On 15 December, a merchant vessel was attacked off the city of Brass, located in the southern Nigerian state of Bayelsa. In 2018, Nigeria experienced an increase in piracy attacks, particularly off the Niger Delta, source to offshore oil production. The latest report of the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) recorded that of the 57 attacks…
During the last years, the stability of the Somali territory and waters has been a priority of the EU Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). In December 2018, the EU naval Operation Atalanta (EU NAVFOR) celebrated 10 years of deployment. While EU NAVFOR contributes in fighting piracy at sea, civilian and military missions on the…
On 26 November, Kenya signed a security pact with France, Madagascar, Seychelles and Djibouti to share intelligence and strengthen maritime security in the Indian Ocean. On the sidelines of the Blue Economy Conference in Nairobi, Kenyan Defence secretary seized the opportunity to announce that Tanzania and Somalia were about to sign the deal as well.…
In the latest report by International Maritime Bureau (IMB) on piracy incidents, 156 incidents were globally reported in the first nine months of 2018. The Gulf of Guinea alone accounts for 57 of the 156 reported incidents. Most of these incidents have been reported in and around Nigeria (41), but there has also been a noticeable…
From November 3 to 10, the European Union, Portugal, Brazil, Spain, France and the United States conducted African NEMO, the Navy’s Exercise for Maritime Operation in the Gulf of Guinea. The EU project Gulf of Guinea Inter-regional Network (GoGIN) acted as a partner in the operation, along with the marine forces of 14 countries which…
The EU NAVFOR Operation ATALANTA seized and destroyed a Pirate Action Group (PAG) whaler off the Somali coast on Sunday 28 October 2018. The whaler was tracked down by an investigation of the EU NAVFOR after it attacked the KSL Sydney, a Hong-Kong-flagged Bulk Carrier. It was identified thanks to a Spanish Maritime Patrol and…
The fifth Our Ocean Conference will take place on 29 and 30 October 2018 in Bali, Indonesia. The international initiative was launched for the first time in 2014 and has the aim of preserving the sustainability of the oceans. So far, the commitments of the Our Ocean Conference are worth about 18 billion USD and…
The official launch of IORIS took place at the Eden Blue Hotel in Mahé, Seychelles, in the morning of 4 September. During the launch, CRIMARIO experts provided a thorough description and explanation of the creation, development and use of the IORIS platform. Initiated by CRIMARIO, the new secure information sharing and incident management tool will…
The Ocean Beyond Piracy Report 2017 has been released on 23 May 2018 and offers a comprehensive assessment of the economic and human costs of piracy in East Africa, West Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean. The Report shows that, despite the actions taken to counter piracy, it still poses a serious threat…
According to this AllAfrica article, four agreements pertaining to enhanced state coordination for maritime security in the western Indian Ocean were signed during a ministerial conference hosted by the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) and the government of Mauritius, with the support of the European Union, an observer member of the IOC. The event was convened…
