UKMTO Weekly Piracy Report #piracy #marsec #ukmto #insurance #pandi @IMOHQ @IMB_Piracy

1. This week UKMTO issued one advisory, see page 3 for details. 2. On 14 Dec UKMTO received a report that a Merchant Vessel had been approached by 3 skiffs 60nm SE of Mukallah, Ref ADVISORY NOTICE 001/DEC/ 2017. The skiffs came to within 300m and followed the ship for a considerable length of time. Whilst the incident was suspicious no aggressive approach or other trip wires were noted. Vessel and crew are safe.

3. The initial report to UKMTO for ADVISORY NOTICE 001/DEC/ 2017 was received by e mail and few hours after the incident. The merchant community are requested to ensure that any suspicious activity is reported immediately, where possible by phone, in line with BMP4. This will ensure that any potential response and warning to shipping in the area can be actioned quickly.

4. EUNAVFOR have issued an Industry Releasable Threat Bulletin which gives in-depth details of the piracy incident in mid-November, see pages 4 – 7. Please note that further distribution requires authority, all queries to be directed to EUNAVFOR.

5. The minutes from the recent MIEVOM meeting will be published on Monday and available on the UKMTO website. www.ukmto.org

6. The threat of CYBER attacks is an ever increasing issue within the maritime industry and there is speculation that this could be the cause behind recent incidents. See article (a) for further details.

7. World-wide piracy and crime at sea was highlighted in articles (b) and (c). A capacity building workshop to combat piracy and armed robbery in Asia was held in India in coordination with ReCAAP. An attempted boarding attack in the Gulf of Guinea was captured on video, this illustrates some trip wires (ladder, fuel and number of persons on board) to be watchful for when being approached by unidentified skiffs.

Download full report here