Recent attacks on security personnel by the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) may have worsened Nigeria’s rating on the handling of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea even as a United Nations report has compared pirate attacks off Nigerian coast as close to that of Somali pirates - Nigerian Tribune.

The attacks which claimed the lives of senior military and police personnel came few days after a group of pirates hijacked a crew of Russian ship in the Gulf of Guinea even as MEND has directly threatened to attack any ship that refuses to allow its men to board it.

The two incidents came at a bad time for the Nigerian Navy which in the last one week had been conducting a nine-nation naval exercise in the Gulf of Guinea involving American, European and several African nations.

The Gulf of Guinea, a rich oil region, has Nigeria, Cameroon, Angola, Equtorial Guinea, Benin, Togo and others as contiguous nations.

Maritime security reports had noted that in terms of the danger of piracy, Nigeria is on the second place in the world after Somalia with a total of fifty-eight pirate attacks on ships off Nigeria’s coast in 2011.

“The real problem is the powerful transnational mafia financing the pirate network and facilitating their nefarious activities. This mafia passes on authoritative information such as names of ships, the course they will take, value of cargo and extent of insurance cover to local criminal groups,” a security briefing report recently noted.

While MEND has not been directly linked with piracy operations, its recent warning to ships off Nigerian coast is said to have confirmed earlier reports of links between pirate gangs and some segments of Niger Delta militants.

International oil companies in Nigerian had recently alerted the nation to the high rate of crude oil theft in the Niger Delta with one of the company declaring that Nigeria is losing as much as 150,000 barrels of crude oil on daily basis. Read more.

Four soldiers declared missing last week were killed by pirates in the restive oil-rich Niger Delta and their bodies have been recovered, an army spokesman said on Sunday, reports Vanguard Nigeria.

“The  attack was carried out by a gang of sea pirates led by Shedrack Itokofuwei, alias Mammy Water, who hails from Azagbene (in) Bayelsa State,” Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Antigha said.

The remains of the four attacked last Thursday along the Eweleso River have been retrieved, said Antigha.

Itokofuwei and his gang left their base in a convoy of five speed boats and on their way, attacked the soldiers.

In an ensuing encounter with a navy patrol, three of the pirate boats were sunk while two others escaped, he said in the statement.

Itokofuwei was among those killed “in the fire fight as disclosed by his gang member captured close to the scene of encounter,” the statement added. 

The soldiers killed, among them a lieutenant-colonel who was commander of a unit, were ambushed and attacked not far from where four marine policemen were shot dead at a checkpoint the same day.

South East Asia

Somali pirates holding a Panama-flagged vessel hijacked last month with goods destined for Somaliland have called for fellow pirates in jails in the breakaway enclave to be freed in return for the ship's release - Reuters.

Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 and has enjoyed relative stability compared to the rest of Somalia but remains unrecognised internationally.

A man called Yusuf Ali, who said he was among the gang of pirates holding MV Leila, told Horn Cable TV on Monday the pirates hope to get a small ransom for the ship, but also want the authorities in Somaliland to release their comrades.

"We will not release the ship until the prisoners are released. Somaliland harasses us and jails us for 20 years while in Yemen we only serve 7 years," said Yusuf Ali, speaking from an undisclosed location.

"We hijacked the ship in order to send a message to the businessmen to convince their government to release our colleagues."

Somali pirates typically hijack merchant vessels to earn hefty ransoms and seizing ships to try and arrange a prisoner swap is a rare development.

Somaliland's parliament recently passed new legislation recognising piracy as a crime and allowing pirates convicted abroad to be transferred to the enclave, in a move to signal its commitment to fighting maritime attacks off Somalia's shores.

Under the new legislation, piracy will carry a maximum jail term of 25 years. Previously, it had to charge suspected pirates with armed robbery.

Somaliland says it has more than 100 pirates in its prisons. Read more.

The UK’s Security in Complex Environments Group is hosting a conference at which it hopes to create a new set of standards and accreditation for private maritime security companies operating in the UK - Shiptalk.

Speaking to Lloyd’s List SCEG director Oona Muirhead said standard and accreditation for PMSCs was a matter of urgency and the group will develop a set of standards endorsed by the UK government.

The UK government will then decide upon the best certified accrediting bodies to use, she added.

The Security Association for the Maritime Industry is a member of SCEG and has worked with the National Security Inspectorate to set up an accreditation system for PMSCs which is already in operation.

BIMCO will also be attending the event and plans to launch a standard contract for shipowners to use with PMSCs. This “Guardcon” is currently being drafted and BIMCO hopes it will be ready for publication this month.

Once a decision in this regard is taken, the CISF personnel will travel with the vessels in the Indian Ocean region up to the tip of Somalia, which is prone to piracy incidents, and then re-board an incoming vessel to get back to their base in India.

"The government is desirous of giving the responsibility to us. However, no decision has been taken and nitty gritty are being deliberated at present," CISF Director General Rajiv told reporters while interacting during the annual press conference of the force here today.

"Once we are entrusted with the new responsibility, we will need to train our personnel with the Indian Navy to acclimatise them for long-haul travelling on sea and we also will have to see how will they operate as the CISF is an armed force," he said.

The DG said that while the CISF is guarding a number of sea ports, some more port-related duties can be entrusted to his men in the future.

Last month, Union Shipping Secretary K Mohandas had said in Kochi that India was contemplating utilising services of armed guards from paramilitary forces for security duty on board merchant vessels.

At present several vessels, sailing with Indian flags, were currently relying on security agencies employing foreign nationals in piracy infested waters.

United States on Sunday  said it has committed about $35 million into the training of naval personnel in Nigeria and other countries within the Gulf of Guinea on how to combat piracy, oil bunkering and other maritime crimes that have plagued the region in recent times - Safety4Sea.

This was revealed in Calabar, Cross River State by Consular-General of the US Consulate in Lagos, Mr. Joseph Stafford, at the closing ceremony of the Obangame Express 2012, an annual naval exercise of Africa, US and Europe hosted by Nigeria. The event was also geared towards building transnational synergy on how to combat maritime crimes which cost the country $2 billion annually.

Twelve countries including the United States, Spain and some African maritime nations participated in the one week exercise with the Minister of States for Defence, Mrs. Olusola Obada, conducting the closing ceremony.

Stafford said the exercise was aimed at strengthening cooperation between countries in the Gulf of Guinea, the US, Spain, Brazil and other participating countries.

"More than $2billion is lost annually due to maritime crime. We are already getting better and growing each year to combat illicit activities that are taking place in the maritime domain. They have the primary responsibilities of patrolling their territorial waters, but beyond that, it is necessary for the West African countries to work with the US to combat piracy and the other crimes that take place in the Gulf of Guinea.

"So far, $35 million has been provided for the training of naval personnel in Nigeria and other countries in the Gulf of Guinea on the fight against maritime crime. I want to state that we would continue in this support," he said. Read more

The United Nations Security Council expressed grave concern on Monday at the threat posed by Somali pirates and extremist groups as UN chief Ban Ki-moon warned the African state's humanitarian situation would likely deteriorate again in the coming months - IOL.co.za.

For the past two decades, Somalia has been engulfed in anarchy, chaos and conflict. The International Committee of the Red Cross estimates that fighting, famine and disease have killed up to a million people since Somalia's last government collapsed in 1991.

The international community has become increasingly concerned at Somalia becoming a leading global haven for Islamist militancy and the rising toll of Somali piracy, estimated to cost the global economy $7-billion a year.

“The Security Council remains gravely concerned about the ongoing threat posed by piracy and armed robbery off the coast of Somalia,” the UN council said in a statement that also recognised that instability contributed to the problem.

“The Security Council remains gravely concerned about the threat posed to Somalia and the international community by terrorist attacks by Somali armed opposition groups, in particular al-Shabaab,” it said. Read more.

The Galle harbour is in a unique position to tackle the issue of sea piracy, particularly for ships affected by Somalia pirates as it is only six nautical miles away from the international maritime shipping route, says Times Online Sri Lanka. 

This transpired during the launch of the ‘Sri Lanka International Air Freight, Shipping and Logistics Expo 2012(SLIAFSLE) organized by CEMS Lanka (Pvt) Ltd in Colombo recently.

SLIAFSLE 2012 will be held at the BMICH from March 8 – 10 at the BMICH.Preethilal Fernando, Director/CEO, GAC Shipping Ltd, an international shipping company operates in Sri Lanka as a joint venture with McLarens Shipping Ltd, said that they service around 350 vessels per month at Galle Port and provides all the facilities for these vessels such as bunkering, crew changes etc. They also operate six of their own vessels.

He said the Galle Port is one of the best locations to handle the Somalia pirate menace as Somali pirates operate in the Indian Ocean and all vessels that are to pass Suez Canal could be armed and provided with other equipment at Galle Port to meet any eventuality confronted by the Somali pirates.

He said that the strategic location of the ancient port of Galle offers an excellent base for their offshore ship supply service. He said that their principals simply engage their services en-route, avoiding any deviation from their vessels’ original routes. He said that vessels en route between the Far East and Suez as well as Read Sea, Middle East or Indian Subcontinent ports, all pass within a few miles of the Southern tip of Sri Lanka (Galle Port). Read more.

CYPRUS and France joined forces yesterday for a joint exercise south of the island, in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and flight information region (FIR) - Cyprus Mail.

“This is the first time an exercise of this breadth takes place and indeed with a Cypriot helicopter landing on a French war vessel,” Defence Minister Demetris Eliades said.

The search and rescue exercise took place between 8am and 12pm, coordinated by the Cyprus Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) 

The scenario involved a piracy incident supposedly taking place within Cyprus’ EEZ with injured people being transported to Larnaca General Hospital by helicopter. 

The exercise was attended by French and Cypriot officials with Eliades praising “the spirit of unity, complete coordination and excellent collaboration” between the two countries,

 “According to international law, Cyprus has sovereign rights over its EEZ and FIR. However, we also have obligations when it comes to search and rescue,” Eliades said.

Various bodies worked together yesterday including the police, Larnaca General Hospital, and port authorities while a French helicopter and a French frigate also participated.

Despite its poor economy, Greece is one of only two European NATO members meeting a commitment to spend 2 per cent of gross domestic product on defence. Greece has been spending as much as 4.3 per cent of GDP on defence. dpa cp rpm mga Author: Christine Pirovolakis.

Thirty-three representatives from UK, Norway, Denmark and Netherland are visiting the city of Growe in Puntland on Monday, a Press TV correspondent reported. 

According to Puntland Counter-piracy Director Abdirizak Mohamed Ahmed Ducaysane, the European delegation plans to review anti- piracy measures in the region, which cost them millions of dollars to fight Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean. 

However, Somali government official say that the main reason for the visit is to sign a secret oil deal between Europe and Puntland. 

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that any deal will be illegal and must be signed with the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), the internationally recognized government of the Republic of Somalia. 

Puntland has been transformed into a notorious base used by local pirates to launch attacks on merchant vessels transiting the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean. 

Somalia has been without a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. 

Strategically located in the Horn of Africa, Somalia is one of the countries generating the highest number of refugees and internally displaced people in the world. 

Piracy fears are stopping superyacht owners from sailing between the Mediterranean and the Gulf, where they split their time each year - The National.

Instead, they have them shipped on cargo vessels, says Erwin Bamps, the chief operating officer of the UAE boatbuilder Gulf Craft.

"This is an issue for superyachts visiting the region coming out of the Mediterranean," Mr Bamps said.

"They are now more or less shipped on another ship and brought into the Gulf, so the owner doesn't have to concern himself with the security of the vessel.

"It has a cost implication for the owner, because before he would sail in through the Red Sea."

Somali pirates have attacked hundreds of vessels in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea over the past 10 years.

But Mr Bamps said the threat had little impact on boat sales in the UAE, as most yacht owners here tended to keep their vessels in the Gulf or off the coast of Oman.

"Unless you go down to the Horn of Africa people are not so concerned," he said. "Most of the concern is for ocean-going vessels that are crossing between continents, rather than staying around the area here. Read more.

Image courtesy of IOL.co.za/INSLA - Vera Hecht, sister of Bruno Pelizzari.

The Seafarers Trust, the charity arm of the ITF, will mark its 30th birthday by staging a major event on seafarers’ welfare in Westminster, London, on Thursday 22 March 2012. Press are invited to attend - FishUpdate.com.

Running from 13:30 to 17:00 at Church House, 27 Great Smith Street, London W1 (www.churchhouseconf.co.uk/about_church_house/location) the event will look at how seafarers’ welfare services must adapt to meet the changes of the 21st century, and how they can work with and enhance the Maritime Labour Convention, which is expected to come into force next year. The day will also host the launch of the Apostleship of the Sea’s report on working with cruise ship crews, which includes the aid offered to those on board the Costa Concordia after its sinking.

Tom Holmer, administrative officer of the Seafarers’ Trust, explained: “For 30 years the ITF Seafarers Trust has supported and funded seafarers’ welfare work worldwide. The much hoped for ratification of the MLC will mean that we have to rethink the way those services are provided. This event will draw on the lessons we have learned in the last 30 years, and inparticular on the experts with whom we have worked during that time, to examine how we can all best do that with and for seafarers.”

Roy Paul, programme manager of the Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Programme, and Seafarers’ Trust assistant administrative officer, added: “This seminar will plan for long term strategic welfare provision, while also sharing the good practice learnt in recent events such as the Costa Concordia and the ongoing and crucial work we have been doing with the victims of piracy and their families.” Read more.