UKMTO Weekly Piracy Report #piracy #marsec @UKMTO

1. In a welcome development in Somalia this week, the Nairobi based Hostage Support Partnership (HSP) negotiated the release of three Iranian hostages being held by Somali pirates. The crew of the Iranian fishing vessel FV SIRAJ were originally captured in March 2015. This constitutes something of a landmark as these three hostages were the last to be held during the current era of Somali Piracy (see media articles).

2. U.S Maritime Advisory 2020 - 15 was released, all active Advisories/Alerts are posted at https://www.marad.dot.gov/MSCI

3. The Maritime Security Centre Horn of Africa (MSCHOA) issued Alert 006/2020 and subsequent amplifying report regarding an incident off the coast of Puntland, Somalia. The Alert can be viewed on the MSCHOA website at https://bit.ly/3aPyXBJ (login required).

4. Commercial shipping companies and ship’s masters can receive the latest UKMTO Maritime Security Brief via telephone or by e-mail, using the contact details at the bottom of this page. UKMTO Dubai and the Maritime Trade Information Centre (MTIC) remains fully operational throughout the duration of the global pandemic and can be contacted as usual using the details promulgated in BMP5.

Download the full UKMTO report here