Reefer and containership are the latest vessels to be targeted by pirates in Gulf of Guinea.

Pirates have targeted two commercial ships off the coast of Nigeria in two separate incidents less than five hours apart, according to authorities.

Both incidents took place on Saturday and occurred between 40nm to 50nm south-south-west of Bonny Island, according to reports from the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre.

In the first incident around eight armed pirates in a speed boat chased an unnamed container vessel while it was underway.

Reports say the alarm was raised, the ship security alarm system (SSAS) was activated and all non-essential crew retreated to the ship’s citadel.

As the pirate boat closed with the container ship the vessel began to take evasive manoeuvres.

The vessel had also deployed ‘hardening’ measures and the pirates were unable to hook their ladder to ship’s side, the IMB said.

The attackers are said to have eventually broken off their attempt to board and the container ship was met by a Nigerian Navy escort.

In the second incident around 10 pirates in a speed boat, armed with automatic weapons, are reported to have chased and fired upon a reefer vessel while it was also underway.

“The armed guards onboard the vessel returned fire, resulting in the pirates aborting the attach and moving away. All crew safe. Vessel sustained minor damage due to the firing,” the IMB said.

“There have been at least 75 recorded piracy incidents in the Gulf of Guinea in the six months to February 2018, most of them off Nigeria,” said UK-based security consultancy Grey Page.

“Attacks typically involve small boats coming alongside while the pirates attempt to board.

“The attackers are often armed and violent and in the most serious cases seafarers have been seized as hostages.”

Grey Page said all waters in and off Nigeria and in the wider Gulf of Guinea should be seen as dangerous.

With most attacks take place at night, vessels are advised to minimise time spent in anchorages and to avoid slow steaming while underway.

Source: Tradewinds

On Tuesday, the government of Luxembourg reported that the product tanker ST Marseille was attacked by five armed pirates at an anchorage off Cotonou, Benin. The pirates succeeded in boarding the vessel, and two Beninese guards sustained gunshot wounds in the exchange.

The ST Marseille had no cargo on board at the time of the attack, and the pirates eventually gave up and departed. The crew are unharmed and are all accounted for. Both guards have received medical attention and are in stable condition.

The ST Marseille is a Luxembourg-flagged tanker operated by French firm ST Management SAS. She has no inspection history.

Hijackings and kidnappings are a routine risk in the Gulf of Guinea, and the attack on the ST Marseille is just the latest in a string of incidents off Benin:

– On January 10, the product tanker MT Barrett went missing from an anchorage off Benin and was not heard from for two days. She had been hijacked and her crew held hostage, and the pirates contacted the shipowner to make arrangements for their return on January 12. After several days of negotiations, they were released unharmed, and the Barrett was allowed to go on her way.

– On February 1, the tanker Marine Express and her 22 crewmembers went missing from an anchorage off Cotonou. The vessel was held for several days and released unharmed.

The problems at Cotonou’s anchorage are relatively new, but according to the IMB ICC piracy report, attacks off the Niger Delta continue unabated:

– On February 24, eight armed pirates in a speedboat pursued a container ship 50 nm south of Bonny Island, Nigeria. Thanks to vessel hardening they were not able to hook on a boarding ladder, and they abandoned the attempt.

– On the same day, about 40 nm off the Bonny fairway buoy, ten pirates in a speedboat opened fire on a reefer under way. Embarked guards returned fire and the attackers abandoned the attempt.

– On February 18, about 40 nm off Brass, seven pirates in a speedboat opened fire on a tanker under way. Due to vessel hardening they were not able to board, and they broke off the attempt.

Source: The Maritime Executive

A Merchant Vessel was approached in position: 1347N 05113E at 0635UTC on 27 FEB 2018 by 10 skiffs. Two warning flares fired from SAPU onboard, Vessel increased speed and started evasive maneuvers. The suspected PAG altered to a nearby vessel where AST onboard responded with waning flare. Japan Navy informed and intervened with helicopter.

Source: SAPU onboard safeguarded vessel in HRA.

The Malaysian Coastguard is hunting two alleged Indonesian nationals, who hijacked and robbed a Thai-flagged ship “MT MGT 1,” after receiving a red notice from the Interpol.

“Following a red notice from the Interpol, we are hunting Udin Jawi and Arjuna,” Head of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, Faridah binti Shuib, stated in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

Jawi and Arjuna were identified as Indonesian passport holders after an investigation held by the Interpol, according to the MT MGT 1 ship crew`s testimonies.

According to the investigation, the two Indonesians were suspected, along with other five people who were all wearing masks and bearing weapons, of robbery on Sept 4, 2017.

Shuib has called for anyone who has information or can acknowledge those names to call the Malaysian Maritime Criminal Inquiry with Lieutenant Commander Mohd Faizal bin Abdul Rahman at 03-89957813 in Putrajaya or other related office in each state.

The hijack occurred when the Thai tanker, loaded with more than 1.7 million metric tons of diesel oil, entered Malaysian water on Sept 6, 2017, at around 8:30 p.m., after departing from Rayong Harbor on Sept 4.

The tanker, which was owned by Global Transport Company Ltd, was manned by 14 Thai crew members, who were reported to be safe.

Source: Antara News

On 23^rd February at 0030 local time, the Motor Tanker Leopard Sun was attacked by two skiffs 160 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia.

The Singapore flagged 50,000 metric tonne chemical tanker was en route from Sohar, Sultanate of Oman to Cape Town, South Africa when the incident occurred. The skiffs approached the MT Leopard Sun from the stern and fired upon her, after which the on-board Private Armed Security Team returned fire with warning shots. The incident lasted approximately 20 minutes before the skiffs eventually turned away.

The crew employed the full range of Best Management Practices (BMP4) as well as the actions of the embarked private armed security team (PAST). EU NAVFOR can confirm the vessel and crew are now safe.

EU NAVFOR has been in contact with the shipping company and the ship’s master to further assess the incident. It is clear the ship, crew and the security team demonstrated a very high standard of self-protection protocols in line with BMP4. The reporting of the incident to UKMTO/ EU NAVFOR MSCHOA was exemplary in both speed and detail, including the damage to the ship from gunfire from the skiffs.

EU NAVFOR MSCHOA issued navigation warnings and alerts to inform both mariners and merchant vessels in the High Risk Area, and the wider shipping industry of the attack. Merchant vessels in the proximity of the location where the incident took place have been warned directly of the existence of a potential Pirate Action Group (PAG).

EU NAVFOR and CMF together with military partners will continue to coordinate their understanding and response to this incident. This attack, which is likely to be piracy related, was the first such incident since the attack on the MV EVER DYNAMIC in November 2017.

Source: EU NAVFOR

The Minister for Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has alleged that some saboteurs are frustrating moves by the Federal Government to protect Nigerian waters through the $195 million (about N70.2 billion) contract signed a year ago. Amaechi had in May last year announced that President Mohammadu Buhari had consented to the contract and approved the funds to procure security equipment to combat sea crime.

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 contract had been approved to an Israeli security firm, but it has rather become a mirage.

Amaechi, who spoke at the maritime stakeholders’ interactive forum organised by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) in Warri, Delta State, yesterday, alleged that some government officials, and “people making money from water” are sabotaging government’s effort in restoring peace on the nation’s troubled waters.

He said: “For ship owners, you need to do a petition to the president, you need to behave like an activist. The president approved a contract of $195million and there are people in the system sabotaging that contract. The contract is to restore security in the nation’s waters.”He threatened to disclose the names of those behind the sabotage if pushed to the wall.

“I won’t say who they are until it gets out of control. We are still battling for the contract to take place, but if it gets out of hand, we will name them, including the security people.

“These are people who make billions of dollars from the waters so they don’t want security on the waters, because if we secure the waters, all this rubbish will go. We need to ask ourselves what happened to an approval that was given about two years ago by the president.’’

Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala Usman, commended the state on the relative peace at the Eastern Ports and pledged to continue to build confidence and maintain partnership with the host communities.She also promised to continue to partner and consult with stakeholders in the quest to develop the shipping sector.

Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), Hassan Bello, said the stakeholders should collaborate to drive growth in the sector and key into the national goal of employment generation.Bello also emphasised that there should be concerted efforts to increase the contributions of maritime sector to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country.

Speaking on the theme: “Ease of doing business in a secured maritime environment”, Chairman, Ship owners Forum, Mrs. Margaret Onyema- Orakwusi, urged the Federal Government to improve security in the nation’s territorial water to restore investors’ confidence in the sector.

Orakwusi also charged the government oversee the establishment of maritime bank for the resuscitation of shipping business in Nigeria, adding that a maritime bank with single interest rate would help develop the sector.

Source: The Guardian