2021 saw a significant drop in the number of maritime piracy and robbery events, with a total of 317 incidents worldwide, compared to 375 in 2020, a drop of 15%.

This decrease is particularly significant in the Gulf of Guinea, where the number of incidents is exceptionally low, with 52 events recorded. This drop, which should however be confirmed in the next months, is analysed as the combination of the strict application by crews of the Best Management Practices West Africa, and the growing awareness among international and regional actors, who are now taking concrete action against maritime insecurity in the area, and are trying to provide themselves an appropriate legal framework.

However, from the Americas to South-East Asia, including the Indian Ocean, all maritime areas are facing an increasing number of other insecurity factors. For the first time in its annual report, thanks to the help of its French and foreign partners, the MICA Center assesses all the threats affecting each of these areas: illegal fishing, smuggling, human trafficking, drug trafficking, illegal immigration, inter-state conflicts and terrorist attacks.

Dedicated to the analysis and assessment of the maritime security situation, and centralising alerts in case of an attack at sea, the MICA Center collects and forwards relevant information to the partners who subscribe to its free services. This annual report summarises the reports regularly sent to the maritime industry and analyses the trends observed as well as the evolution of modes of action.

Download the 2021 Annual Review

L’article Maritime Security: MICA Center Annual Review est apparu en premier sur Crimario II.

The UN Counter Piracy Trust Fund met on the 27 May to evocate the current funding situation and discuss the future of the fund. A side event was organized by the Danish shipping industry on the 27 May afternoon, titled “Uncovering Hidden Maritime Crimes/Consequences for the Shipping Industry” and the CGPCS strategic meeting took place the following day. Both events were organized by the Danish industry, the University of Copenhagen and the IOC secretariat with the presence of Mr. Nandcoomar Bodha, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mauritius and Chair of the CGPCS.

One of the main announcements of this two-days gathering was the fact that Mauritius, in its capacity of CGPCS chair, will organized a maritime week in Mauritius from 18 to 20 June (Preparatory meetings 18, Ministerial meeting 19, Plenary session with presentation by EUNAVFOR/CMF and the working groups).

Side-event: uncovering hidden maritime crimes/consequences for the shipping industry

The 27 May meeting saw participation of Alan Cole, Head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime Global Maritime Crime Programme, on smuggling, Dr. Eugenio Cusumano, Leiden University, on illegal migration in the Mediterranean, Dr. Amaha Senu, Seafarers International Research Centre and Dr. Ursula Daxecker, University of Amsterdam, on different forms of maritime crime. The presentation was followed by a lively and interesting discussion on diverse issues related to safety at sea and the difficulties of SAR assistance to migrants.

CGPCS Friends of the Chair meeting

The meeting was opened by the Director General and CEO of “Danish Shipping”, Mrs Steffensen, who underlined the importance of the Indian Ocean region for international trade and stressed that piracy is contained but not eradicated.

On his side, the CGPCS Chair, Minister Nando Bodha spoke of the strong mobilisation of the maritime community and the IOC during the year and was pleased to mention the extension of Atalanta mandate till 2020. Underlining the link between piracy and maritime crime, he raised the question of an expansion of the CGPCS mandate. He also called for a support to the Trust Fund taking into account that there is still a need of money to prosecute pirates and organize trials.

The traditional counter-piracy update presented by the EUNAVFOR POLAD showed a mixed maritime insecurity landscape with among other subjects of concern the deterioration of situation in Yemen and the Red Sea (incidents at sea, threat of terrorism, port security, weapons smuggling).

Since the beginning of 2019, one  piracy attack was registered (on 19 April 19, a fishing dhow was seized and the FV Adria was attacked on 23 April, but in the following days, EUNAVFOR captured the pirates dhow and arrested 5 suspected pirates) whilst maritime crime activities were on the rise: narcotics smuggling, weapons smuggling, illegal movements of people, fishing disputes and others suspicious activities.

Options for the future of CGPCS

Christian Bueger and Jessica Larsen (University of Copenhagen) presented options on the future of the CGPCS.  It was proposed to consider opening the CGPCS to discuss other forms of maritime crime in order to respond to regional needs. It was also recommended to streamline meetings concerned with maritime security in the region by holding a “maritime security week” during which other regional maritime security mechanisms and instruments could sit, including the CGPCS plenary.

The CGPCS member States stressed the importance to maintain the Group’s focus on piracy, whilst the desire was expressed to also take other maritime insecurity issues into consideration. Given that some of the working groups didn’t meet over the last year (WG 1/Operations, WG2 Capacity Building) it was also proposed by the University of Copenhagen to close them or transfer their responsibilities to other entities (for example to Shade for the WG1).

This have been discussed in details during the Plenary in Mauritius. Read the final communique of the 22nd CGPCS session.

During the plenary session in Mauritius, Kenya has been elected the chair of the CGPCS for a period of two years beginning January 2020.

L’article CGPCS meetings in Copenhagen and Mauritius est apparu en premier sur Crimario II.

The chairmanship will afford  Kenya the opportunity to coordinate regional and international efforts to deal with the challenge of piracy which remains a threat to the Maritime sector, despite being suppressed in recent times.

The unanimous decision was made at the 22nd Plenary Session of the group held on 20th June 2019 in Balaclava, Mauritius.

Maritime security is key to Kenya’s national security and the blue economy agenda.

While delivering her speech at the session, Defence Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo said Kenya will work with all member states and stakeholders to ensure that efforts of the international community to deter and combat piracy activities through enhanced maritime surveillance, patrols and monitoring and capacity building remain agile and effective.

She was flanked by the Foreign Affairs Chief Administrative Secretary Ababu Namwamba.

Omamo said Kenya  will further endeavor to enhance information sharing amongst all stakeholders.

“This is key for effective coordination of counter-piracy programmes. As chair, Kenya will endeavor to provide strong leadership to consolidate the work done by Mauritius and the previous chairs and to secure the legacy of the group,” she said.

Read the original article published by The Star

L’article Kenya elected to chair Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia est apparu en premier sur Crimario II.

The EU NAVFOR Somalia Operation Atalanta transferred the five suspects to Seychellois authorities after responding to piracy attacks on 21 April 2019, the local Department of Foreign Affairs said on Saturday.

The suspects were transported by Spanish flagship ESPS Navarra and transferred to Seychellois authorities in accordance with a transfer agreement between the Seychelles and the European Union with support from UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Only three out of the five Somali suspects appeared in court on Monday while the other two are receiving medical assistance after they were injured in the piracy attacks.

For humanitarian reasons, Operation Atalanta requested medical assistance from the Seychelles authorities for two of the suspects likely to have been wounded during the piracy attempts.

The case is being heard by Justice Laura Pillay, who remanded the suspects until May 13.

Photo license Rassin Vannier 

Read the original article posted by Seychelles News Agency

L’article After pirate attack off Somalia, judge orders that 5 suspects are held in Seychelles est apparu en premier sur Crimario II.

The EU NAVFOR side presented an update on current maritime activities off the coast of Somalia as the recent piracy attack of the MV KSL Sydney occurred on the 16 October 2018 around 340 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia. It was underlined that it was the second piracy attack in this area reported since the beginning of 2018 and that the Best Management Practices prescribed by MSCHOA is always the most effective way to counter such piracy threat and attack. But another element to take into consideration is that criminal networks are still very active around the Horn of Africa and beyond to the Red Sea not only in piracy activities but in many other illegal activities, as drug and weapons trafficking. 

A point was made on recent EU NAVFOR support to the CRIMARIO project and how to increase cooperation between different maritime initiatives developed and/or funded by the EU Commission. CRIMARIO side made a brief point on its involvement to the Blue Economy Conference to be held in Nairobi from 26 to 28 of November with the preparation of a side-event “Create Maritime Domain Awareness for enhancing the blue economy: EU regional initiatives and tools in Africa” scheduled on 28 November morning.

The most obvious conclusion of the meeting is that reinforcement of their maritime situational awareness remains a key priority for the littoral States in Indian Ocean and a structuring axis of cooperation for the European Union.

L’article Visit to EU Atalanta HQ est apparu en premier sur Crimario II.

According to the annual State of Maritime Piracy 2017 report released by the NGO’s Oceans Beyond Piracy (OBP), while the number of incidents involving pirates around the world declined in 2017 compared with 2016, the number increased off the coasts of Africa, South America and in the Caribbean. Maisie Pigeon, the report’s lead expert underlined that pirates’ activity in 2017 demonstrated that pirate groups retain their ability to organize and implement attacks against ships transiting the region. Following her explanations, criminal networks involved for long times in piracy have now turned their activities in many others traffics as drugs, weapons and wildlife.

It is striking to admit that the number of incidents in the Horn of Africa between ships and pirates sharply increased in 2017 compared with the previous year, according to both the OBP report and the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) annual report on piracy. Piracy incidents in the Horn of Africa doubled in 2017, particularly off the coast of Somalia that is remaining a clear focus of international community as recently as 2012.  The first hijacking of a merchant vessel in 5 years was recorded with the capture of the Aris-13 in march 2017. Incidents also were recorded off the coast of Yemen, due to the chaotic situation that is prevailing in the country since 2011. A representative of EU NAVFOR Atalanta mentioned that in December 2017 a naval mine was discovered along the Yemeni coast.

The situation is very worrying across Asia, where pirates have long been a threat to the littoral States and the maritime industry. The region still accounts for the greatest number of pirate incidents in the world, but it saw an overall drop in reported incidents of 23 percent in 2017 from 2016 and a 51 percent decrease from 2015, according to the OBP report. For example, kidnap-for-ransom incidents decreased by 80 percent due to cooperation by regional law enforcement actors. But the human cost of piracy is particularly high with 17 seafarers killed in incidents in 2017. Maisie Pigeon explained that cooperation between countries in the region has been a key element to fighting pirates and mentioned an agreement between 3 majors South East Asian States – Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines – to organize coordinated patrols, mainly in the Sulu Sea, to secure the waters.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, pirate incidents increased by 160 percent in 2017 compared with the previous year, according to OBP. Venezuela was named as facing an increase in piracy’s activity.

What are the main take away from 2017?

Increased vigilance, communication, active collaboration between naval forces (mainly Combined Maritime Forces and Atalanta), respect of Best Management Practices by the ship owners and private security guards on boards were mentioned during the Q and A period as the best means to fight piracy.  For the future, a few changes are expected, if the EU ‘s operation Atalanta is going to be extended for 2 years, the MSCHOA should be transferred out of United Kingdom around 2019.

L’article State of Maritime Piracy 2017 est apparu en premier sur Crimario II.

Six crew of a motor whaler, acting as mother ship, and a skiff have been detained following attacks on a 52,000 tonne container ship and a fishing vessel. These events reportedly took place over a 24 hour period on 17^th and 18^th November in the Southern Somali Basin, in an area known for piracy incidents.  During the incidents a number of rocket propelled grenades were fired against the container ship.  However, adherence to BMP4, the presence of a security team on one of the vessels, and good seamanship avoided any damage or injuries, and all crew and vessels are now safe.

The suspected pirates were apprehended by the Italian Marines from ITS Virginio Fasan after their vessels were located using Fasan’s SH-90 helicopter, following initial searches by the Spanish Maritime Patrol Aircraft Cisne.  This search for the suspected pirates was coordinated with partners and from information provided by the masters of the vessels concerned. Positive visual verification was made which allowed this to take place.

EU NAVFOR confirms the names of the vessels: MV Ever Dynamic and Galerna III. MV Ever Dynamic, is a container ship owned by Evergreen operating under a Panamanian flag and was attacked as it traveled from Colombo to Mombasa. Galerna III is a fishing vessel operating under a Seychelles flag out of Port Victoria.

A legal process has now begun for the suspected pirates to be transferred to the appropriate authority for prosecution. EU NAVFOR was able respond rapidly and successfully to these incidents due to the combined efforts of all involved, maximising synchronisation with all EU NAVFOR partners and forward deployed capabilities.

Read the full articles in EUNAVFOR website

L’article EUNAVFOR chases and captures suspected pirates est apparu en premier sur Crimario II.

Among the various initiatives taken by the Region and the international community, the final communique commends the establishment of the Regional Centre for Operational Coordination (RCOC) in Seychelles on 1st July 2017, which will operate alongside its sister centre the Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre (RMIFC) in Madagascar, in line with the 2016 Djibouti Declaration. The new centers will augment the existing Djibouti Code of Conduct information network.

During this session, the future of the working groups were discussed:

L’article Crimario at CGPCS plenary session est apparu en premier sur Crimario II.

In the margin of the presentation, OBP also organized a meeting around a new report “Stable seas” dedicated to Somali waters. 

Access to OBP report 2016

Access to Stable Seas: Somali waters

L’article OBP report 2016 est apparu en premier sur Crimario II.

The attack came shortly after the master issued a mayday alert to say that two skiffs were closing in on his ship in the Gulf of Aden.

Upon receipt of the mayday alert, an EU Naval Force maritime patrol aircraft was launched from its base in Djibouti to overfly the tanker and make radio contact with the ship’s master.  Despite hailing the ship several times, no contact was made and the situation on board remained unclear until late this afternoon, when the EU Naval Force operational HQ in London was able to make telephone contact with the ship’s master.

The master confirmed that armed men were on board his ship and they were demanding a ransom for the ship’s release.  The EU Naval Force has now passed the information regarding the incident to the ship’s owners.

All available EU Naval Force assets are continuing to monitor the situation.

See the original article on EUNAVFOR site.

L’article EU Naval Force Confirms Fuel Tanker Has Been Pirated off North Coast of Somalia est apparu en premier sur Crimario II.

There was further consensus that regional instability in the Horn of Africa confirms the need to retain legacy systems such as the Maritime Security Centre – Horn of Africa (MSCHOA) and the Shared Awareness and Deconfliction (SHADE) initiative to continue to deter piracy.

Access to the original article

L’article Maritime crime increasing (BIMCO seminar) est apparu en premier sur Crimario II.