Tag: Yemen

Merchant Shipping Security Alerts

UK warns shipping companies over Yemen

Maritime Security Operations with France, Djibouti, Yemen and Saudi Arabia

Yemen Strengthens Ties With Combined Maritime Force Counter Piracy Task Force

Port Security Advisory (PSA) 1-12 The US Coast Guard (USCG) has just released Port Security Advisory (PSA) 1-12 concerning the modification of conditions of entry on vessels arriving from ports not maintaining effective anti-terrorism measures.Specifically, the USCG has determined that the Republic of Yemen is not maintaining effective anti-terrorism measures in some of its ports. The ports in the Republic of Yemen that have been found to have effective anti-terrorism measures and have therefore been exempted from taking additional security measures are listed in paragraph B in the Port Security Advisory (PSA).Actions required as listed in paragraphs C and D of this Port Security Advisory take effect for vessels that arrive in the United States on or after September 18, 2012, after visiting certain ports in the Republic of Yemen as one of their last five ports of call.The PSA can be found here.The Department for Homeland Security has also released Docket No. USCG-2012-0279 'Notification of the Imposition of Conditions of Entry for Certain Vessels Arriving to the United States', which can be accessed here.The Federal Register's website can be accessed here.Source: USCG

Coast Guard have transferred them to security authorities for investigation Yemen's Costal Guard forces on Sunday captured 14 Somali pirates off the country's island of Socotra in the Gulf of Aden, the defense ministry said."The Yemeni Coastal Guard forces captured 14 Somali pirates off Socotra Island early on Sunday and have transferred them to security authorities for investigation," the ministry said in a brief statement on its website.On April 19, the Yemeni interior ministry said that a Spanish warship helped release nine Yemeni fishermen who were captured by Somali pirates in the Arabian Sea.In November, 2011, a Yemeni criminal court sentenced 10 Somalis to 10 years in prison after convicting them of piracy in Yemen's territorial waters, according to the state-run Saba news agency.The Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden, well-known pirate- infested waters between Yemen and Somalia, is the main route for about 25,000 ships every year.Source :Xinhua

Six cargoes of LNG cancelled due to attacks Six cargoes of liquefied natural gas exports from Yemen LNG had to be cancelled due to the attack on its supply line last month, but all cargoes will be loaded on schedule in May, Yemen LNG said in a statement.The company said it expects to complete its annual maintenance shutdown on Friday, nine days ahead of the original schedule, which was brought forward after the gas line was sabotaged on March 30."We will increase LNG production to redeliver as much of the cancelled cargoes as possible before year end," Yemen LNG General Manager Francois Rafin said."We are confident in the prompt reinforcement of the surveillance and protection of the pipeline; the mobilization of a new security deployment is already in progress."Yemen's oil and gas pipelines have been repeatedly sabotaged since anti-government protests last year created a power vacuum that militants have exploited.It is not clear if the pipeline has been repaired yet and the company was not available for immediate comment. Source: Reuters

Since 2005, Somali pirates started to move around the Yemeni waters Since 2005, Somali pirates started to move around the Yemeni waters to hijack ships and kidnap crews, asking for millions of dollars as ransoms and causing an ever-increasing problem for Yemen. Somali piracy in the 20th century began with the collapse of the state in 1991.As the security situation deteriorated, the smuggling of illegal immigrants as well as the smuggling weapons began to flourish. The marine forces collapsed and tribal leaders used the lack of security and the spread of their forces over Somali lands to extort tributes from passing ships. Day by day, pirates were threatening ships in the waters off Somalia. The Gulf of Aden became a piracy hotspot with high-profile ships and tankers taken hostage.It was 5pm on Mar. 8, 2005 when two sailing yachts, Mahdi and Gandalf were moving 30 miles off the coast of Aden to Oman. Suddenly, two motor-powered boats, about 25 and 30 feet long with four armed men in each "came very fast directly at us," Rodney Nowlin, a sailor of south Virginia told Noonsite, the global site for cruising sailors.Before these two boats approached, Nowlin said another two boats were ...

Global impact of LNG export stoppage seen limited A surge in attacks on Yemen's oil and gas infrastructure by tribesmen or al Qaeda militants threatens further disruptions or a complete cut in exports.With oil exports at a trickle, the Oct. 15 blast on the vulnerable pipeline feeding Yemen's 6.7 million tonne per year (mtpa) liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal is the more significant development for energy markets."Further attacks on energy assets in Yemen are likely in the next year, even if these only target pipelines rather than larger complexes," said Anna Boyd at consultancy Exclusive Analysis.A source close to the matter said production at Yemen LNG, which is led by French oil company Total , is due to resume at the end of the month after the pipeline was blown up, forcing its operators to declare force majeure."The plant is expected to resume production around October 30," the source told Reuters.Total's press office in Paris could not immediately be reached for comment on the restart date or the force majeure -- a clause provided in contracts that allows buyers or sellers to renege on commitments due to events beyond their control.The attacks on oil and gas pipelines over the ...

Pirates ignore tonnage belonging to As the Indian Ocean monsoons wane, international shipping companies are bracing themselves for a new season of piracy in the Gulf of Aden, fearing fresh involvement from actors beyond Somalia. The rains and rough seas of the monsoon season which runs from June to September have traditionally seen a lull in activity. But last month two chemical tankers were seized in Omani territorial waters, one at anchorage two miles off Salalah, the sultanate's main southern port. Worldwide, pirate attacks have been increasing.According to the International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Centre, attacks on the world's seas totalled 266 in the first six months of this year, up from 196 incidents in the same period last year. Data published earlier this month showed the worldwide figure had risen to 335 events. Somali involvement stood at 188 incidents, with 24 hijackings, 400 crew members held hostage and eight killed. Now the deteriorating domestic security situation in Yemen is adding to concerns. Sana'a, the capital, has seen days of bloody street battles following the unexpected return of Ali Abdullah Saleh, the president. Even in more peaceful times, Mr Saleh's authority outside the Yemeni capital was tenuous."Yemen is spinning apart ...