Tag: security measures

New boundaries for the HRA - further practical measures for implementation BIMCO advised that the co-sponsors of BMP 4 have agreed to a revised definition of the High Risk Area. The High Risk Area is now defined as being bounded by:In the Red Sea: Latitude 15oNIn the Gulf of Oman: Latitude 22oNEastern limit: Longitude 065oESouthern limit: Latitude 5oSAmendment to section 2 of BMP 4, accompanying guidance on the revision's impact and further practical measures for implementation in the context of company and shipboard planning as described in sections 6 and 7 of BMP 4.The revisions are effective and will formally apply as of 1 December 2015, in order to give shipping companies and crews time to adapt to them.It is strongly recommended that the revisions are taken into account as soon as possible for voyages through the VRA and HRA for which risk assessments are yet to be conducted, as the changes may have implications for charter party and insurance agreements as well as ship security.The revisions will be provided on industry websites, includingwww.bimco.org, as well as NATO Shipping Centre (www.shipping.nato.int) and MSCHOA (www.mschoa.org).It is not anticipated that there will be a need to publish a fully revised version of ...

ICS warns Organisations representing the global shipping and oil industry have announced that the size of the High Risk Area for piracy in the Indian Ocean has been reduced and issued new advice to merchant ship operators.This reduction to the High Risk Area is in response to the ongoing containment of pirate attacks in the Indian Ocean, but a group of shipping and oil industry organisations (BIMCO, International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), Intercargo, INTERTANKO and the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF) stressed that a serious threat remains and that correct reporting and vigilance remains crucial.The reduction of the High Risk Area takes full account of recent shipping industry experience, and follows extensive consultation with governments through the diplomatic Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia, and military naval forces, including NATO, Combined Maritime Forces and EU NAVFOR, which continue to provide vital protection to shipping.The new industry advice, which takes effect from 1 December 2015, changes that currently contained in the latest edition of Best Management Practices for Protection against Somali Based Piracy (BMP 4), which is jointly produced by the industry group. In summary:The area previously classified as "high risk" now forms only a part of ...

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has become aware of some instances of scams where seafarers have received job offer emails from scammers posing as a cruise company.

Advice to Maltese ships Transport Malta draws the attention of all concerned to the various restrictive measures adopted in recent years in view of the situation in a number of States. In particular, the attention of the shipping community is drawn to the restrictions on making available funds or economic resources, directly or indirectly, to or for the benefit of natural persons or natural or legal persons, entities or bodies associated with them listed in the various EU instruments and the prohibition on transport of certain goods from or to the European Union by EU nationals or using ships flying the flag of a European Member State.To this end it is imperative that all those concerned conduct appropriate due diligence when embarking in any kind of transactions with entities linked to the States against which restrictive measures are in place.In case of any doubt on whether the transaction is in violation of any restrictive measures the appropriate Board within the EU Member States must be contacted for authorization, failure of which might lead to serious repercussions.To this effect, shipping organisations established in Malta or operating Maltese ships are reminded that the Sanctions Monitoring Board within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ...

The Republic of the Marshall Islands issued a revised Marine Guideline for the RMI vessels operating in the waters off West Africa, particularly the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) to provide information on how to mitigate the risk of piracy and armed robbery in this region.

Strong liaison across different agencies, including the commercial shipping sector is needed

The Phantom Menace report issued by Panda Security Panda Security has released Operation Oil Tanker: The Phantom Menace, a groundbreaking report that details a malicious and largely unknown targeted attack on oil tankers. First discovered by Panda Security in January 2014, the ongoing attack on oil cargos began in August 2013, and is designed to steal information and credentials for defrauding oil brokers. Despite having been comprised by this cyber-attack, which Panda has dubbed The Phantom Menace, none of the dozens of affected companies have been willing to report the invasion and risk global attention for vulnerabilities in their IT security networks. Panda Security is issuing its report in an effort to draw attention to the attack and urge companies in every industry to take precautions against these increasingly sophisticated and insidious attacks.The Phantom Menace is one of the most unique attacks that PandaLabs has discovered No antivirus engine was able to detect it when first triggered, primarily because the attackers used legitimate tools in conjunction with a number of self-made scripts to bypass any warnings that traditional AV software would detect. It was only discovered when a secretary opened a nonspecific attachment to an email a type of file ...

Shipping issues arising out of the Yemen crisis

EMSA supports anti-drug trafficking action

Training coastguards is key to tackling piracy