Category Archives: News

UGS Weekly Digest 12 – 18 May 2014

  May 21, 2014 ,
HMAS-Darwin-Seizes-132-Mln-of-Drugs-off-Somalia

Illicit Trade by al Shabaab Bringing Terrorism to the Indian Ocean By Ilias Papadopoulos Master in International Relations & Strategic Studies               In 15/05, an Australian Navy warship, HMAS Darwin, patrolling the coast of Somalia seized a total of 449kg of heroin ($123 mn value). This brought to the forefront again the ways that Somali terrorist groups, particularly al Shabaab, an al Qaeda offshoot, operating in southern Somalia acquire their financing.             Initially the goal of al Shabaab being strictly politico-religious forbade it from embarking in petty crime. Thus their source of financing until 2010 was from other states that either supported their radical cause (e.g. Saudi Arabia), or that wanted to destabilize the targets of the terrorist group … Continue reading

UGS Weekly Digest 05 – 11 May 2014

  May 14, 2014 ,
ISO 28000 with UKAS Blue

ISO/PAS 28007 The Accreditation for Maritime Security Companies By Ilias Papadopoulos Master in International Relations & Strategic Studies           The year 2008 saw the formation of a new trend in maritime commerce, piracy. The phenomenon of course was not unheard of, but at that time it became so menacing that shipping companies had to acknowledge it and took steps to protect their assets and interests. At first the states tried to play the role of the protector against maritime crime but the measure soon proved ineffective, both financially and legally. Meanwhile the reality remained unchanged, and demand of security from the ship owning companies and the charterers, soon produced supply from the private sector.             Thus a whole new … Continue reading

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