Missing General Cargo Ship over 25 years of age in Black Sea.

A General Cargo vessel, flag - foreign, GRT- 3009t, built in 1982, owned and managed by foreign shipping company completed loading of steel billets on 16.02. 2008 in one of the foreign ports in [...]


Pursuit of Pirates on Somali Territory Sought at UN

piracy
By Bill Varner
Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) — Pirates could be chased onto Somali territory under a proposal the U.S. wants the United Nations Security Council to endorse, diplomats said.
A draft resolution to authorize such action has been given to some member governments on the panel, and a vote may be sought as early as next week, [...]


Weekly Piracy Report : ( 2 December - 8 December 2008 )

Suspicious crafts
None reported
Recently reported incidents

02.12.2008: 0230 UTC: Tema anchorage, Ghana.

Four robbers boarded an oil tanker at anchor. Robbers stole ship’s stores and escaped when noticed.  No injuries to crew.

16.11.2008: 0945 LT: Posn: 05:34.53N - 005:22.39E, Warri river, Nigeria.

Several speedboats with heavily armed men approached a general cargo ship under pilotage. They fired warning shots into [...]


India: Dry bulk cargo shipowners lay up vessels, sell older ships

capesize-bulk-carrier
Bangalore: Indian shipping firms engaged in carrying dry bulk cargo such as coal or steel have started laying up vessels and even selling older ones as freight rates plunge to record lows amid the global economic downturn and credit crunch. A lay-up happens when a ship is withdrawn from trading operations.
“The market for dry bulk [...]


Shipping slowdown expected to cut deployment of seafarers

imo2
“For seafarers, they [IMO] can see a little bit [of a downturn] in the first quarter, but they would recover in the third quarter,” Labor Secretary Marianito D. Roque told reporters at the sidelines of the department’s 75th year anniversary exhibit opening, without giving estimates.  United Filipino Seafarers president Nelson P. Ramirez said in a [...]


HELCOM report shows sharp decrease in ship collisions in the Baltic

helcom
While every year there are more and more ships plying the waters of the Baltic Sea, the occurrence of ship-to-ship collisions, one of the most serious types of accidents at sea, has decreased sharply since 2005, especially in such a busy traffic area like the Gulf of Finland, according to the latest HELCOM study. Analysis [...]


Weekly Piracy Report ( 25 November - 1 December 2008 )

Suspicious crafts
None reported
Recently reported incidents

26.11.2008: 0430 LT: Lagos anchorage, Nigeria.

Armed robbers in a small craft boarded a chemical tanker at anchor. They stole ship’s property and escaped before the duty A/B raised the alarm. The craft was observed approaching another vessel. The tanker warned the vessel. The craft aborted the attempt and headed back to [...]


EU to launch anti-piracy mission next week

piracy
A European Union flotilla will begin anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia next week, the EU’s foreign policy chief said Wednesday. The six warships and three maritime reconnaissance aircraft will replace a NATO naval force that has been patrolling the region and escorting cargo ships carrying relief aid to Somalia since the end of [...]


Legal Hurdles in West Slow Pursuit of Pirates

piracy4
Somali pirates firing automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades hijacked yet another ship in the Gulf of Aden on Friday, this time seizing a chemical tanker. A German military helicopter from a nearby warship arrived in time to pull three security guards out of the water, but not soon enough to prevent the hijacking of the [...]


Somali pirates hijack 1 ship, free another

somalia_map
Somali pirates seized control of a chemical tanker in the Gulf of Aden on Friday and a NATO helicopter gunship, too late to prevent the hijacking, picked up three security guards who jumped into the sea. Both France and Germany, which have ships in the area as part of an international anti-piracy coalition, sent the [...]