Solace Global Maritime Summary – January 2019

Solace Global Maritime Security compile a monthly report, summarising maritime incidents in areas of high risk piracy and other security threats.
The report is researched and collated by the Solace Global in-house intelligence team.

The report covering January and the first week of February looks at the following areas:

The Indian Ocean has enjoyed a quiet start to 2019, there have been no notable incidents of piracy. The only notable incident was a knife attack aboard a Marshall Island flagged vessel in international waters. Otherwise there was a suspicious approach near the Yemeni port of Hudaydah; however, no shots were reportedly fired.

One notable incident occurred on land, a P&O Ports manager for a port run in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland was shot dead in Bosaso. The Al Shabaab militant group were quick to claim responsibility after an initial report indicated that the manager, Paul Fermosa, was attacked by a man disguised as a fisherman, who was later killed by security guards. Fermosa was understood to have been walking to work at the time of the attack.

The Al Shabaab militancy has been fighting for control of most Somali cities for the past few decades. However, African Union and Somalian troops pushed the Islamist militants out of Mogadishu in 2011 and continue to conduct operations to clean-up insurgent-held pockets in the countryside. Despite the progress made, the group remains strong and active and has been responsible for a number of exceptionally deadly terrorist attacks in the region; including the recent DusitD2 hotel attack in Nairobi, the 14 October 2017 bomb attack in Mogadishu (which killed 587 people) and the 2015 Garissa University attack (which resulted in 148 deaths).

The Sri Lankan Navy has begun acting against illegal poaching by Indian fishermen in the country’s territorial waters. The move comes about after a number of Indian fishermen have reportedly become aggressive toward their Sri Lankan counterparts.

Elsewhere, a French frigate that had been visiting Mumbai reportedly intercepted 670 kg of heroin in the Indian Ocean during an operation. French Defence Minister Florence Parly classed the operation as a “record” seizure and a significant blow to the financing of terrorism.

The majority of incidents that have occurred in the South East Asia region in the past month are robberies of anchored vessels. Two of these incidents have occurred in Chinese anchorages; and the rise of incidents in these areas should be monitored. Additionally, a number of announcements have been made by naval powers in the region which may have an effect on the security cooperation in the region.

From a more geopolitical standpoint, experts have stated that they expect Beijing will build four nuclear aircraft carriers in a deliberate drive to catch the US Navy. China is expected to have at least six aircraft carrier battle groups by 2035. The move will also see a modernisation of their fleet with the nuclear carriers likely to be equipped with electromagnetic launch catapults similar to those the US Navy plans to adopt. Beijing is keen to expand its aircraft carrier battle groups to fulfil its global naval ambitions and defend its growing overseas interests.

The Philippines Navy plans, for the first time, to send a vessel to participate in the Chinese Navy’s fleet review in April. The announcement came as the PLA Navy concludes its four-day goodwill visit to Manila. Chinese guided-missile frigates Wu Hu and Han Dan, as well as replenishment ship Dong Ping Hu, docked at Pier 15 in South Harbour of the Philippine capital. The Philippines and China have made strides in cooperation in the past months despite the two countries, as well as several of South East Asian countries, having overlapping claims in the South China Sea.

The move is interesting after the United Nations-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration issued a ruling in July 2016 in favour of the Philippines, invalidating Beijing’s nine-dash line claim over the contested waterway. The Philippines, under the Duterte administration, has yet to assert the arbitration ruling in its negotiations with China while the latter refuses to acknowledge the landmark decision. The Philippines is also in talks with Japan for a joint military exercise.

Elsewhere, the Japanese have been making strides towards retrofitting their Izumo-class helicopter destroyers into aircraft carriers. As well as this, Tokyo has purchased two Aegis Weapon Systems (AWS) and associated equipment from the United States. Under the deal, the US Government and contractor representatives will visit Japan multiple times to provide technical reviews, support, and oversight for around eight years. The announcement comes after a continued spat over an alleged radar lock-on incident between Japanese and South Korean vessels has resulted in Tokyo cancelling a port call in South Korea.

There have not been any further Abu Sayyaf related piracy incidents in the past four to five weeks. The group, however, carried out an attack on the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady Mount Carmel in Jolo. The group regards Jolo as a stronghold and the bombing has resulted in the Philippine army engaging the group in a prolonged battle to try and flush out their fighters. Numerous protracted firefights have occurred with numerous soldiers and militants being reported dead.

It is important for clients and vessel masters to note that the ongoing firefight increases the risk of attacks by Abu Sayyaf militants on vessels in the region. Continue to employ a heightened level vigilance in the Celeb and Sulu seas and in the southern Philippines, eastern Malay and eastern Indonesian ports.

A St Kitts and Nevis-flagged oil product tanker, Sea Frontier, capsized near Tanjung Penyusop, Malaysia, in the evening of 30 January. The vessel was attempting to dock at the time of the incident. However, the vessel managed to hit a rock during the docking operation, causing hull damage that led to considerable water ingress. By 21:15 local time, the vessel was reported to be 75 percent underwater. The 11 crewmembers aboard the Sea Frontier, all aged between 23 and 55, were successfully saved by a motorized tanker that had been operating in the area that managed to respond to the distress call.

A Chinese vessel, Zhong Xing 689, sailing off the coast of Zhangzhou reportedly sunk on 22 January. China’s Fujian Maritime Safety administration immediately launched a search and rescue operation, that involved a number of ships and helicopters, and was supported by local fishing vessels operating in the area. According to reports, eleven members of the crew were rescued while one remained missing and is now presumed dead.

The Americas have seen a number of robberies in the past month. The most significant incident occurred off the coast of Mexico when the MV Farley Mowat was attacked by around 50 assailants posing as fishermen. The incident occurred in the upper Gulf of California, near the Vaquita Refuge, where a group of assailants aboard 20 high-speed craft, attacked the patrol vessel belonging to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS).

The Farley Mowat, an Island-class patrol vessel belonging to the SSCS fleet, was conducting a routine maritime conservation patrol of the upper Gulf of California, in an effort to protect the critically endangered Vaquita Porpoise from extinction, when the attack occurred. The assailants threw a range of projectiles, including lead weights, large stones and Molotov cocktails at the vessel. As a result, the vessel’s windows were shattered, and one side of the Farley Mowat caught on fire, during the attack.

The Farley Mowat crewmembers fended off the attackers using emergency fire hoses while the Captain also attempted to carry out anti-piracy manoeuvres. Mexican Navy and Federal Police officers stationed aboard the vessel resorted to opening fire into the air and sea in order to deter the attackers. Additionally, two navy inflatable boats that arrived at the scene in an attempt to aid in the defence of the vessel were also attacked by the poachers. The Farley Mowat eventually escaped by making its way toward the Mexican naval frigate Barrera that was nearby.

Elsewhere, 28 Haitians are understood to have died when their migrant vessel sank near the Bahamas on 2 February. The US Embassy in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, said officials managed to rescue 17 people, including two who were found stranded on a reef off the coast. Officials discovered the ship after residents reported seeing bodies floating in the sea near the entrance of Marsh Harbour in Abaco.

Finally, the crisis in Venezuela continues as the Venezuelan military has blocked a bridge on the border with Venezuela. The move is in anticipation of humanitarian aid shipments. The insecurity in the country continues the risk of seaborne attacks by Venezuelans that have no choice but to turn toward illegal means to survive. As such attacks on Trinidadian fishermen are likely to increase in the coming weeks and months, as will the increase in narcotic shipments through the country. A US-led invasion of the country also cannot be ruled out.

Europe enjoyed a quiet month. However, there has been a noticeable increase in migrant attempts when compared with the same period last year. Prominently, a Spanish Navy vessel is understood to have violated Gibraltar waters whilst playing the Spanish national anthem on loudspeakers. The incident resulted in the Royal Navy intercepting the vessel and warning it off. The incident, however, is not unusual for the waters with the Spanish Navy regularly carrying out similar actions in the past. The incidents rarely last longer than two hours and often result in vessels circling each other and making statements.

An explosion and a fire involving two tanker ships near the contested Kerch Strait, the waterway separating Crimea from mainland Russia, left at least 11 sailors dead on Monday and several missing, according to Russian news reports. Although the exact cause of the episode that ignited the tankers was not immediately known, fuel from one was being transferred to the other, the Russian news agency RIA said. Initial reports suggested that a fire and an explosion on one ship had spread to the second. The sailors killed were from India and Turkey, the reports said, with 12 survivors jumping into the water.

Some 10 ships were involved in rescue operations, according to Interfax, another Russian news agency, which said the press service of the country’s Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transport announced the toll of victims and survivors.  Television footage from the shore showed flames erupting and thick black smoke engulfing the ships. Both tankers were registered in Tanzania and were anchored just off the southern shore of the Crimean Peninsula and just outside the Kerch Strait.

Shipbuilding company Fincantieri has launched the Italian Navy’s latest multi-mission European frigate (FREMM) Spartaco Schergat at a ceremony at the integrated shipyard of Riva Trigoso in Genoa. The newest frigate is the ninth of a series of ten FREMMs being built by Fincantieri within the framework of an Italo-French cooperation programme. Fincantieri will continue fitting activities at the integrated naval shipyard of Muggiano, La Spezia. The Italian Navy is expected to receive the vessel next year.

The Italian navy continues to be involved in migrant operations in the Mediterranean. The navy are understood to have staged a rescue operation on Friday with a helicopter coming to the aid of three people suffering from hypothermia. The number of migrants and refugees landing on European shores had almost doubled in the first 16 days of this year to 4,216 against 2,365 over the same period in 2018.

The French navy has also moved to bolster its fleet with a deal to build four new logistic vessels. The ships are meant to provide long-term support for France’s blue-sea combat fleet, supplying fuel, ammunition, spare parts and food. The ships will be built in Saint-Nazaire on France’s Atlantic coast, and the first two will be delivered by 2025 to start replacing the last three Durance-class command and supply ships in line to be phased out of the French Navy. The French Navy has also received the first Dassault Rafale combat aircraft to be upgraded to the latest F3R standard. The new aircraft are part of a fleet air arm upgrade.