on May 3rd, had assured, “In the next three months, you will see them operating; and by the time we finish, you will see that the change is coming. Change is not talked about, it is felt, and so you should give us time to fix it.”

Upon inquiry about the update on the facilities, the spokesperson for the Nigerian Navy, Chris Ezekobe, told The Guardian that he is not aware of the plan, adding that the Navy is really in need of more vessels, but coping with the existing ones.

“Although, I am not aware of that promise to acquire those machineries, but in all our presentations to the presidency, we have been asking for additional vessels and our vessels of choice are what we called offshore patrol vessels.

“We have two existing that were bought from China. Those are: NNS Unity, and NNS Centenary. Within the constraints on our resources, we have been making our pitch for additional platforms, which will help us address some of these issues,” he said.

Months after the unveiling of the plan, Nigeria’s marine territory has continued to report many attacks and kidnappings.A recent incident is the report of the kidnap of six crew members, including the captain, from a Liberian-flagged containership ‘Demeter’ offshore Bonny.

However, a new report by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC’s) International Maritime Bureau (IMB), said: “Nigeria remains risky, as there were 20 reports received against all vessel types for Nigeria, 16 of which occurred off the coast of Brass, Bonny, and Bayelsa.

The Director, IMB, Pottengal Mukundan, said: “In general, all waters in and off Nigeria remain risky, despite intervention in some cases by the Nigerian Navy. We advise vessels to be vigilant.“The number of attacks in the Gulf of Guinea could be even higher than our figures, as many incidents continue to be unreported.”

The Commandant, Nigerian Defense College, Abuja, Rear Admiral Adeniyi Adejimi Oshinowo, gave a rough estimate of the institution’s patrol requirements. “They include at least 18 low/medium endurance Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPVs) (<50), and nine helicopters carrying long endurance OPVs (>70), and three Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA), which are needed to provide adequate protection of Nigeria’s coastal and deep offshore waterways.“Although the NN strive to maintain such size of fleet, it has been expensive sustaining same at optimum operational level due to limited resources,” he added.

Source: The Guardian

November 30, 2017

Chinese Maritime Strategy for the Indian Ocean

Chinese maritime strategy for the Indian Ocean reflects a couple of simple inter-related planks; espousal of a “two ocean” navy and espousal of the Maritime Silk Road. 2017 has witnessed important consolidation of each maritime plank. Each plank can be looked at in turn.

“Two Ocean” Navy

In expanding naval operations from the South China Sea and Western Pacific into the Indian Ocean, China is pursuing a “two-ocean” (战略, liang ge haiyang) strategy. This is the manifestation of China’s new strategy of “far-seas operations” (远海作战, yuanhai zuozhan) endorsed since the mid-2000s, to be achieved through deployment and berthing facilities across the Indo-Pacific, in part to meet energy security imperatives and thereby achieve “far seas protection” (远海护卫, yuanhai huwei) and power projection by the Chinese Navy. This shift from “near sea” to “far sea” is the decisive transformation in Chinese maritime thinking; “China’s naval force posturing stems from a doctrinal shift to ocean-centric strategic thinking and is indicative of the larger game plan of having a permanent naval presence in the Indian Ocean.”¹ This naval force posture has brought Chinese naval operations into the eastern and then western quadrants of the Indian Ocean on an unprecedented scale in 2017.

In the eastern quadrant of the Indian Ocean, February 2017 witnessed the Chinese cruise missile destroyers Haikou and Changsha conducting live-fire anti-piracy and combat drills to test combat readiness. Rising numbers of Chinese surface ship and submarine sightings in the eastern quadrant of the Indian Ocean were particularly picked up in India during summer, a sensitive period of land confrontation at Doklam – e.g. Times of India, ‘Amid Border stand-off, Chinese ships on the prowl in Indian Ocean,’ July 4; Hindustan Times, ‘From submarines to warships: How Chinese navy is expanding its footprint in Indian Ocean’, July 5. This Chinese presence included Chinese surveillance vessels dispatched to monitor the trilateral Malabar exercise being carried out in the Bay of Bengal between the Indian, U.S., and Japanese navies, which represents a degree of tacit maritime balancing against China. Chinese rationale was expressed earlier in August by the Deputy Chief of General Office of China’s South Sea Fleet, Capt. Liang Tianjun, who said that “China and India can make joint contributions to the safety and security of the Indian Ocean,” but that China would also not “be obstructed by other countries.” India is increasingly sensitive to this presence (Times of India, ‘Chinese navy eyes Indian Ocean as part of PLAs plan to extend its reach,’ 11 August) in what India considers to be its own strategic backyard and to a degree India’s ocean for it to be accorded pre-eminence. In contrast, China’s growing maritime presence in the Indian Ocean lends maritime encirclement to match land encirclement of India.

In the western quadrant of the Indian Ocean, another first for Chinese deployment capability was in August when a Chinese naval formation consisting of the destroyer Changchun, guided-missile frigate Jingzhou, and the supply vessel Chaohu conducted a live-fire drill in the waters of the western Indian Ocean. The reason given for the unprecedented live fire drill was to test carrying out strikes against “enemy” (Xinhua, August 25) surface ships. The “enemy” was not specified, but the obvious rival in sight was the Indian Navy, which was why the South China Morning Post (August 26) suggested the drill as “a warning shot to India.” Elsewhere in the Chinese state media, Indian concerns were brushed off (Global Times, ‘India should get used to China’s military drills,’ August 27). Finally in a further development of Chinese power projection, in September a “logistics facility” (a de facto naval base) for China was opened up at Djibouti in September, complete with military exercises carried out by Chinese marines.

The Maritime Silk Road

At the 19^th Party Congress held in October 2017, the Congress formally wrote into the Party Constitution the need to “pursue the Belt and Road Initiative.” The “Road” refers to the Maritime Silk Road (MSR) initiative pushed by China since 2013, with the “Belt” referring to the overland land route across Eurasia. The MSR is a maritime project of the first order, involving geo-economic and geopolitical outcomes in which Chinese maritime interests and power considerations are significant. May 2017 saw the high-level Belt and Road Forum held in Beijing, focusing on the maritime and overland Silk Road projects. A swath of 11 Indian Ocean countries participating in the MSR were officially represented, including Australia, Bangladesh, Indonesia (President), Iran, Kenya (President), Malaysia (Prime Minister), the Maldives, Myanmar, Pakistan (Prime Minister), Singapore, and Sri Lanka (Prime Minister).

On 20 June 2017, China unveiled a White Paper entitled Vision for Maritime Cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative. This vision document was prepared by China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the State Oceanic Administration (SOA). It was classic win-win “pragmatic cooperation” involving “shelving differences and building consensus. We call for efforts to uphold the existing international ocean order.” This ignored China’s refusal to allow UNCLOS tribunal adjudication over its claims in the South China Sea.

The MSR presents a vision of interlinked ports and nodal points going across the Indian Ocean. The significance of the MSR is that China can expect to be involved in a three-fold fashion. Firstly in infrastructure projects involved in building up the nodal points along these waters that was alluded to in the Vision document by its open aim to “promote the participation of Chinese enterprises in such endeavors” and which could “involve mutual assistance in law enforcement.” Secondly, Chinese merchant shipping is growing greater in numbers, and thirdly, deploying naval power to underpin these commercial interests and shipping.

This pinpointing of ports across the Indian Ocean reproduces the geographical pattern of the so-called String of Pearls framework earlier mooted in 2005 by U.S. analysts as Chinese strategy to establish bases and facilities across the Indian Ocean – a chain going from Sittwe, Chittagong, Hambantota, and Gwadar. China of course consistently denied such a policy, but its drive during the last decade has been to establish a series of port use agreements across the Indian Ocean, now including infrastructure and facilities agreements at Mombassa and Djibouti.

Chinese penetration of ports around the Indian Ocean rim gathered pace during 2017. September saw Myanmar agreeing to a 70 percent stake for the China International Trust Investment Corporation (CITIC) in running the deep water port of Kyauk Pyu. The port is the entry point for the China-Myanmar oil and gas pipeline. CITIC is a state-owned company, and so represents deliberate central government strategy by China. In July Sri Lanka agreed to a similar 70 percent stake for the China Merchant Port Holdings (CMPH) in the Chinese-built port of Hambantota on a 99-year lease. CMPH is another state-owned company, and so again represents deliberate central government strategy by China.

Gwadar, nestled on the Pakistan coast facing the Arabian Sea, has been a particularly useful “pearl” for China. Built with Chinese finance, it was significant that its management was taken over by the China Overseas Port Holding Company (COPHC) for a 40 year period in April 2017. This is deliberate strategy on the part of the Chinese government, given that COPHC is another state-run entity. The Chinese Navy has started using Gwadar as a regular berthing facility, in effect a naval base established for the next 40 years. Gwadar is also strategically significant for China given its role as the link between maritime trade (i.e. energy supplies from the Middle East) and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor which is set to improve infrastructure links between Pakistan and China.

From a strategic point of view, China’s use (and control?) of Gwadar and Kyauk Pyu will enable China to address its present vulnerability, the so-called Malacca Dilemma, whereby Chinese energy imports coming across the eastern Indian Ocean into the Strait of Malacca, could be cut either by the U.S. Navy or the Indian Navy.

It is significant that although India has been invited to join the Maritime Silk Road (MSR) initiative, India has avoided participation. Its absence at the Belt and Road Forum held in Beijing in May 2017 was conspicuous. The official explanation for this Indian boycott was China’s linking of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (which goes through Kashmir, a province in dispute between India and Pakistan) to the MSR initiative. In practice, India is extremely wary of the whole MSR initiative. Geographically, the MSR initiative surrounds India, and geopolitically Indian perception tends to be that it is but another Chinese way to encircle India. China of course denies any such encirclement strategy, but then it would deny such a policy anyhow.

The geo-economics of the Maritime Silk Road present China with interests to gain, maintain, and defend if need be. How can China defend such interests? Ultimately, through the Chinese Navy.

A More Powerful Navy

Chinese maritime strategy (a “two ocean” navy) is not likely to change, what will change is China’s ability to deploy more powerful assets into the Indian Ocean. This was evident at the 19^th Party Congress. The formal Resolution approving Xi Jinping’s Report of the 18th Central Committee included his call to “build a powerful and modernized […] navy.” 2017 has seen Chinese naval capabilities accelerating in various first-time events.

One indicator of capability advancement was the unveiling in June at Shanghai of the Type 055 destroyer, the Chinese Navy’s first 10,000-ton domestically designed and domestically-built surface combatant. The Chinese official state media (Xinhua, June 28) considered this “a milestone in improving the nation’s Navy armament system and building a strong and modern Navy.” The Type 055 is the first of China’s new generation destroyers. It is equipped with China’s with China’s latest mission systems and a dual-band radar system.

Chinese Navy’s new destroyer, a 10,000-ton domestically designed and produced vessel, is launched at Jiangnan Shipyard (Group) in east China’s Shanghai Municipality, June 28, 2017. (Xinhua/Wang Donghai)

So far aircraft carrier power has not been deployed by China into the Indian Ocean. China has converted one ex-Soviet carrier, the Varyag and inducted it into the navy in 2012 as the Liaoning. But China is already deploying “toward” the Indian Ocean where in January 2017 the Liaoning led a warship flotilla into the South China Sea, including drills with advanced J-15 aircraft. This was the first Chinese aircraft carrier deployment into the South China Sea, and constituted a clear policy to project maritime power. This projection was partly in terms of demonstrating clear superiority over local rival claimants in the South China Sea, and partly to begin matching U.S. aircraft carrier deployments into waters that China claims as its own, but which the U.S. claims as international waters in which it could undertake Freedom of Navigation Exercises.

A crucial development for China’s aircraft carrier power projection capability is the acceleration during 2017 of China’s own indigenous construction of aircraft carriers. This will deliver modern large aircraft carrier capability, and enable ongoing deployment into the Indian Ocean. China’s first home-grown aircraft carrier Type 001A, probably to be named the Shandong, was launched in April 2017 at Shanghai, with mooring exercises carried out in October at Dalian. Consequently, this new aircraft carrier is likely to join the Chinese Navy by late 2018, up to two years earlier than initially expected, and is expected to feature an electromagnetic launch system. It is expected to be stationed with the South China Sea Fleet, thereby earmarked for regular deployment into the South China Sea and Indian Ocean. This marks a key acceleration of China’s effort to build up a blue-water navy to secure the country’s key maritime trade routes and to challenge the U.S.’s dominant position in the Asia-Pacific region, especially in the South China Sea as well as India’s position in the Indian Ocean.

Countervailing Responses

The very success of China’s Indian Ocean strategy has created countervailing moves. In reaction to China’s Maritime Silk Road Initiative, India has pushed its own Mausam and Cotton Route projects for Indian Ocean cooperation, neither of which involve China; and alongside Japan has also started espousing the Africa-Asia Growth Corridor (AAGC), which again does not involve China. U.S. espousal of the Indo-Pacific Economic Corridor (IPEC) connecting South Asia to Southeast Asia is also being linked up to the Indian and Japanese proposals. With regard to China’s “two-ocean” naval strategy, the more it has deployed into the Indian Ocean, the more India has moved towards trilateral security cooperation with the U.S. and Japan. Australia beckons as well in this regional reaction to China, as witnessed in the revival of “Quad” discussions between Australian, Indian, Japanese, and U.S. officials in 12 November 2017. This countervailing security development includes trilateral MALABAR exercises between the Indian, Japanese, and U.S. navies, in which their exercises in the Bay of Bengal in July 2017 showed a move of venues (and focus of concern about China) from the Western Pacific into the Indian Ocean, and with Australia likely to join the MALABAR format within this “Quad” development. China has become a victim of its own maritime success in the Indian Ocean, thereby illustrating the axiom that “To every action there is an equal and opposed reaction” – which points to tacit balancing in other words.

David Scott is an independent analyst on Indo-Pacific international relations and maritime geopolitics, a prolific writer and a regular ongoing presenter at the NATO Defence College in Rome since 2006 and the Baltic Defence College in Tallinn since 2017. He can be contacted at davidscott366@outlook.com.

References

1. Kupakar, “China’s naval base(s) in the Indian Ocean—signs of a maritime Grand Strategy?,” Journal of Strategic Anaysis, 41.3, 2017

November 29, 2017

Seychelles to Transfer Pirates to Somalia

Seychelles authorities will transfer convicted pirates to Somalia in December to serve their jail terms in Horn of Africa nation, Somali Foreign Ministry said.

In recent years, Seychelles was one of the several countries in East Africa and the Indian Ocean region carrying out pirate trials to combat piracy Indian Ocean.

Somali foreign minister, Yussuf Garad who visited the inmates in Seychelles said that a total of 15 prisoners who were sentenced in Seychelles will be handed over Somali government.

“During my visit, I met with 15 convicted prisoners who have some years to serve. Seychelles authorities are ready to hand them over to the government of Somalia in December,” said Garaad.

He confirmed that the archipelago authorities will be releasing a prisoner who completed his sentence.

“One of the convicted prisoners who completed his jail term will be released in December,” said Garad in statement.

The minister also visited six pirate suspects who were handed over Seychelles authorities following their arrest for attacks earlier this month off Southern Somalia.

“I met with six suspects who were claiming to be fishermen and lost direction after their boat developed mechanical problem,” he explained.

In 2011, Seychelles and Somalia signed an agreement paving the way for Somali prisoners to be repatriated.

Source: Somali Update

November 29, 2017

Somalia: Iran Naval Forces Repel Pirate Attack On Merchant Vessel in Gulf of Aden

Iranian naval forces have repelled pirates who were attacking one of the country’s merchant vessels in the Gulf of Aden. Iran’s 48th naval fleet, comprised of Alvand destroyer and Lavan logistic warship, rescued the Iranian ship from an attack by pirates in the south of Ras Sharbitat region in Oman on Sunday morning.

Gulf of Aden pirates attacked the Iranian merchant ship, named Caspian Harmony, in a bid to hijack it, but they were forced to flee by Iranian naval forces. Iran’s 48th naval fleet set off for the high season September 2 on a mission to maintain the Islamic Republic’s power in international waters and safeguard maritime routes.

In recent years, Iran’s Navy has increased its presence in international waters to protect naval routes and provide security for merchant vessels and tankers. In line with international efforts against piracy, the Iranian Navy has been conducting patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008, safeguarding merchant containers and oil tankers owned or leased by Iran or other countries.

Iran’s Navy has managed to foil several attacks on both Iranian and foreign tankers during its missions in international waters.

International Maritime Organization (IMO) has described the anti-piracy efforts by Iran’s Navy as “effective.”

Source: Hellenic Shipping News

November 28, 2017

Maritime security: Isro to help track suspicious vessels through satellite imageries

NEW DELHI: Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) will soon help agencies engaged in coastal and maritime security to track suspicious vessels and boats through satellite imagery. The initiative, under which Isro will supply 1,000 transponders by March next year for satellite monitoring of boats, is aimed at preventing a 26/11 attack-type infiltration from the sea route.

While automatic identification system will monitor boats measuring above 20 metres, satellite monitoring is proposed for the sub-20m boats, a home ministry official said on Friday.

The infrastructure for tighter monitoring of suspicious vessels approaching the Indian coast is coming up fast, with 46 coastal radars and 74 automatic ID systems installed. Colour coding of boats is also being undertaken by the coastal states and UTs for easier monitoring in the high seas and on the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL).

The aforesaid measures are part of home ministry’s efforts to beef up coastal security in wake of the breach that triggered the Mumbai attacks in 2008. Ten Pakistani terrorists had sailed all the way from Karachi coast to Mumbai, starting in a Pakistani vessel and then shifting to an Indian fishing boat they had hijacked mid-sea, before landing undetected on the Mumbai coast in a rubber dinghy. They unleashed mayhem at the city’s iconic buildings including Taj Hotel, thereafter, killing 166 people.

Meanwhile, a home ministry official on Friday said biometric cards have been issued to most fishermen. Of the 19.9 lakh target beneficiaries, 19.7 lakh have enrolled and cards issued to 18.6 lakh of them. Standard operating procedures have been drawn up for dealing with breach of IMBL, better coordination among all stakeholders and upgrading security in non-major ports.

India has a long coastline of 7,516 km running through Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal and the Union Territories of Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep, Puducherry and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. With many vital installations such as nuclear plants, sea ports, naval stations, satellite/missile launching centres and oil installations located on the coastline, prime importance is accorded to coastal and maritime security.

Source: The Economic Times

November 28, 2017

Seaman Guard Ohio Crew Acquitted

An Indian appeals court acquitted 35 crewmembers and security guards of the Seaman Guard Ohio on Monday.

The 35, six former British soldiers, 14 Estonians, three Ukrainians and 12 Indians, were sentenced in January last year to five years in prison on charges of illegally transporting weapons and ammunition in Indian waters in October 2013 on the anti-piracy vessel, which was operated by AdvanFort.

Justice M. Basheer Ahamed said the charges against them had not been proven. He also said a fine of 3,000 rupees ($65) paid by each would be returned.

The families of the British men, dubbed the Chennai 6, have thanked all those that have supported them throughout their campaign to have the men freed. They now wait to hear how long it will take to complete the paperwork to allow the men home.

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), one of the organizations that has provided support for the crew since their arrest, funded the appeal. ITF seafarers’ section chair, David Heindel, commented: “At last there is some form of justice, even if it cannot restore to the men the time lost since their arrest in 2013.

“Unfortunately, one glaring injustice remains: the scandal of AdvanFort getting off scot-free, having washed its hands of its employees. They took the money, they sauntered off, pockets bulging. It is nothing short of shameful that our justice system allows them to get away with this.”

International maritime charity Sailors’ Society, which has also been supporting the crew, will be offering the men counseling and other practical help to rebuild their lives. Sailors’ Society has been working closely with the Indian and Ukrainian crew and families from the ship.

Stuart Rivers, CEO of Sailors’ Society, said: “Our chaplain in Chennai Manoj Joy is currently breaking the news to the crew and their families, who have been desperately waiting to hear the result. Once Manoj receives the release papers from the court he will travel to the prison where the men are being held to secure their release and organize their transport back to their loved ones.

“The families will be overjoyed – but it can take considerable time and support to recover from an ordeal like this. They have missed precious years with their loved ones, including births and deaths of their close family.”

Joy provided welfare and financial support for the crew and their families throughout their ordeal, as well as helping the seafarers’ lawyers prepare their appeal. He also helped fight for the Ukrainian captain of the ship, M. Dudnik Valentyn, to receive hospital treatment after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Within 36 hours of the men being arrested, The Mission to Seafarers provided counseling, advice, and financial support around the clock to the men and their families. The Mission has provided and administered a legal fund to fight the men’s case, as well as paid for medical treatment for the Valentyn’s terminal illness in partnership with the ITF Seafarers’ Trust.

Ben Bailey, Director of Advocacy, The Mission for Seafarers, commented: “Today is a day that we have long campaigned for. Maritime security professionals provide an important service in protecting seafarers from piracy… The case of the Seaman Guard Ohio highlights once again the issue that millions of merchant seafarers often face when carrying out their everyday jobs. The criminalization of seafarers remains a constant threat to those who are responsible for transporting over 90 percent of world trade.”

Source: The Maritime Executive

November 28, 2017

Somali officials visits prison in Seychelles, encourages anti-piracy cooperation

Maritime security is important for all countries bordering the Indian Ocean, and these countries need to work together to combat piracy, the Somali Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said Monday.

Yusuf-Garaad Omar made the statement after visiting President Danny Faure at State House, Victoria.

“We discussed the issue of maritime security and the cooperation between the two countries to make sure that the ocean is safe for both countries as well as for the international traders who are using the ocean,” said Omar.

He told the press that “piracy is decreasing for many reasons one of which is due to the effort of the regional international forces and institutions working on it.”

“Somalia is also working on prosecuting pirates. The Somali government is also committing itself to making sure that we can control our people and coasts,” said the minister.

Somalia is looking to work closely with Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian ocean, to help with capacity building and the exchange of information and intelligence on maritime security.

Omar and his delegation called upon the president and vice president after having visited the Seychelles’ main prison on Sunday, where six Somali citizens are being detained in regards to a piracy case.

The six suspected Somali pirates were transferred to Seychelles for possible trial last week after they were caught by an Italian Frigate attacking a container ship and a fishing vessel in the Southern Somali Basin.

“We also discussed the case of the Somali prisoners who are here, people who are convicted of piracy and crimes. We are going to transfer them to Somalia to continue serving their sentence there,” said Omar.

The scourge of piracy has been plaguing the Indian Ocean since 2005. Seychelles, which lies to the east of Somalia, has been at the forefront of the fight against piracy that was affecting its tourism and fisheries industries, the top two pillars of its economy.

The minister also visited the Regional Fusion and Law Enforcement Centre for Safety and Security at Sea (REFLECS3) located at Bois De Rose, on the outskirt of Victoria.

“It is a new facility and it has big potentials to be the hub for the whole region. We will be cooperating and we will soon have Somali representatives working from that centre, to share information from Somalia and give us feedback on what is going on here,” said Omar.

Source: Hellenic Shipping News

November 28, 2017

East Africa: EU Naval Official Offers Appreciation for Seychelles’ Role in Piracy Fight

The support of Seychelles is crucial in deterring future pirate attacks in the region, said a top official of the European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) delegation during a meeting with the President of Seychelles.

The delegation made up of Rear Admiral Fabio Gregori, other EU NAVFOR officials and the Italian Consul Claudio Izzi, met with President Danny Faure at the State House in Victoria.

Faure told the group that the quick action of the EU NAVFOR in a recent operation in which six suspected Somali pirates were captured has sent a strong message.

The six suspected Somali pirates were apprehended by an Italian navy frigate, ITS Virginio Fasan after they attacked a Seychelles-flagged 52,000-tonne container ship and a fishing vessel last week. The incident took place over a 24-hour period from Friday, Nov. 18 to Saturday, Nov. 19.

The suspects were transferred to the authorities in Seychelles on Thursday for possible trial based on an agreement with the European Naval Force Operation Atalanta.

“This kind of immediate action is very important in the mission to counter piracy in the Indian Ocean. Without this we would have been obliged to release them, thus, sending the wrong message,” said Gregori.

Faure told the delegation that Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, is grateful for the work the EU NAVFOR has been doing to assist the island nation.

“Your presence over the years when the scourge of piracy took a toll on the country has been invaluable, and once again your quick action in the recent operation has sent a strong message. We look forward to further consolidating our strong partnership,” said the president.

Gregori said, “Piracy is affecting free trade. It is true that we had observed a decline in their operation at sea for a while now, but we should always be on the lookout. Their recent attacks show that they are still being funded and waiting for the right time to attack.”

Faure and Gregori also discussed the present maritime security exercises being conducted and plans to intensify and expand the orientation of surveillance in the region to ensure the security of surrounding waters.

The EU Naval Force is in Seychelles for joint maritime security interactions with the Seychelles People Defence Forces and other maritime forces.

Source: Hellenic Shipping News

November 28, 2017

FG, others strategize to tackle oil theft, piracy in Gulf of Guinea

The Federal Government and other member-countries of the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC) have renewed their efforts to tackle the enormous challenges facing the Gulf of Guinea such as oil theft, sea piracy, human trafficking, drug trafficking, armed robbery and other illicit activities in the Gulf of Guinea.

Nigeria’s Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who was elected the new chairman of the GGC, gave this indication while making his remarks during the 4th Assembly of the Heads of States and Government of the member countries of the GGC in Abuja on Thursday with the theme “A vibrant Gulf of Guinea Region for Sustainable Development” Osinbajo, who represented President Muhammadu Buhari in the meeting said the GGC is at a critical moment following the escalation crisis in the Gulf of Guinea since the commission was established by the Treaty signed in Libreville, Gabon, on 3 July 2001 by Angola, Congo, Gabon, Nigeria and Sao Tome and Principe. Cameroun later joined in 2008. The GGC aim is to institutionalize cooperation amongst the countries bordering the Gulf of Guinea so as to “defend their common interest and promote peace and socio-economic development on the bases of dialogue, consensus, ties of friendship, solidarity and fraternity.” The aim also include promoting close consultation in the exploitation of natural resources of the Gulf with a view to ensuring economic development of member states and protecting and improving the natural environment.

The Vice President lamented that since Libreviile, there has been an escalation in threats to security in the Gulf of Guinea especially the wave of sea piracy, armed banditry, trafficking of arms, drugs and persons. He said that some of the economic consequences of the security challenges that the commission faces include a rise in maritime insurance premiums of vessels coming to the Gulf of Guinea, increased freight and reduced commercial traffic to the region. “These challenges are grave indeed; they compromise our economies and the smooth execution of international trade. Our objectives as a group have never been as crucial as they .are today.

Security in the Gulf of Guinea is both a challenge to maritime safety and it a significant threat to the economic prosperity of our states. “Its therefore in our national and regional interests to collaborate on this and other regional initiatives to tackle the problems that we confront in the maritime domain in the Gulf of Guinea,” he said. He called on member states to make more efforts on the issue of payment of financial dues stressing that it is crucial to the operation and performance of the GGC. “Let us renew our commitment in making the Gulf of Guinea commission more effective and truly vibrant in all our efforts to ensure that peace, security and sustainable development for our countries, our peoples and other stakeholders,” he said.

He said however that despite the challenges the situation has evolved positively in some areas due largely to the member countries individual efforts to improve the capacity and capability of their navies and other relevant agencies to enable them perform their duties more effectively. He commended the effort of each regional economic community such as ECOWAS, ECAS, in establishing their maritime regional centres, which is capped by the establishment of interregional coordination centre in Younde, Cameroun as the collaborating link between the two regional maritime centers led by ECOWAS and ECAS. Outgoing chairman of the GGC, Baltasar Engoganga Edjo’o, of Equatorial Guinea noted that it has become imperative to harness the resources of the member countries to increase the funding of the commission, which is a major handicap to the operations of the commission. Others who graced the events include; Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geofrey Onyeama, Cameroun’s Minister of External affairs, Mbela Mbela, Ambassador of Angola to Nigeria Eustaquio Januario, the Executive Secretary of the GGC, Florentina Adenike Nkonga among others.

Source: Hellenic Shipping News