22 - 28 February 2014 (Vol. 3; No.9/14) This Week's Newsletter : New Sponsors required - Click Ask us how you can be a sponsor of this newsletter in 2014 - click here. Feedback on the newsletter is welcomed too. Suez Canal plotters sentenced to death; 'Land' pirates kidnap Kenyans; Africa, global hub for transnational organisational crime and terrorism?; Italian Marines no longer facing anti-piracy charges - Twenty-six people are sentenced to death by Egyptian court, in absentia, for plotting to attack ships passing through the Suez Canal as a major General reveals that residents of rural areas and Bedouin tribes in Suez cooperated with the Armed Forces to secure the southern entrance to the Suez Canal. Africa moves towards a global hub for transnational organised crime and violent terrorism is becoming one of this decade’s key security concerns for international actors, says UNODC, particularly as drugs trafficking from Central and South America, the Caribbean into Africa and Europe demonstrates the importance of strengthening international cooperation on sea and on land. U.S. border security tightens resulting in drug smugglers are increasingly turning to the high seas as US Coast Guard suffers from budget cuts. Two Kenyans working for a construction company in Mogadishu, Somalia, have been abducted by suspected pirates who are now demanding a ransom of Sh80 million ($1m). Iranian navy confronts several skiff attack on an MV in the Red Sea; as reports of suspicious activity in the Gulf of Oman appear on the increase, a Bangladeshi vessel, MV Crystal Gold, reportedly evades an attack of the Pakistan coast. Unlike most regional states, Tanzania is yet to sign the protocol against piracy. UN Security Council resolution to protect Yemen from threats to peace, security or stability. Suicide bombing continues to afflict Somalia's government. MOWCA looks to information sharing centre to improve maritime security in West Africa. Dallaire Initiative draws attention to the issue of child maritime piracy. A coastal radar network is being set up across the Indian coast to safeguard it's fishermen. India withdrew stringent anti-piracy charges against two Italian marines, however, they will still be tried in India, under Indian law. 'An outrage'; Seaman Guard Ohio crew are being subjected to inhumane conditions in an Indian prison, says MM&P. Meanwhile, US and European Union officials praise India for its role in the global fight against piracy. Police autopsy reports into the cause of death of two US security officers found dead on the Maersk Alabama concluded that they died of respiratory failure, with suspicion of heart attack as more details and speculation arises. Former UK Minister urges the creation of a seagoing police force to bring order to the "wild west" free-for-all on the high seas. MV Albedo Captain relates how Somali pirates hijacked his ship. ReCAAP issues video series warning of the necessity for 'vigilance' and 'the need to report' piracy/armed robbery at sea in Asia. Drone or crewless ships; take away the crew and controls to steer the ship, what is there for pirates to hijack? 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 EARLY MORNING on Feb. 22, seven pirate boats tried to take over an Iranian merchant ship in Red Sea, but were confronted by Islamic Republic's 29th naval fleet, Iran's Fars news agency reported on Feb. 22 - Trend AZ. Iran's 29th naval fleet was in the area, doing special exercises, when the pirates tried to capture a merchant ship floating nearby, Iran's Deputy Navy Commander Rear Admiral Siavush Jarreh said. The commander went on to add that the shoot out with the pirates lasted for several hours, after which the attackers had to flee. Jarreh noted that the merchant ship received some damage as a result of the clash with the pirates, thus the fleet's repairmen took care of the damages, and the ship was escorted by the fleet. BANGLADESH FLAG carrier MV Crystal Gold has staged a nail-biting getaway from the clutches of pirates in the Arabian Sea - BDNews 24. Somali pirates had chased the ship while it was heading for Iran’s Bandar Abbas after offloading goods at the Kadla port, in Gujarat, India, said Jasim Uddin Sarkar, Chief Nautical Surveyor of Bangladesh Shipping Department. The crew got wind of the pirates at around 4:30pm on Friday, about 40 km off Pakistan’s Karachi, when they spotted a big boat and a smaller vessel coming at them. MV Golden Crystal did a sharp turnaround and headed, full throttle, for the Pakistan coast. The pirates gave up as Bangladeshi ship reached the Pakistani coast at around 7pm. Jasim Uddin said, “The crew of the Crystal Gold had, in accordance with the law, sought the help of the Pakistani navy. We have been informed that they are now safe.” Captain Zakir Hossain has been in charge of the 28-year old ship that has a capacity of carrying 16,000 tonnes of goods. The ship's owners said there were 23 Bangladeshis on the ship. TWO KENYANS working for a construction company in Mogadishu, Somalia have been abducted by suspected pirates who are now demanding a ransom of Sh80 million - Capital News Kenya. The two engineers were kidnapped by armed gunmen in Hodan District before they were transferred to Harardhere 700 kilometers North of Mogadishu, according to the Seafarers Union of Kenya. “We are yet to contact the families but we have confirmed that Somali gunmen are holding the two Kenyan engineers,” the union’s Secretary General Andrew Mwangura told reporters in Mombasa, adding “Reports indicate that the two are safe and the gunmen are demanding ransom to release them.” He said the militia group from Habargidir region has claimed responsibility for the kidnappings, after asking for the ransom. According to Mwangura, the incident was first reported at the Malaysia piracy reporting center, but families of those abducted have not been informed. THE TWO Kenyan engineers abducted by suspected Somali pirates last month in Mogadishu are close family members from Nairobi’s Rongai area, the Seafarers Union of Kenya has revealed - Daily Nation Kenya. The union’s secretary-general Andrew Mwangura said families of the two, who are cousins, were expected home two days before their abduction after completing their contract in Mogadishu. They were kidnapped on January 12 in Hodan District within the Somali capital Mogadishu. TANZANIA IS yet to sign the protocol against piracy endorsed by the other East African and Indian Ocean littoral states, it has been learnt - IPP Media. Speaking in Dar es Salaam recently, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Bernard Membe clarified that Tanzania has yet to meet the international standards set by the European Union. The country was urged to sign the protocol some two years ago. Under the protocol each country has to ensure that it has prepared to international standards the environment to facilitate prosecution of cases, accommodation of the prisoners and investigation departments. Membe said Tanzania’s lack of experience in investigating and handling pirate cases, a new phenomenon in the Indian Ocean, led to the delay in signing the protocol. AN EGYPTIAN court sentenced 26 people to death on Wednesday for plotting attacks on ships passing through the Suez Canal, judicial source said - Reuters. The defendants were tried in absentia. An Islamist insurgency has gained momentum since the army overthrew president Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in July. THE U.N. Security Council has unanimously approved a resolution authorising sanctions against individuals and organisations threatening peace, security or stability in Yemen -AP News. The resolution adopted Wednesday does not name any individuals or entities that should face an asset freeze and travel ban. Instead, it establishes a committee to decide who should face sanctions and to monitor their implementation, and a panel of experts to assist with investigations. SOMALIA CABINET had extraordinary meeting on Saturday afternoon to discuss the current security situation in the capital, Mogadishu and the countrywide as whole following Al Shabab’s surprise attack on Villa Somalia on Friday, RBC Radio reports - RBC Radio. The meeting chaired by Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed has been very tough for security and defense ministers after the Prime Minister raised very critical inquiring to the details of how the well-planned Al Shabaab attack targeted at the presidential house came on Friday. A SUICIDE car bomb has exploded in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, killing at least 12 people and wounding eight others near the security service headquarters - BBC News Africa. The bomber targeted a security vehicle. Three members of the security forces were among the dead, witnesses said. The al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab group said it carried out the attack. The group is waging an insurgency in Somalia against the UN-backed government. "A suicide car bomb targeted a national security car passing along these tea shops," police official Abdullahi Hassan told Reuters news agency. He added that several civilians had been killed. PIRACY OFF the Horn of Africa coast has declined since 2012, thanks to a strategy adopted by the security arm of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an East African trade bloc, along with contributions from international naval forces - Turkish Press. "Our strategy approached the problem from early activities inland, where pirates prepare their activities and where piracy money circulates," Commander Abebe Muluneh, head of the IGAD Security Sector Program (ISSP), told Anadolu Agency in an exclusive interview. Muluneh attributed the decrease to frequent patrols of the area by the European Union Naval Force.