Tag: maritime crime

The ‘SuperFerry 14’, the deadliest terrorist attack in Philippines, killed a total of 116 people. The blast occurred on 27 February 2004 in Manila Bay, claiming the title of the world's deadliest terrorist attack at sea until today.

The crew of the USCG Cutter 'Forward' offloaded approximately 34,780 pounds of cocaine, Tuesday in Port Everglades, worth an estimated $466 million wholesale seized during patrols in international waters in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. The drugs were interdicted off the coasts of Mexico, and Central and South America.

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.

The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter 'Margaret Norvell' (WPC - 1105) offloaded 200 pounds of cocaine on January 30 and transferred custody of four suspected smugglers to U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agents in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. The Coast Guard and Caribbean Border Interagency Group (CBIG) authorities found the $3 million dollar cocaine shipment and apprehended the suspected smugglers, following the interdiction of a go-fast vessel on 28 January night in waters north of Arecibo, Puerto Rico.

In a recent paper, UNODC focused on different examples of fisheries crime to illustrate its various methods, its extent and its economic value. Fisheries crime relates to a range of illegal activities in fisheries, including illegal fishing, document fraud, drug trafficking, and money laundering.

The fishing industry's volume and complexity make it vulnerable to exploitation by transnational organized crime. As such, UNODC and the government of Ecuador organized the first "Regional Conference on Fisheries Crime" of the Americas on 12-13 September in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

The Indian Minister of State for Shipping and Finance Shri Pon Radhakrishnan informed that in order to deal with potential maritime security situations arising out of any hijacking at sea of merchant vessels with Indian crew, an Inter-Ministerial Group was created by the Government under the Ministry of Shipping.

Despite having big potential, the Gulf of Guinea is one of the most dangerous places when it comes to maritime security, as it faces many threats. In order to mitigate this problem, naval chiefs from 38 countries gathered in Lagos for the International Maritime Conference to try and find solutions.

The Ghana Maritime Authority has called for a national document to step up maritime security activities in the country. The call came when National members of the joint Maritime Security committee visited stakeholder agencies to ask for interagency views at creating a national maritime framework to protect the Ghanaian waters.

As piracy increases in the world's oceans, maritime safety requires a collaborative effort to ensure safety of lives and protection of property at sea. Under this, the Ghana Maritime Authority organized a 4-Day Crisis Response Training for security experts and players in the maritime sector, from 9 to 12 of July.