NAVY NEWS WEEK 34-4 22 August 2018 US to act against Iranian ship facilitating terror strikes in Red Sea The Trump administration is planning to take action against Iranian ship Saviz identified as the ―mother ship‖ stationed in the Red Sea providing targeting information for Houthi anti-ship attacks, which have increased in recent months, including a late July attack by Iranian-backed rebels on a Saudi oil tanker. Washington Free Beacon website quoted US officials and military experts familiar with the situation as saying that Saviz is believed to be masked as a cargo vessel but has been providing significant military and logistic aid to Yemen‘s Houthi militias. Speedboats equipped with guns on board the ship Saviz. The ship was delisted from US sanctions by the Obama administration as part of its efforts to uphold the landmark nuclear deal with Iran, US officials confirmed to the Washington Free Beacon. Upcoming Trump administration action against the Saviz and other Iranian vessels is part of a broader package of sanctions expected to start on Nov. 5, officials confirmed. Sanctions will target Iran‘s port operations, shipping and shipbuilding sectors, and other affiliates. The Iranian ship Saviz has been anchored for more than a year in the Red Sea near the Straits of Bab Al-Mandeb in international waters, according to satellite photos. According to Iranian news outlets, many of the weapons handed over by the Iranian regime to the Houthi militias were carried by speedboats from the same vessel. The boats were equipped with 23 mm ZU guns. Saviz itself is equipped with a radar rarely seen on cargo ships, but used to steer the Houthi militias‘ boats when attacking Saudi oil tankers. US officials familiar with the Saviz‘s actions in the Red Sea told the Free Beacon the Iranian vessel is barely attempting to obfuscate its military role in aiding Houthi rebels in Yemen. ―The Iranians aren’t even trying to disguise the military use of the ship,‖ said one US official. ―You don’t need classified intelligence or satellite photos of the decks to know that merchant ships simply don’t act this way.‖ US officials familiar with the movements of the ship Saviz in the Red Sea, told Washington Free Beacon, ―It is certain that the Iranian ship provides logistical support for the Houthis in Yemen.‖ US defense experts with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, or WINEP, also have cited the Saviz as providing potential support and logistics to Houthi rebels as they commit acts of terrorism in the region. Source: The Washington Free Beacon Return of Pirates of the Caribbean: Piracy Jumps 163 Percent Amid Venezuela Crisis By Jason Lemon On 8/13/18 at 5:43 PM The Caribbean sea and coast of Latin America have seen a dramatic rise in piracy, as economic woes and corrupt officials plague Venezuela and other countries in the region. Piracy in the Caribbean dates back to the 1600s, and it has even become the inspiration for a Disney franchise. However, such practice is on the rise again, jumping a dramatic 163 percent last year, according to a study conducted by Oceans Beyond Piracy. Earlier this year, in April, a gang of pirates attacked four Guyanese fishing boats. Only five of the 20 crew members of the fishing vessels survived. The others were doused with hot oil, attacked with machetes and thrown overboard. ―They said they would take the boat and that everyone should jump overboard,‖ survivor Deonarine Goberdhan, 47, told Reuters in May. ―I tried to keep my head above water,‖ he explained, saying he was beaten and thrown into the sea. Although Oceans Beyond Piracy did not calculate the total economic impact of piracy in 2017, it estimates that about $949,000 of goods were stolen by pirates in the region last year. According to The Washington Post, reports of piracy have been documented along the coasts of Haiti, St. Lucia, Nicaragua and Honduras in the past 18 months. But by far, the biggest surge has occurred near Venezuela. As an economic crisis grips the country— driving inflation to nearly 1 million percent—lawlessness has risen and many have turned to crime in desperation. As President Nicolás Maduro struggles to maintain control of the country, police and military officials have been abandoning their posts as their paychecks have stopped coming. Repression of basic freedoms and rampant corruption has also risen, with experts suggesting some pirates actually work with government officials. A group of Trinidadian fishermen, who spoke to The Washington Post on the condition of anonymity out of fear, said that they had noticed a sharp increase in Venezuelan smugglers. These smugglers reportedly have been trafficking guns, drugs, exotic animals and even women. Roodal Moonilal, a lawmaker from Trinidad and Tobago‘s opposition United National Congress party, told the newspaper that the situation reminds him of what previously happened off the coast of eastern Africa. A few years back, there was a sharp increase in Somalian pirates terrorizing the coast of the region. ―What we’re seeing—the piracy, the smuggling—it’s the result of Venezuela’s political and economic collapse,‖ Moonilal said. Source: https://www.newsweek.com U.K. Anti-Piracy Firm Joins Greece’s Oldest Maritime Security Agency Anti-piracy company ARX Maritime join Greece‘s oldest maritime security agency in support of Greek shipping industry‘s fight against piracy attacks Fires, pirate attacks, maritime incidents are all on the rise. But what can companies do to plan ahead and limit the risk to their crew and vessel Innovative, U.K.-based company, ARX Maritime, has joined with Greek maritime security management firm, Franman, in a concerted effort to provide peace of mind to international shipping owners. ARX‘s award-winning anti-piracy ABaC Barriers provide the perfect solution to shipowners transiting though high risk areas and compliment the security risk services and advice already offered by Franman to the Greek shipping industry. 42,000 vessels pass through high risk areas every year, costing the shipping industry half a billion pounds to protect, and this offers only a part solution to the problem. Shipping is not only Greece‘s oldest industry, it is one of the country‘s most important industries to the local economy, worth over $9 billion. Together, Franman and ARX are endeavoring to provide a more cost-effective, long-term solution for the industry, with Franman including the ARX ABaC system as part of their product range. As a result of first-hand experience, ARX Maritime has made it their core mission to actively ensure the international shipping industry‘s crews and cargoes are more substantially protected while at sea. ARX Maritime has designed an anti-piracy system offering greater reliability as well as a more cost-effective alternative to razorwire. Supported by leading oil giants Shell and BP in protecting their fleets assets, quite simply, the ARX Anti-piracy barrier is a plastic defense mechanism that attaches to the ship‘s guardrail preventing pirates from boarding the vessel. The fend plate deflects ladders, grappling hooks and climbing poles. Rigorously, tested by the U.K. Special Forces, they‘ve been proven to significantly improve the prospect of your vessel and crew surviving a pirate attack. ARX‘s product goes hand in hand with Franman‘s vision to ―ensure the safety of your vessel and crew.‖ Their service as maritime security agents aligns with ARX‘s mission to ―pioneer technology for safer seas,‖ providing a natural partnership in the Greek market. The co-founder of ARX Maritime, Steve Regis said: ―ARX is extremely excited by the partnership with Franman. We both have a shared vision of creating the safest conditions for seafarers and delivering nothing but the highest quality and standards to our customers…serving as the oldest maritime security management company in Greece, Franman’s knowledge of the industry is invaluable to the ARX team.‖ Source: Maasmond Maritime Tanker with 17 Crew Goes Missing off West Africa By MarEx 2018-08-20 10:57:20 On Monday, the Georgian government reported that the product tanker Pantelena has dropped out of contact and gone missing during a voyage in the Gulf of Guinea. 17 of her crewmembers are Georgian nationals, and according to Georgia's foreign ministry, there is a strong likelihood that she has been attacked by pirates. ―We cannot confirm or rule out anything. Maybe we are dealing with piracy, because the west African coast is a risk area. Of course, we are looking into this,‖ said Vladimir Konstantinidi, a consular official with Georgia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ministry says that shipowner Lotus Shipping, Georgia's Sea Transport Agency, the Panama flag registry, regional maritime forces and United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) are involved in the response. Maritime piracy - particularly kidnapping - is a serious concern in the Gulf of Guinea. According to EOS Risk Group, pirates kidnapped 35 crewmembers in the region in the first half of the year. In a worrying trend, the reach of Nigerian pirates has expanded to include waters off Benin and Ghana, west of the historical area of high risk off Bonny. However, 95 percent of the attacks were still concentrated near Bonny Island, within 60 nm of shore. According to Oceans Beyond Piracy, 100 seafarers were kidnapped in the waters off the Gulf of Guinea last year, despite millions of dollars in funds for additional maritime security resources. Local authorities managed to stop only one act of piracy out of 97 recorded incidents. Despite these risks and the relatively limited record of successful prevention, the Nigerian Navy forbids the presence of embarked private maritime security contractors in Nigerian ports, effectively banning their presence in the Gulf of Guinea.