The crew of the US Coast Guard Cutter ‘James’ offloaded approximately 18.5 tons of cocaine in Port Everglades Thursday, worth an estimated $500 million wholesale seized in international waters in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. The drugs were interdicted off Mexico, Central and South America, as a result from 15 separate, suspected drug smuggling vessel interdictions by the Coast Guard.
MV Petra I was transiting Somali territorial waters when she met with EU NAVFOR’s forces. EU NAVFOR Operation Atalanta has its core business to support World Food Programme vessels and it is its main goal to ensure their safety on their humanitarian mission.
In its weekly report for 6-12 November 2018, ReCAAP ISC noted that there were no reports of piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia. The report however included an attempted incident outside Asia, involving the Singaporean-flagged tanker ‘Po Yang Hu’, while underway in the Gulf of Aden, in the early morning hours of 2 November.
Senior officers of maritime law enforcement and regulatory agencies from 16 ReCAAP Member States gathered in Seoul, South Korea, on 13 November, for a two-day meeting to discuss the evolving maritime security situation, and strengthen their collective efforts in the shared mission to combat piracy and sea robbery in Asia.
The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority are using strict security measures to close all avenues that are used by people who want to use the country’s sea ports to stowaway to Western countries. Ghana’s Tema port is facing serious problems with stowaway incidents, with ‘one or two’ persons caught engaging in it this year.
The UN Security Council decided to renew for one year, its authorization allowing Member States to inspect vessels on the high seas off the coast of Libya, as long as there are reasonable grounds for suspicion that they are being used for smuggling migrants or human trafficking.
Pirates attacked a Bermudian-registered LNG tanker on November 6, near Nigeria. The pirates opened fire at the ship, but it managed to escape by maneuvering. The Nigerian Navy is now investigating the source of the attack. No one was injured in the piracy attack.
US Coast Guard law enforcement crews interdicted two Mexican lancha boat crews engaged in illegal fishing in US waters off southern Texas, on 3 November. USCG stopped a lancha with four Mexican fishermen engaged in illegal fishing. 62 red snapper totaling 212 pounds were seized. A second lancha with five Mexican fishermen were stopped with 126 red snapper weighing 176 pounds.
The attack on the Port of Hodeidah in Yemen has advanced this week, as UAE-backed Yemeni forces have gained more territory, which now puts them about five miles away from the Port. Until now, the Port of Hodeidah remains open, but the main roads that are leading to the south and east of the city are closed to aid convoys.
The greatest heroin seizure of the last twenty years was carried out at the Port of Genoa. 270 kilos of heroin was found in a container coming from Iran after a long investigation by the Italian police, assisted by the staff of the Customs Agency. The container had ultimate destination the Netherlands.
