UKMTO Weekly Piracy Report

1. The weather continues to hamper small boat activity in the region with the outlook in the Gulf of Aden for south-westerly winds of 25 – 30 kts and seas of between 1 – 4 feet and along the Somali coastline, winds of 25 – 30 kts gusting 35 and seas of 7 – 12 feet.

2. The Maritime Trade Information Sharing Centre – Gulf of Guinea (MTISC GoG) has posted an important announcement about its future on their web-site: ‘MTISC-GoG will close following the successful conclusion of the Pilot Project before the end of June 2016’ (c).

3. The Maritime Piracy and Humanitarian Response Programme (MPHRP), managed by the International Seafarers Welfare and Assistance Network (ISWAN) has released a revised version of the ‘Good Practice Guide for Shipping Companies and Manning Agents – Humanitarian support of seafarers and their families in cases of armed robbery and piracy attack’. The guide can be downloaded from the ISWAN web-site (d).

4. The last group of suspected pirates remaining on trial in the Seychelles have been found guilty of piracy offences and sentenced to 12 years in prison. The Somalis stood accused of attacking a dhow (Shane Hind) in the Indian Ocean and using it as a mother ship. By coincidence, OIC UKMTO visited MV Nave Atropos this week, the MV involved.

Download full report here

#IRTC #UKMTO #Somalia #HRA