Armed guards plan to tackle piracy

Vulnerable cargo ships off the coast of Somalia may be given armed guards by an EU task force being sent to combat the huge surge in piracy there. The British naval commander in charge of the operation, vice admiral Philip Jones, said the EU’s warship flotilla would seek to place “vessel-protection detachments” on board some [...]

Piracy and the Rules of Engagement

Each day there seems to be new reports of piracy near the coast of Somalia. The pirates have learned over time that a hostile takeover of an unwitting crew and cargo is big business. With each successful attack, they get their prize – ransom.

UNOSAT published Piracy Map

The Operational Satellite Applications Program of the UN (UNOSAT) published a satellite map of the pirate attack density in the Gulf of Aden. This 3D perspective map illustrates the relative spatial density of reported pirate incidents in the Gulf of Aden for 2008 (current as of Nov. 21, 2008). Incidents that have occurred within 5km [...]

Somali Pirates hijack chemical tanker Biscaglia

Somali pirates have hijacked yet another tanker on Friday, November 28, 2009. The Liberian-flagged chemical tanker MS Biscaglia was sailing through the Gulf of Aden, between Somalia and Yemen, when it was boarded by five pirates in in broad daylight. The MS Biscaglia was staffed by a crew of three Indonesians, 25 Indians, two British [...]

Terrorists came via sea to Mumbai

According to Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, the terrorists responsible for the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai, in which more then 100 people were killed, came by boat from Karachi to Mumbai. Further reports note that Indian intelligence had received warnings over the past months about the infiltration of terrorists into Mumbai through the sea route. [...]

Factsheet: EU NAVFOR Somalia

The European Union is getting ready to conduct a military operation in order to contribute to the deterrence, the prevention and the repression of acts of piracy and armed robbery off the Somali coast. The Council has adopted a joint action to this end on 10 November 2008. This military operation, called EU NAVFOR Somalia [...]

U.S. Consulate Guayaquil issues Piracy Warning for Ecuador

In their latest Warden Message (November 19, 2008) the U.S. Consulate Guayaquil issued a piracy warning for Ecuador. In their message the U.S. Consulate General and U.S. Embassy Ecuador wishes to inform American citizens visiting or resident in Ecuador to use extreme caution when sailing near the coast of Ecuador, as there was a [...]

Bomb threat shuts down Bremerton-Seattle Ferry

Following an anonymous tip, the ferry Hyak, sailing from Bremerton to Seattle returned to Bremerton where all passengers were safely evacuated. According to a State Patrol spokeswoman a man who overheard two men talking at a 7-Eleven about a terrorist threat on the 12:35 PM ferry made an anonymous 911 call. The Bremerton dock was [...]

Somali Pirate Raids Continue

Despite of NATO Maritime Group 2 best efforts to compat piracy, Somali pirate raids in the Gulf of Aden continue. On Saturday, November 15, 2008 two ships where hijacked. A Turkish chemical tankerwas seized off the coast of Yemen, along with its 14-member Turkish crew. And later that day a Japanese cargo ship was seized [...]

NATO Maritime Group transits Suez Canal en-route to anti-piracy duties

Seven ships from six NATO navies transit the Suez Canal yesterday, on their way to conduct both anti-piracy duties and visit NATO partner nations in the Gulf region. In response to a UN request, NATO defense ministers last week authorized NATO naval vessels to help protect World Food Program ships carrying desperately needed supplies to [...]

« Previous Page — Next Page »