Following a series of attacks against oil tankers in the Red Sea, the US has classified Yemen’s Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO). The designation is under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
The US Coast Guard announced that Liberia is now a safe port for vessels to call, as after recent assessments it was observed that the Republic of Liberia is implementing effective terrorism measures.
According to The Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 (MTSA), the USCG valuates the effectiveness of anti-terrorism measures in foreign ports and provides for the imposition of conditions of entry on vessels arriving to the United States from countries that do not maintain effective anti-terrorism measures. In this context, the USCG has recently issued a Port Security Advisory to provide a list of all ports that do not maintain effective antiterrorism measures, recommending required actions.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen informed that it foiled an imminent terrorist attack against an oil tanker off Yemen’s coast, on the Arabian Sea. The attack took place as the tanker was sailing about 90 nautical miles southeast of Nishtun port, Tuesday.
SAFETY4SEA remembers the hijacking of the cruise ship ‘Achille Lauro’ in 1985 by four heavily armed Palestinian militants who posed as passengers, resulting to the brutal murder of one passenger. The attack lasted only two days but spurred a global concern over the shaping dimensions of maritime terrorism.
IMO’s rules and regulations for suppressing unlawful acts against the safety of navigation can be seen in the wider context of the global fight against terrorism. The United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate carries out assessment visits to countries to assess their compliance with various international security instruments and UN Security Council resolutions.
As geopolitical tensions mount and threats to shipping rise, Alistair Johnston, Maria Borg Barthet and Richard Pryor of international law firm Campbell Johnston Clark suggest existing marine insurance arrangements may need to be re-evaluated.
The port authorities, based on specific intel inputs by the security services, have cautioned all Merchant Shipping operating in and around the Gulf of Kutch and in particular Kandla and Mundra ports on the possibility of underwater attacks by potential terror organisations.
A group of heavily armed men, suspected to be linked to terrorist group Abu Sayyaf, have kidnapped a total of 10 crew men from two fishing vessels in Malaysian waters, in the early morning hours of Tuesday. The two boats were off Lahad Datu’s Tambisan area and heading towards Semporna.
February 27th marks 15 years after the bombing of the ‘SuperFerry 14’, the deadliest terrorist attack in Philippines, which 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.
