Category Archives: MARSEC Updates

UGS Weekly Digest 28 Apr – 04 May 2014

  May 5, 2014 ,
SP BRUSSELS attack

By Ilias Papadopoulos Master in International Relations & Strategic Studies             This past week bore a particular interest for MARSEC as it recorded the first killing of a seafarer by piracy for 2014 in West Africa. Particularly on 29/04, SP Brussels while transiting from Port Harcourt to Lagos was attacked by two armed pirates. The ship’s master raised the alarm and the crew mustered in the citadel. What followed was an exchange of fire between the on board security team and the pirates, that resulted in the death of the later. After the situation ended and the crew left the citadel, it found the vessel’s Chief Engineer dead and the third officer wounded. Both men were hit in the exchange … Continue reading

UGS Weekly Digest 21 – 27 Apr 2014

  April 29, 2014 ,
SE Asia Incident

Maritime Security Report for SE Asia By Ilias Papadopoulos Master in International Relations & Strategic Studies                 Recently SE Asia has attracted international attention both in the case of Malaysian Airlines MH370, as well as the sinking of MV Sewol. But besides these major occurrences, in this past week we also had some developments in maritime security for the region.             Three incidents of armed robbery were reported and one hijacking. Of all these, the latter appears to be the most interesting; after all SE Asia has traditionally been a hive of piratical activity and a thriving business of armed robbery. But in 22/04, we had the second vessel hijack of the year and the first arrest of … Continue reading

UGS Weekly Digest 07-13 Apr 2014

  April 16, 2014 ,
UGS

Nigeria as a Potential Oil Export Partner Can Internal Security in the Country Allow Such a Perspective? By Ilias Papadopoulos – UGS Strategic Analyst Master in International Relations & Strategic Studies             Nigeria is the eighth largest oil producer in the world. This meant relatively little a few years ago, but today other oil producing countries face serious internal problems and are forced to cut their production. Iraq for example faces the prospect of a new civil war by al Qaeda, and in Libya several oil production facilities are still held by militants. Furthermore Crimean crisis means that Russia could drastically cut down gas supply towards Europe. All these facts increase the role of Nigeria as a strategic partner in … Continue reading

UGS Weekly Digest 31 Mar – 06 Apr 2014

  April 8, 2014 ,
UGS

Separatism and State Stability in Somalia How this week’s events affect maritime security? By Ilias Papadopoulos – UGS Strategic Analyst  Master in International Relations & Strategic Studies With the UN Secretary General announcing last October that Somali piracy has fallen to a 7-year low, many scholars hurried to prophecy ‘the end of terror’ in the region. But by looking exclusively in numbers these scholars failed to grasp the bigger picture, which is comprised by two facts. The first is that the fall of piracy is in direct relation to the success of the measure of placing armed personnel on vessels transiting the region. The second is that the root causes that create the piracy have not been addressed. From these … Continue reading

AMISOM condemns attack in Buulo Burto town, Somalia

  March 20, 2014 ,
AMISOM

Mogadishu, March 18th 2014 The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (SRCC) Ambassador Mahamat Saleh Annadif today strongly condemned the cowardly attack on AMISOM and Somali National Forces in Buulo Burto. During the 3am attack, a vehicle filled with explosives rammed into one of the gates housing the soldiers in Buulo Burto town located 125 kilometres from Beledweyne in South Central Somalia, killing AMISOM and SNA troops and injuring others. Ambassador Annadif expressed his heartfelt condolences to the Djiboutian contingent and Somali National Army following the loss of life of the soldiers, adding that AMISOM will not be deterred in its determination to secure the safety of the Somali people. “AMISOM today stands with the fallen … Continue reading

Towards an EU integrated approach to global maritime security

  March 9, 2014 ,
LOGO CE_Vertical_EN_quadri

The European Commission and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy have adopted today a Joint Communication to the European Parliament and the Council “For an open and secure global maritime domain: elements for a European Union maritime security strategy”. This joint communication presents a vision of the Union’s maritime security interests and threats, and proposes the areas in which cooperation between various maritime players can be enhanced beyond what is already good practice today. It encompasses all maritime functions, from coastguards to navies, port authorities and customs duty officers and would affect the EU waters as well as each ship sailing under EU Member States’ – flag and have a global reach. This … Continue reading