UKMTO Weekly Piracy Report #piracy #marsec @UKMTO

1. UKMTO has issued no Advisories and no Warnings this week.

2. The Round Table of international shipping associations plus the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF) have issued new advice to merchant ship operators about the reduction in the boundaries of the ‘High Risk Area’ (HRA) for piracy, however they emphasise that a threat from piracy still exists in the region. The decision to reduce the HRA was made taking into account recent shipping industry experience, pirate intent, capability and after discussion with nations and military naval forces. The UKHO Maritime Security chart Q6099 will be updated in a Notice to Mariners and the changes will take effect from 1 May 2019.

3. The US Navy and international maritime industry partnership exercise ‘Lucky Mariner 2019’ is taking place from 3 -15 March 19. Merchant vessels are invited to participate in the exercise and register with the US Naval Cooperation and Guidance for Shipping (NCAGS) while transiting through Communications Reporting Gates (see page 3), adding NCAGS to existing position reports for the duration of the exercise. For more information and to register please contact US NCAGS watch centre email at cusnc.ncags@me.navy.mil tel. +973 3904-9583.

3. EU NAVOR and CMF jointly released their latest Industry Releasable Threat Assessment (IRTA) dated 01 Mar 19. The IRTA can be viewed at http://www.mschoa.org

4. The Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF) released a ship security paper on Hull Vulnerability, the report highlights the results of a study on the protection of crews and vessels from the emergent threat of Missile and Waterborne Improvised Explosive Devices (WBIED) attack.

Download the full UKMTO report here

More on the new HRA boundaries here: ASKET Intel

OCIMF Hull Vulnerability Study: Read more here; ASKET Free Maritime Resources