Tag: Red Sea

Iran's 16th fleet of warships started its naval mission on October An attempt by pirates to hijack an Iranian oil tanker in the Red Sea was foiled after an Iranian fleet of warships present in the region rushed to the scene.Lieutenant Commander of the Iranian Navy Rear Admiral Seyed Mahmoud Moussavi announced that the Iranian oil tanker came under attack by 15 Somali pirate speedboats off the eastern coasts of Hanish al-Kubra Island in the Red Sea, but Iran's Jamaran destroyer thwarted the attack with timely action.Moussavi said that this was the second conflict between Jamaran and the pirates in the region and the destroyer's first clash in the Red Sea.The commander noted that the Iranian fleet of warships escorted the oil tanker to secure waters.Iran's 16th fleet of warships, comprising IRI Bandar Abbas Warship and the home-made Jamaran Destroyer, started its naval mission on October 9.The Iranian Navy has been conducting anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008, when Somali raiders hijacked the Iranian-chartered cargo ship, MV Delight, off the coast of Yemen.According to UN Security Council resolutions, different countries can send their warships to the Gulf of Aden and coastal waters of Somalia against the ...

The ferry, Pella, sank 10 nautical miles from the Jordanian port of Aqaba A ferry which caught fire four days ago in the Red Sea sank Monday, the official Petra news agency reported.The ferry, Pella, sank 10 nautical miles from the Jordanian port of Aqaba.The ship, which is owned by the Arab Bridge Maritime Company, was sailing from Aqaba to the Egyptian port of Nuweiba with 1,240 passengers aboard when it caught fire on Thursday.One passenger died and 44 others suffered suffocation injuries as a rescue operation was conducted to evacuate the passengers to another ship, owned by the same firm.The operator's head, Hussein Souob, said the ferry, now lying at a depth of 750 metres, was 'completely burnt and will not constitute any obstacle to international shipping or any danger for the maritime environment.'Meanwhile, the acting director general of the Jordanian Ports Authority, Mohammad Mubaydeen, said his teams did not spot any sign of pollution in the area as a result of the ship's sinking.'However, a possibility of pollution taking place still exists,' he said.Source: AFP

Hundreds saved during rescue on Red Sea A Jordanian man died while 1,246 other passengers and crew members, most of them Egyptians, were rescued following a fire Thursday aboard their ferry that was sailing on the Red Sea en route to Egypt's port of Nuweiba, a Jordanian official said.The blaze had broken out earlier in the day in the ferry's cargo section during the voyage across the Gulf of Aqaba, said Jordanian Civil Defense spokesman, Farid al-Sharaa.As flames rose up into the sky, a Jordanian rescue ship reached the stricken vessel, the Pella, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) off the coast of Jordan, said an Egyptian port official.The rescuers managed to extinguish the blaze but an unidentified Jordanian man died after jumping into the water and fatally injuring himself, al-Sharaa said. The cause of the injury was not immediately known, he added.Al-Sharaa said 12 passengers suffered from smoke inhalation and were taken to a Jordanian hospital. The remaining 1,230 passengers - all Egyptians - were placed aboard another ferry that subsequently sailed off to Egypt, he said.Al-Sharaa told The Associated Press that the captain and his three crew members - all Egyptians - were also rescued and were on their ...

Fortunatelly, they failed to hijack the vessels Pirates attacked two chemical tankers in the southern Red Sea yesterday but failed to hijack either vessel.The 19,900-dwt Lime Galaxy (built 2008), controlled by MTM Shipmanagement of Singapore, was the first of the pair to be set upon.Pirates fired rocket propelled grenades and other small arms at the tanker from skiffs yesterday morning, but they were outdone by evasive maneuvers executed by the master, TradeWinds is told.Carolina Navigation's 16,200-dwt Ginga Bobcat (built 2010) was hit just a couple of hours later in the same region.Again the vessel was able to escape without the use of armed guards, it is claimed.Given the proximity of the attacks it is suggested the same pirate group may have been responsible for both.The southern Red Sea has been home to a number of reported piracy incidents in the past couple of months.Activity is also expected to intensify in the Indian Ocean once the last remnants of the monsoon season have blown away.Source: Tradewinds

In July, pirate activity off Eritrea was limited to small numbers of pirates Further to previous media releases detailing a potential new trend in pirate tactics in an area of the RedSea off Eritrea, Neptune Maritime Security has had the opportunity to examine the availabledata through our Intelligence Bank, including material supplied by intelligence sources, and presents thefollowing report to interested parties.In July, pirate activity off Eritrea was limited to small numbers of pirates mounting similarly small-scale attacks onshipping. For example, on July 20th, an oil tanker, Front Pride, was attacked by a single skiff containing six pirateswhile underway in position 13:27N-042:39E, approximately 27nm NW off Assab, Eritrea. Pirates fired an RPG at thevessel, but the armed security team onboard returned fire and the pirates aborted the attack.Then, on July 21st, a cargo vessel was fired upon by a single skiff containing six pirates while underway in position13:29N 042:26E, approximately 30nm off Assab. The location of this second attempted hijacking is just 3.5nm from thescene of the incident on the previous day and it is highly likely that this was the same pirate group. On this occasion,the attempt was again deterred by armed security personnel onboard the cargo vessel.This incident ...

60 pirates mount an unsuccessful attack on a vessel protected by armed guards Following a report filed on Sunday August 7th by the IMB Live Piracy Reporting Centre, which saw suspected Somalipirates at 13:02N 043:07E attempt to hijack a vessel off the coast of Eritrea in large numbers, Neptune MaritimeSecurity raised concerns over this apparent change of tactics.Unfortunately, it would indeed appear that pirates in the area are banding together in an attempt to 'swarm' vessels.On Thursday August 18th, the IMB Live Piracy Reporting Centre listed an attempted hijacking* on a bulk carrier underwayaround 22nm NE of Assab, Eritrea in the Red Sea at 13:16N 043:01E. Interestingly, this is approximately 26.19kmNorth of the attack on August 7th, and could suggest that this large group of pirates have a specific area of operations.The report states that seven high-speed boats suddenly approached the carrier and that each boat contained three tofive men, each armed with automatic weapons. This mirrors the previous attack of August 7th, which saw an estimated60 pirates mount an unsuccessful attack on a vessel protected by an armed security team. Even underestimating thenumber of pirates in Wednesday's attack to just 21, it would still seem to confirm that pirate ...

Statement by the shipping and marine services company GAC Piracy declined in July because of the monsoon season in the Indian Ocean but there was a rise in incidents in the Red Sea, shipping and marine services company GAC said.The monsoon is driving piracy from the Indian Ocean to other areas especially in the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea, GAC said in its monthly piracy report. A total of 13 attacks were recorded in this region, continuing the upward trend of previous months.There were a total of 28 pirate attacks worldwide in July compared with 39 in June, the report said.The situation in West Africa is also worrying with pirate activity spreading outwards from the Niger Delta especially towards the Gulf of Guinea coast."The Gulf of Guinea has also seen a rise in pirate activity, most notably off the coast of Benin. The region has experienced almost 10% of all pirate activity so far this year," GAC said.GAC also warned that piracy in East Africa would rise by the end of September as the monsoon season comes to a close."Piracy of East Africa is projected to increase significantly after the end of monsoon season at the end of September, ...

Marine Safety Advisory No. 70-11 Please be advised that the Office of Naval Intelligence has issued Marine Safety Advisory No. 70-11To view it please click hereSource: Republic of the Marshall Islands

Merchant vessel reported coming under attack US Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) has issued the following advisory:A merchant vessel reported coming under attack at 0412Z on 31 May 2011 in position 13:32N - 042:41E, approximately 84nm from Bab el Mendeb Strait in the Red Sea. This area will remain high risk for at least the next 24-48 hours.The Administration urges all vessels operating in the High Risk Area to actively implement recommended Best Management Practices for anti-piracy measures as follows:- Prepare the crew (refer to Marshall Islands MG-2-11-12);- Harden the ship before the ship enters the High Risk Area (HRA);- When entering the HRA from the direction of either the Suez Canal, the Arabian Gulf at 26N, the south at 15S or from the east at 78E: Register the ship with the MSCHOA (http://www.mschoa.org /+44 (0) 1923 958545); Report to the UKMTO ([email protected] / +971 505 523 215); and Continue to provide daily reports of ships position, course, speed and estimated and actual arrival times to UKMTO while in the HRA.- Remember, the ship must be registered with the MSCHOA and report to the UKMTO with every intended transit of the HRA;- Participate in the SSRS service (http://ssrs.org);- Utilize the ...

Marine safety Advisory No.65-11 The Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) has issued the following advisory: A merchant vessel reported coming under attack at 0651Z on 20 May 2011 in position 13:15N - 043:01E, approximately 114nm southwest from Hodeidah, Yemen in the Red Sea. This area will remain high risk for at least the next 24-48 hours.For further information, click hereSource: Republic of the Marshall Islands