Merchant Marine
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Tanker Taken
At approximately 0900Z on 28 March, the Crude Oil Tanker the “MV Zirku” was hit by pirates. The vessel was approximately 250 nautical miles South East of Salalah in the […]
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Fending Them Off
On March 27, 2011 a group of pirates attempted to seize the tanker “Asia”, owned by Novoship. The vessel was 235 nm northeast of Socotra Island, when a boat with […]
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Williams at WISTA
In recognition of the International Maritime Organization’s “Year of Piracy”, WISTA USA hosted world renowned piracy negotiator, Suzanne Williams QPM, as their keynote speaker at its sixth annual WISTA USA […]
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Falcon Saved
An attempted pirate attack was disrupted last week by U.S. Navy forces supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Two helicopters were sent to investigate a distress call from the “Falcon Trader II” […]
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Mothership Release
Somali pirates have released 10 Indonesian seafarers after their Taiwanese fishing vessel was taken by pirates on March 30, 2010. The sailors were part of a 15-member crew aboard a […]
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Effectiveness Questioned
BIMCO’S chief maritime security officer has criticised the industry practice of using armed security guards on vessels transiting the Indian Ocean. Giles Noakes has also questioned statistics that proponents of the […]
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Falcon Fear
Fears are growing as pirates have boarded the 54,924-dwt Falcon Trader II (built 2009) in the Arabian Sea. On first report the crew were understood to be in a citadel and […]
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BMP Rules
In addition to the new agreement on the boundaries and extent of high risk piracy areas the IBF and ITF imposed some additional requirements. The agreement states that during a vessel’s transit […]
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High Risk Agreement
After much speculation an agreement has been reached regarding the area to be deemed as “High Risk” with regards to seafarers wages and compensation. The International Bargaining Forum of the marine […]
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Changing View
Industry experts are calling for the deployment of armed guards on merchant vessels to combat piracy. A slew of maritime professionals who may previously opposed the measure for fear of escalating […]
