25 - 31 May 2013 (Vol. 2; No.22/13) The Main Topics - Bookmark our RSS Newsfeed New Sponsors Wanted - Click Ask us how you can be a sponsor of this newsletter in 2013 - click here. Feedback on the newsletter is welcomed too. Tanker attack ends in kidnap, Oil & Gas, an African problem in the making? – Nigerian tanker crew kidnapped off Bayelsa where latest Nigerian pirate attacks have occurred on the same day Hansa Marburg kidnapped crew released. Pakistani families of kidnapped crew threaten to kill Nigerians in Pakistan in revenge if any deaths occur. Piracy blamed for loss of oil revenue in Tanzania, Somalia’s plan to auction off oil blocks likely to speed up territorial conflict; Force majeure declared on Nigerian crude oil, oil theft threatens security, UK and USA express readiness to help curb Nigeria oil theft menace. Despite some successes, Nigerian forces warn pirates to desist or face the consequences. Ex-militants threaten to go back to attacking oil installations due to unpaid allowances. US and Caribbean nations to work together in maritime security matters. Gulf Cooperation Council meets to discuss anti- piracy measures. What do a handful of South African mercenaries do for an encore in Somalia, once all the pirates are gone? Iranians said to be using islands in the Red Sea to store illegal arms, with a view to smuggling these to the Houthi rebels in Yemen’s Sa’ada Governorate. Accountant claims that the person who is able to control the Kismayo port will have considerable leverage to control the other areas. Work here is well underway as Somali business presses ahead with his new multi-million dollar project: to build a luxury beach resort in Mogadishu. Kenyans are making efforts to forge business ties with Somalia. New pirate ant discovered in the Philippines. Contents: Regional Activity; Released by Pirates; Pirates in Court; Private Security; International Response; Piracy Cost; Seafarers' Plight; And Finally...; Piracy Incidents; Situational Map East Africa/Indian Ocean WHAT do a handful of South African mercenaries do for an encore in Somalia, once all the pirates are gone? - Foreign Policy It's not easy to be a mercenary these daysm writes Jay Bahadur and James Bridger. The once-booming markets in Iraq and Afghanistan have shrunk, while lingering controversy surrounding the mercenary poster-boy company Blackwater (or whatever they're called these days) has served to paint private security contractors as reckless and unaccountable war junkies. A good gig as a soldier of fortune is harder and harder to come by. Yet there's one war-torn country where demand for guns-for-hire is still high. A contingent of mercenaries has managed to carve out a niche for itself in the failed state of Somalia. Initially brought on in an internationally controversial mission to combat pirates terrorizing Somalia's coastal waters, the mostly South African corps have now turned to fighting Somalia's al Qaeda- linked terrorist menace, al-Shabab. In the anarchic world of failed states, private contractors are often able to accomplish what goverments are not. But the consequences are hard to predict. It's hard to argue with the results. Since PMPF went live in early 2010, piracy has been virtually eliminated in Puntland; over a year has passed since the last Somali pirate hijacking. Yet exactly where the credit lies is different matter. Most attribute the drop off in piracy to the increased deployment of armed guard detachments on board commercial vessels, rather than enforcement efforts on land. Image - Courtesy of FP IRANIAN nationals are using islands in the Red Sea to store illegal arms, with a view to smuggling these to the Houthi rebels in Yemen’s Sa’ada Governorate, Asharq Al-Awsat has learnt - Yahoo News. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on the condition of anonymity, a senior Yemeni official confirmed that smugglers are utilizing Red Sea islands in their criminal activities, including Iranians smuggling arms to the Shi’ite Houthi rebels in northern Yemen. “Many of the small islands in the Red Sea are unpopulated and therefore it is easy for large ships to unload their cargo there, with this later being smuggled into Yemen on smaller fishing boats,” he added. The Yemeni official stressed that arms were being smuggled into the country for two main reasons: firstly, for political and security reasons, namely in order to destabilize the post-Arab Spring state; secondly, for financial benefit. He also warned that “some of the arms smuggled into Yemen are subsequently redirected into neighboring countries.” Yemen has seized a number of ships which were smuggling arms into the country via its western and southern coasts. Yemeni authorities have confiscated large quantities of weapons, reportedly including sophisticated weapons headed to the Houthi rebels in Sa’ada governorate. Yemen is suffering from significant maritime security issues, particularly as the country has over 2000 km of coastline. On April 24, UNHCR reported that more than 30,000 African refugees had illegally entered the country since the beginning of the year. TODAY al-Shabaab militants are nowhere to be seen in the Somali port city of Kismayo, which was once their financial hub and their last major stronghold in Somalia - VOA News. But those who united to defeat their common enemy in the city are now fighting for control of liberated areas and for who gets the big share of seaport revenue. Much of Somalia’s two decades of brutal war was characterized by the fight for control of territories and strategic towns that produce clan pride and financial muscle. The fight is still going on today over the newly created Jubaland region in southern Somalia, where at least three different men have claimed to be president of a new Jubaland state. Kismayo is the gateway into Jubaland which consists of three regions, Gedo, Middle and Lower Juba, and the person who is able to control the city’s port will have considerable leverage to control the other areas. An accountant who works at the port, but didn’t want to give his name for security reasons, said all the men claiming the presidency are jostling for money from the port. "They do usually say they will take away what comes their way,” and he adds “These people have never worked for a government, and they don’t know how to manage a port. They are rebels who are stealing the resources and taking what they can get," he said. The accountant says boats dock at the port of Kismayo carrying much needed basic commodities like milk powder and flour and later the boats leave loaded with charcoal, the only valuable export of Somalia at the present time. He says the monthly port revenue is currently divided between the port administration led by Ahmed Madobe, who heads the militia group Raskamboni, and Kenyan forces. TANZANIA'S Surface and Marine Transport Regulatory Authority has launched a three-day conference to build the capacity of senior marine officials to fight piracy in the Indian Ocean, Tanzania's Daily News reported Wednesday (May 29th) - AllAfrica. "The effects of piracy have been felt by our country and it needs political intervention to face the challenges so that safety and security will once again bring cruise ships which stopped operating in our waters for fear of being hijacked by pirates," Ministry of Transport Deputy Permanent Secretary John Mngodo told participants from more than ten countries. International Maritime Organisation Regional Co-ordinator for Eastern and Southern Africa John Muindi said experts were implementing strategies to combat piracy, improving facilities and skills with the co-operation of the United States and African countries. The region has lost more than $6 billion in the past ten years due to piracy, the newspaper reported. BASHIR Osman moves hurriedly along a white sandy beachfront, giving instructions to a driver operating a bulldozer - CNN. Near them, a large truck is ferrying away piles of rocks, clearing a sun-soaked beach lapped by the azure blue waters of the Indian Ocean. Work here is well underway as Osman presses ahead with his new multi-million dollar project: to build a luxury beach resort in Mogadishu, the capital of war-torn Somalia. "I knew one day that Mogadishu will become peace and we'll get stability," says Osman, who already owns two hotels in the city. "That is why I started to buy that land." After more than 20 years of violence, Somalia moved a step closer to stability last September after picking its first president elected on home soil in decades. Image - via CNN SOMALIA plans to sign 30 PSCs this year with foreign oil companies and auction off over 300 new oil blocks, but oil rights here are not solidified and this will be another bloody mess - Hiiraan Online. Analysis: Late last year, Somalia announced it would auction off 308 oil blocks, newly delineated. This has caused a bit of rush on Somalia, from the juniors to the supermajors, like Royal Dutch Shell and ConocoPhillips. This pending rush on Somalia is premature. The country’s new government is transitional and dysfunctional at best, and by no means does it control the country—the militant al-Shabaab has been weakened, but certainly not driven out and still controls some key areas. Somalia’s coast is also a major piracy venue. It will be impossible to determine the power brokers here to land contracts, especially for the juniors. A multitude of influential tribes and militias are trying to gain control over oil prospects and dealing with the new government is only a small part of the equation. The power brokers are shifting and the dynamism is impossible to keep up with.