The previous week, US Customs and Border Protection seized a million pounds of illegally-smuggled Chinese pork at Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal, part of the busy Port Authority of New York and New Jersey complex.
A multi-agency examination of imported shipping containers, led by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), netted 1,185 pounds of cocaine at the Port of Philadelphia, Tuesday.
The UK Hydrographic Office has presented Security of Navigation, Stabilisation Advice and Training to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Seychelles. The training is designed to improve maritime security and safety of navigation in the Indian Ocean by helping Seychelles share crucial maritime safety information with ships and partners in the region.
Two speed boats with 16 armed persons onboard chased and fired upon an offshore supply vessel, while the vessel was sailing around 30 nautical miles southwest of Bonny Island, Nigeria. Crew raised the alarm, while the vessel increased speed and commenced evasive manoeuvres.
With the proliferation of instruments and institutions over the last decade, the time has come to focus on deconflicting and coordinating the various portions of the maritime security architecture around Africa, said Dr. Ian Ralby, the Africa Center’s faculty lead for maritime law and security.
While speaking at the last SAFETY4SEA Conference in Cyprus, Mr. Dimitris Maniatis, Chief Commercial Officer, Diaplous Maritime Services, provided a recap of the current maritime security status, focusing on key high risk areas, such as the Indian Ocean region and West African waters. For the Gulf of Guinea, he stressed, Piracy and Maritime Aggression is never ending.
Pirates armed with machine guns in two speed boats approached an offshore support vessel underway on March 9, off Brass, Nigeria, as IMB reports. The pirates boarded the ship, stole crew’s belongings and kidnapped five men. What is more, there are reports that one Nigerian Navy armed guard was killed during exchange of fire.
During 5 to 11 March 2019, an incident of armed robbery against ship was reported to ReCAAP ISC. The incident took place on 5 February 2019 and was reported to ReCAAP ISC by Focal Point Singapore after verification with the relevant agencies. The incident occurred about 1.3 nm southwest of the Western Boarding Ground Alpha, Singapore.
Port of New York and New Jersey authorities have seized around 3,200 pounds of cocaine, worth $77 million. According to the authorities, this is the largest cocaine seizure at the port in the last 25 years, and the second largest ever. The drugs were found on board a shipping container that entered the US from Buenaventura, Colombia, during February.
A total of three incidents of armed robbery against ships were reported in Asia in February 2019, according to ReCAAP ISC’s monthly report. There was a 65% decrease in the number of incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia during January-February 2019 compared to January-February 2018.
