Tag: maritime security

Eastern Pacific aframax tanker Barents Sea, that was seized by private military with k-47 machine guns in Cameroon on February 2, has been released. The 26 crew on board are reported safe and unharmed. According to the company, the vessel was unlawfully seized by the private militia armed with AK-47s last week at the Sonara Refinery in Limbe. The ship has now completed cargo discharge and departed the port of Limbe. 

Transnational maritime crime is becoming increasingly sophisticated as criminal groups exploit jurisdiction and enforcement challenges on the high seas, warned Yury Fedotov, Executive Director of UNODC, in his briefing to the United Nations Security Council debate on transnational organized crime at sea.

Police authorities in Cape Verde seized approximately 10 tonnes of cocaine and arrested 11 Russians on a vessel that was docked in Praia, the capital. Reuters states that it is the largest single drag haul that was ever conducted in the island country's history.

The vessel 'Barents Sea',  a Singapore-flagged Aframax tanker was seized by private military with k-47 machine guns in Cameroon. The vessel along with 26 crewmembers was seized at the Sonara refinery in Limbe, according to Singapore-based ship management company Eastern Pacific Shipping.

Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department and the Mainland Customs jointly seized approximately 8,300 kilograms of pangolin scales and 2,100 kilograms of ivory tusks from a shipping container at the port of Kwai Chung, on January 16. The estimated market value was about $62 million.

AAPA identified nearly $4 billion in crucial port and supply chain security needs over the next 10 years, according to the report AAPA launched 'The State of Freight'. Specifically, AAPA members reported they will need $2.62 billion to maintain and upgrade their security apparatus over the next 10 years and $1.27 billion in future security investments to address cybersecurity and other security threats.

During the annual joint ministerial meeting of African Union and European Union in Brussels, on 21-22 January, Denmark's foreign minister, Anders Samuelsen, announced a new phase of the country's stabilisation programme for the Horn of Africa.

The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), signed by 157 countries 25 years ago, was the first form of international law for the oceans governance, acting as a cornerstone to launch the basis of UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and serving as EU’s framework for policymaking.

A week after the abduction of six crew members from the container ship MSC Mandy off Benin, BIMCO stressed that piracy in the Gulf of Guinea is an unacceptable burden to seafarers and shipping companies and asked, on behalf of its members, that maritime powers increase their presence to curb piracy. 

A discussion paper published by Stable Seas and One Earth Future explores the vital roles of women in the Sub-Saharan African maritime space, as well as the numerous challenges they face in entering these roles. The brief explores the role of gender in maritime across four issue areas: rule of law, coastal welfare, blue economy, and maritime mixed migration.