Tag: maritime security

The European Council extended the mandate of EU NAVFOR Somalia Operation Atalanta until 31 December 2020. It also decided to relocate the EU NAVFOR Operational Headquarters from Northwood, UK to Rota, Spain, and to Brest France for the Maritime Security Centre Horn of Africa MSCHOA as of 29 March 2019.

An Italian towboat rescued 108 people in the Mediterranean and returned them to Libya. However, the United Nations said that this action may have broken the international law as migrants rescued in international waters cannot be returned to a place where their lives are put in danger.

Saudi Arabia announced a temporary halting of all oil shipments through the Red Sea shipping lane of Bab al-Mandeb, after Houthis attacked two Saudi Very Large Crude Carriers in the Red Sea. Saudi Arabia may have proceeded to this move to persuade its Western allies that the Houthis are more dangerous than they think.

A shipping industry anti-corruption project, led by the private maritime sector and Nigerian authorities, has been completed with positive outcomes. The project aimed for port calls without demands for in-kinds payments, harassment or the threat of illicit delays.

Mauritius has become the 15th signatory to the Jeddah Amendment to the Djibouti Code of Conduct, the instrument developed and adopted by countries in the Western Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden focused on repressing piracy and armed robbery against ships operating in the region.

OCIMF released the information paper 'Guidelines to Harden Vessels', in which it recommends a layered defence methodology for hardening vessels to help prevent unauthorised boarding. This includes six defence layers, while training and ship design play a major part in securing a vessel.

European Commission is expanding on the concept of controlled centres and short-term measures to improve the processing of migrants being disembarked in the EU, and giving a first outline of the possible way forward for the establishment of regional disembarkation arrangements with third countries.

Saudi Arabia announced a temporary halting of all oil shipments through the Red Sea shipping lane of Bab al-Mandeb, after Houthis rebels attacked two Saudi Very Large Crude Carriers in the Red Sea on Wednesday morning, slightly damaging one of them, according to a statement by Minister Khalid al-Falih.

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.

Speaking at the ‘Maritime security in the 21st century’ symposium at the Brazilian Naval War College, Rio de Janeiro, on 20 July, IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim emphasized on how IMO is working to address the digital revolution in all aspects of its work.