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Date: 28th May 2020Series 15/Issue 230

Weekly Security & Risk Report

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The Security and Risk Report Series focuses on:

• Operational risks in areas of instability which could affect the safety of commercial and private vessels and personnel ashore and at sea.

• In country reporting on key countries where civil conflict are directly impacting on maritime operations; and

• Reporting and analysis of incidents of terrorism, piracy and other related criminal activity. MAST has a global reach and presence, delivering first hand, accurate and exclusive intelligence. MAST is entrenched and committed in continuing to supportand promote the awareness of the very real risks thatseafarers and other stakeholders face. This Intelligence Report Series is a brief snapshot ofMAST’s Intelligence capabilities. MAST Intelligencespecialises in providing clients with a suite of products and services, including; political and economic risk analysis, de-tailed port and vessel security briefs, vessel passage plans, threat and risk mitigation and travel risk management. Working closely in conjunction with a host of experts,MAST Intelligence offers a market leading service pertain-ing to all maritime affairs.

Follow MAST on LinkedIn and Twitter to keep abreast with these insightful weekly reports and more — including real time security updates.

Editor: David Riderwww.mast-security.com

Issue 230

Contents:

Mast Services

Indian Ocean region

Somalia

Yemen

Mediterranean

Libya

Gulf of Guinea

South East Asia

Central & South America

Severe Weather Warnings

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28th May 2020

24/7 Emergency Telephone+44 (0) 1202 045 833 (Maritime)

MAST UK+44 (0)1279 216 726 operations@mast-security.com

Issue 230 of the series reviews, analyses and threat assesses the fragile and conflict affected coastal states Libya, Somalia and Yemen. The Mediterranean migrant crisis, incidents affecting maritime security and influencing maritime news are also report-ed and analysed, focusing on the keys theatres of maritime instability.

Coronavirus Port and Terminal RestrictionsThe situation remains extremely fluid. For the most recent updates on closures and re-openings, MAST Security recommends using the Wilhemsen Covid-19 Global Port Restrictions Map. Please Click Here to visit their site.

4MAST UK: +44 (0)1279 216 726 operations@mast-security.com www.mast-security.com

Hijack

Kidnap

Approach/Attack

Suspicious Activity Theft

Incidents: Nothing significant to report.

French Navy LHD and Frigate Join Operation AtalantaThe French Navy (Marine Nationale) LHD Mistral and frigate Guépratte, have joined Operation ATALANTA. In addition to the maritime surveillance or reconnaissance missions carried out by an Alouette III of the French Navy’s 22S squardon and two Gazelles of the French Army’s 3rd Combat Helicopter Regi-ment deployed on board the Mistral, the “Jeanne d’Arc” Group patrols daily off the coast of Somalia and provides maritime traffic surveillance under the command of Operation ATAL-ANTA.

US holds live-fire training in Persian GulfThe U.S. military showcased its “awesome firepower” last week in the Persian Gulf, officials said. A U.S. Air Force AC-130 gun-ship engaged in live-fire training in the Persian Gulf with the USS Bataan Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and embarked 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) between May 19th and 21st, military officials said on Saturday 23rd in a news release.

IRGC seize 23mn liters smuggled diesel: navy cmdr.The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy Com-mander Admiral Alireza Tangsiri said that the force identified and confiscated 23 vessels carrying more than 23 million liters of smuggled diesel since March 20th, 2019. He made the re-marks on Saturday 23rd on Qeshm Island, South of Iran, saying that Iran will do its best in the fight against the smuggling of goods, fuel, drugs, as well as illegal trawling.

Lack of consensus in MoD grounds Navy’s acquisition of 111 helicoptersWith the Indian Ministry of Defence unable to decide on who

would be the Indian partner -- a private company or a Pub-lic Sector Undertakings (PSU) -- Indian Navy’s acquisition of 111 helicopters under the strategic partnership model remains grounded for now. The acquisition, estimated to be worth Rs 21,738 crore, of Naval Utility Helicopter (NUH) is the first one being processed under the new Strategic Partner procure-ment model. It is aimed to boost domestic manufacturing in collaboration with foreign firms.

After 80 days of anti-piracy operations in Gulf of Aden, INS Sunayna back in KochiAn offshore patrol vessel of the Indian Navy, INS Sunayna, en-tered Kochi on Thursday 21st after completing its anti-piracy deployment in the Gulf of Aden, the Indian Navy said in a re-lease. The ship, originally based in Kochi under the Southern Naval Command (SNC), sustained 80 days of the mission-based deployment without entering any port while being fuelled and resupplied by tankers of the Indian Navy and Unit-ed States Navy.

US Navy Issues Iran Warning to Keep Away From WarshipsThe U.S. Navy’s stay-away warning to marine traffic in the Per-sian Gulf, the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman was intended for Iran, Pentagon officials confirmed on Thursday 21st. The maritime message, posted this week by the Navy via the Mari-time Safety Office run by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, alerted all international maritime traffic to maintain a safe distance of at least 100 meters from U.S. naval vessels in international waters and straits.

To see MAST’s services in the Indian Ocean Region, please click here.

Indian Ocean Region The Italian Navy (Marina Militare) FREMM Frigate “Carlo Bergamini” concluded its participation to Operation Atalanta (EU NAVFOR) on May 21st, during which it carried out presence and sur-veillance tasks in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. Since February 15th, Bergamini has operated continuously in the EU NAVFOR Somalia area of operation, contributing effectively to counter piracy in the area by patrolling the waters most at risk. It covered more than 14. 700 miles.

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Control of Somali territory (March 2017) Source: Wikimedia Commons

AnalysisAl Shabaab continues to mount operations throughout the coun-try, despite efforts by US Central Command to degrade its capa-bilities with ongoing airstrikes which aim to remove AS leader-ship. It is questionable as to whether this “body count” policy is working. Threat AssessmentThe political situation has seen increased tension between re-gional states and the Federal Government. Should this continue, there is an opportunity for criminal organisations to return to their previous maritime activities. Al Shabaab continues to challenege the government and efforts to disrupt its operations continue, although AMISOM forces will withdraw some time in 2019. The trade in illegal charcoal by terror and crime groups continues, al-though the Combined Maritime Forces and UN are working on measures to prevent it. Youth unemployment in Somalia has not improved with 67% of Somali male youths aged between 14 to 29 unemployed. Pirate financiers offer lucrative and attractive op-portunities, and were seen to be increasingly active in the last inter-monsoon period. Recent incidents off Somalia have high-lighted the robust protections offered by both BMP5 and well trained, vigilant armed protection teams. Illegal fishing has re-turned to the region and there are wider political concerns that it could spark a resurgence in maritime crime unless checked. There is a risk that complacency in some quarters has seen a reduction in PMSC presence in these waters that could result in a piracy success. A lack of adherence to BMP5 protocol, particu-larly not maintaining a safe distance off the coast, has increased risks to shipping. Merchant vessels would be wise to maintain the same distance from the coast, particularly ensuring that the Socotra Gap isn’t taken. All vessels are advised to update risk as-sessments and register with UKMTO/MSCHOA prior to entering the Indian Ocean High Risk Area (HRA).

MAST UK: +44 (0)1279 216 726 operations@mast-security.com www.mast-security.com

Under control of Al Shabaab and allies Under control of neutral forces Under control of Government and allies Somaliland Government Territory disputed by Puntland and Somaliland

SomaliaAt least four civilians were killed and more than 15 others were wounded in a bomb blast during Eid al Fitr celebrations outside the Somali town of Baidoa, witnesses said. Two of the dead are children, according to reports from the scene. The explosion occurred on Sunday 24th afternoon as people performed traditional dances in a field near an internally displaced persons camp north of the town. Somalia observed Eid al Fitr on Saturday but festivities continue for three days according to Islamic traditions.

Somali, AU security forces foil attackThe African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) said Tuesday its forces teamed up with Somalia’s Jubaland security forces to foil an attack on their base and training center by al-Shabab militants in southern region on Monday 25th.

Kenyan Plane Shot at in SomaliaA Kenyan plane, registration number 5Y-VVA, was fired upon by unknown individuals in Qansahdere, Bay Region in Soma-lia, on Monday 25th. Reports revealed that the plane carry-ing humanitarian supplies came under fire while approaching Qansahdhere airfield, Bay region, Somalia Numerous Somalia media outlets reported that no one was injured following the shooting incident.

Top politician dies of Covid-19 in PuntlandA senior politician in Somalia’s semi-autonomous region of Puntland, Ismael Diriye Gama’diid, died from coronavirus on Monday 25th. The environment minister had been treated in Puntland and was later transferred to the capital, Mogadishu, according to Dalsan Radio.

Somalia confirms 95 new COVID-19 cases as total hits 1,689Somali health ministry on Monday 25th confirmed 95 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total tally of infections to 1,689. Fawziya Abikar, health minister, said 31 people recovered from COVID-19, bringing the total number of people who have been discharged from hospitals to 235.

Five Al Shabaab militants killed in south of countrySomali National Army (SNA) on Thursday 21st night killed 5 Al Shabaab militants in a fierce clash in Burdhubo town in the southern region of Gedo, an official confirmed on Friday. Nur Kadiye Ibrahim, SNA commander in Burdhubo told journalists that al-Shabab militants launched an attack on an army base in the town, but the forces repulsed them.

Somali parties call for removal of Ethiopian troopsA group of Somali opposition parties have accused Ethiopia of meddling in the internal affairs of Somalia and called for the withdrawal of non-AMISOM Ethiopian troops in the country. In a strongly-worded statement, the Forum for National Par-ties led by former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, the Wadajir Party led by prominent opposition leader, Abdirahman Abdis-hakur Warsame, Hiigsi Coalition of Political Parties and the 1st July Alliance for Change accused the Ethiopian troops of med-dling in the political affairs of Somalia.

Covid-19 poses enormous challenges for Somalia – UN en-voyThe coronavirus poses enormous challenges for Somalia, where the humanitarian situation is already dire, said the top UN envoy for the country on Thursday 21st. Somalia, like the rest of the world, is focused on confronting Covid-19. There are more than 1,500 recorded cases although the actual figures are almost certainly much higher, said James Swan, the UN secretary-general’s special representative for Somalia.

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Control of Yemen territory (July 28th 2019)

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Houthi

Pro Hadi Government Forces

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)

MAST UK: +44 (0)1279 216 726 operations@mast-security.com www.mast-security.com

Controlled by Southern Transitional Council

YemenCemeteries in Aden are overflowing with graves, suggesting that the number of people killed by the new coronavirus is higher than the official count. To date, officials in the war-ravaged country have reported 222 confirmed infections and 42 related deaths. But the real numbers are hard to establish due to the country’s extremely limited testing capacity. According to data compiled by the International Rescue Committee, Yemen has one of the world’s lowest testing rates, even compared with other conflict-hit countries, at just 31 tests per one million citizens, Al Jazeera reported.

Roadside bombing kills security official, 5 bodyguards in southeastA senior security official and five of his bodyguards were killed as their vehicle ran over a land mine in Yemen’s southeastern province of Hadramout on Tuesday 26th, a government offi-cial told Xinhua. “Unknown militants apparently planted a land mine that struck a vehicle carrying a senior security official along with his five bodyguards in Hadramout province,” the lo-cal government source said on condition of anonymity.

Yemeni gov’t confirms 11 new COVID-19 cases, 233 in totalThe number of people infected with the novel coronavirus in the Yemeni provinces controlled by the government has in-creased to 233 as health authorities confirmed 11 new cases on Monday 25th. According to a brief statement released by the country’s Health Ministry, “during the past 24 hours, 11 new cases were officially recorded in three provinces controlled by the government.”

Yemen’s Marib imposes coronavirus curfewMarib closed its entry points and imposed an 11-hour curfew from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. starting Sunday 24th until further notice due to the coronavirus outbreak in the country, state news agency Saba reported. The authorities have also extended their ban on gatherings including markets, prayers in mosques, and wedding halls. The government has also approved a new list of hotels to be used for isolation submitted by the national coronavirus committee.

Prominent pro-gov’t military official killed as fighting esca-latesFighting between Yemen’s government forces and the South-ern Transitional Council (STC) heavily escalated on Saturday 23rd in the country’s southern province of Abyan, a security official told Xinhua. According to the Abyan-based security source who asked to remain anonymous, “a prominent mili-tary official of Yemen’s government forces along with six of his bodyguards were killed during the escalating fighting with STC in Abyan.”

UAE-backed Yemen forces set out conditions for withdrawalThe UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) has told Saudi that it will only give up on some of the power it has gained in the south of Yemen if the political aspects of the Ri-yadh Agreement are honoured. The agreement, signed in No-vember last year, called for forming a joint government after military and security measures were taken to restructure the formation of the state, however the STC has asked for the gov-ernment to be formed prior to the fulfilment of the security aspects of the deal, sources have said.

Yemeni army seizes strategic points from HouthisThe Yemeni army said on Friday 22nd that they have seized strategic military points and killed four members of the Houthi militia. Some points including Jabal Mansour were seized in the attacks in northern al-Jawf governorate, Rabi al-Qureshi, the spokesman for the Sixth Military Zone, told Anadolu Agen-cy. Another 14 militia members were held as captives.

KSrelief Continues Implementing Water and Environmental Sanitation Project in Hodeida GovernorateKing Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) continued implementing water and environmental sanitation project that preserves the lives of families in Al-Khawkhah District, Hodeida Governorate, Yemen. During the period from 14th to 20th May 2020, 337,000 liters of drinking water were pumped into the tanks and 393,000 liters of non-drinking wa-ter were pumped into the tanks.

To see the latest threat analysis and Yemen port information in MASTOPDEIA, please click here.

MAST recommends BMP measures be enforced and watches strengthened during transits in the region.

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Migrant crossings 2017-2020. Source: UNHRC

MAST UK: +44 (0)1279 216 726 operations@mast-security.com www.mast-security.com

Migrant statistics in the Mediterranean (Figures last updated on May 27th 2020). Source: UNHCR

Mediterranean The Libyan Coast Guard rescued more than 300 illegal immigrants and brought them back to the capital Tripoli, the United Nations Higher Commission of Refugees (UNHCR) said on Monday 25th. “Today at dawn, Libyan Coast Guard returned to Tripoli 315 refugees and migrants after being intercepted/rescued at sea aboard several boats,” the UNHCR tweeted. “Two persons lost their lives and their bodies were recovered. UNHCR partner IRC (International Rescue Committee) was on site to provide urgent medical care to all survivors,” the UNHCR said.

90 illegal immigrants rescued off Libyan coast: IOMThe International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Tues-day said that another 90 illegal immigrants were rescued off the Libyan coast. “Last night, 90 migrants were rescued by a commercial vessel and returned to Libya. They spent the night onboard the ship and are awaiting clarity on disembar-kation,” IOM tweeted.

Malta now holds some 300 migrants on tourist boats off-shore after second rescueMalta rescued another 140 migrants last week and placed them on tourist boats; there are now around 300 migrants waiting on chartered vessels offshore. While Malta is defend-ing its course, human rights watchdogs have been calling on Malta and other EU states to find a way to bring the migrants to land. European Union member state Malta on Friday 22nd rescued a group of 140 migrants from a sinking dinghy but refused to bring them to land. Instead, authorities held the migrants on a chartered tourist harbor cruise boat just out-side territorial waters.

Shipwrecks off Tunisian coast: One dead, six missingThe Tunisian coast guard rescued around 80 migrants in two separate operations on Saturday. One body was retrieved, six people are missing. The shipwrecks happened amid a new wave of dangerous attempts to cross the Mediterranean Sea. 11 migrants were rescued Saturday morning from a boat lo-cated around one nautical mile off the Tunisian coast near the city of Sfax, after the Tunisian coast guard received an emergency call from a boat that was filling with water, news agency AP reported.

The current migrant smuggling situation

As the media articles confim, there has been a spike in cross-ing attemps in the last seven days, possibly driven by renewed clashes in Tripoli combined with the pandemic. With Haftar’s forc-es apparently on the back foot in Libya, it appears the smuggling gangs have taken advantage. The actions of Malata continue to cause concern for NGO groups, but there is little sign of a political breakthrough here at the time of writing. As summer firmly arrives in the region and the conflict in Libya continues, we can expect to see further rises in crossing attempts.

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Control of Northern Libyan territory (Jan. 8th 2020)

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Controlled by the Tobruk led government

Controlled by the Government of National Accord

Controlled by ISIS

Controlled by local forces

Controlled by Tuareg forces

MAST UK: +44 (0)1279 216 726 operations@mast-security.com www.mast-security.com

LibyaHundreds of Russian mercennaries fighting for Libya’s renegade Gen Khalifa Haftar have been evacuated from combat zones south of the capital Tripoli, AFP news agency reports quoting fighters loyal to the UN-backed government have said. It comes after a series of setbacks for Gen Haftar’s year-long campaign to seize Tripoli, where the internationally-recognised government is based. “An Antonov 32 military cargo plane landed at Bani Walid airport to resume the evacuation of Wagner (Group) mercenaries who had fled southern Tripoli, to an as-yet unconfirmed destina-tion,” pro-GNA forces wrote on Twitter, the BBC reported on Monday 25th.

US says Russia sent jets to Libya ‘mercenaries’The US military has accused Russia of sending fighter jets to Libya to support Russian mercenaries there. There was no im-mediate response from the Russian Defence Ministry to the US Africa command (Africom) allegation. Africom said on Tuesday 26th that: “Moscow recently deployed military fighter aircraft to Libya in order to support Russian state-sponsored private military contractors (PMCs) operating on the ground there.”

First 2 COVID-19 cases announced in southern LibyaThe Libyan National Center for Disease Control on Tuesday 27th announced two new COVID-19 cases in southern Libya, bringing the total number in the North African country to 77. The two new coronavirus cases, the first in southern Libya, were confirmed out of 66 suspected samples received, the center said in a statement.

Tide of battle in Libya shifting against rebel HaftarLibyan government forces and their Turkish allies appear on the verge of an unexpected victory after the strategic retreat of Russian fighters over the weekend, and U.S. officials on Mon-day offered strong support for the government in Tripoli in its stand against Gen. Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army. The sudden pullback of hundreds of Russian mercenary fighters — who had been fighting alongside Gen. Haftar’s forces, which are also backed by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates — and Russian-made heavy military equipment from the outskirts of Tripoli was the latest sign that the tide may have turned, the Washington Times reported.

East Libya-based lawmakers reject Haftar’s coupMembers of the East Libya-based parliament on Monday 25th rejected an attempted coup by the warlord Khalifa Haftar. This came in a statement issued by 11 prominent members of the Tobruk-based parliament in which they stressed support to a peace initiative proposed by its speaker Aguila Saleh. The parliament “fully supports Saleh’s initiative as a final political solution to the Libyan crisis.”

Haftar betrayed all agreements in Libya, Turkey’s presiden-tial aide saysLibya’s putschist Gen. Khalifa Haftar has betrayed every agree-ment and peace attempt, Turkey’s presidential spokesperson and aide said on Monday 25th, criticizing France and the Unit-ed Arab Emirates for supporting Haftar’s militias. In an inter-view with France 24’s Marc Perelman, Ibrahim Kalin said Turkey is looking for a political solution in the North African country and not encouraging the legitimate government led by Fayaz al Sarraj to seek military concentration with Haftar.

Islamic State group says it was behind blast in Libya’s south-ern town of TaraghinIslamic State group said on Monday 25th it was behind a blast in a small town in southern Libya on Saturday, the militant group’s first attack in the country for at least a year. The blast targeted a security point at the entrance to Taraghin, 780 km (590 miles) south of Tripoli, but did not cause any casualties, a resident said.

Over 10,000 Syrian mercenaries are fighting in Libya: monitorOver 500 members of Syrian factions loyal to Ankara have reached Libyan territory after they were transferred from Tur-key to the North African nation to help the Government of National Accord (GNA) forces in their fight against the Libyan National Army (LNA). The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on Sunday 24th of the arrival of a new batch of 500 fighters from the Syrian factions loyal to Turkey during the last hours to participate in military operations alongside the Government of National Accord.

To read MAST’s Libyan Country report on MASTOPEDIA, please click here.

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MAST UK: +44 (0)1279 216 726 operations@mast-security.com www.mast-security.com

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Gulf of GuineaOperatives of the Western Marine Command of Nigeria Customs Service(NCS) have intercepted drugs suspected to be Cannabis Sativa valued at N1,002,050,000 during a seagoing patrol on Lagos waters. The Controller of the command, Comptroller Olugboyega Peters, revealed this in a statement in Lagos on Thursday 21st. Peters described the seizure as the “largest single seizure” of such drug on the waters in the history of the Nigeria Customs.

Incidents: 1, Seven heavily armed pirates attacked and boarded un-derway Cyprus-flagged general cargo vessel at 1734 UTC in position 02:14.54N – 005:05.36E around 134Nm SSW of Brass, Nigeria. Crew retreated into citadel and contacted the own-ers and IMB PRC. Two Nigerian Naval vessels responded. By the time the naval vessels arrived near the ship, the pirates had disembarked. The crew emerged from the citadel and the Naval vessels remained alongside the ship until daylight to en-sure safety and security. Reported (MDAT/IMB) 20th May.

Nigerian Navy receives AW139 helicopterThe Nigerian Navy has taken delivery of a new AW139 from Italy’s Leonardo Helicopters, after the aircraft was ordered in 2016. The arrival of the aircraft (registration 312) was an-nounced by the Nigerian Navy last week. Rear Admiral Ifeola Mohammed, Chief of Policy and Plans of the Nigerian Navy, said during a press conference that the Navy’s new AW139 is currently being inducted, Defence Web reported on Monday 26th.

Pirates release Tommi Ritscher crew membersEight crew members taken hostage by pirates during an attack off Benin in April have been released by their captors, sources reported on May 26th. A spokesman for the Nigerian Navy told reporters that the crew had been freed during a rescue op-eration but stated that it was too soon to go into any further details. The eight were taken hostage by pirates on April 19th while the ship was at anchor off Cotonou.

9 Georgian sailors kidnapped in Nigeria releasedNine Georgian sailors who had been kidnapped by pirates from a ship flying the Panamese flag in Nigeria have been re-leased and will return to their homeland in several days. Tamar

Ioseliani, head of the Maritime Transport Agency of Georgia, said that a special flight will be carried out to bring the sailors back home. Ioseliani also mentioned that the release of the abducted sailors in 21 days is an unprecedented fact. It usually takes 30-40 days for pirates to release kidnapped sailors.

NIMASA tests new anti-piracy law on intercepted Chinese vesselThe Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NI-MASA, is set to test the new anti-piracy law with the intercept-ed Chinese fishing vessel Hailufeng 11 where about ten pirates who hijacked the vessel were arrested. The vessel had been li-censed to fish in Côte d’Ivoire. Vanguard Maritime Report gath-ered that the arrested persons are presently in Police custody in Apapa, Lagos. collaboration between the Nigerian Navy and NIMASA resulted in the interception of the vessel. Recall that President, Muhammadu Buhari had, last year, signed the Anti Piracy Bill into law which seeks to prosecute anyone caught in maritime crime.

Nigerian Navy recovers N75bn stolen petroleum productsNigeria’s Navy has said it recovered N75 billion worth of sto-len petroleum products in five years. The products recovered between 2015 and 2019 include crude oil, diesel and petrol. It said a total of 2,287 illegal refineries were discovered and de-stroyed within the same period.

To see MAST Services in the region, please click here. And and to read Nigeria’s country report, please click here.

10MAST UK: +44 (0)1279 216 726 operations@mast-security.com www.mast-security.com

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South East AsiaOn 22nd May, the ReCAAP ISC received information from the Philippine Coast Guard (ReCAAP Focal Point) that a group of approximately five ASG (Abu Sayyaf Group) members armed with assorted firearms is planning to conduct kidnapping activities in undisclosed areas in Sabah, Ma-laysia. They are targeting wealthy businessmen or crew of fishing boats and other slow moving ships plying within the waters off Sabah, Malaysia. The group came from Sulu and was monitored to have landed at Omapoy Island, Sipangkot, Sitangkai, Tawi Tawi.

Incidents: 1. Underway Indonesia-flagged tug boat towing Indonesia-flagged supply vessel was en route from Labuan, Sabah, East Malaysia to Pulau Sambu, Indonesia, three perpetrators boarded the supply vessel at 2247 LT in position 01:13.35N - 104:06.53E, approx 2.1nm NE of Pulau Nongsa, Indonesia. The master raised the alarm and reported the incident to Singa-pore VTIS. Crew safe and nothing stolen. No further assistance was required; and the tug boat and supply vessel resumed their voyage. Reported (ReCAAP) 18th May. 2. Underway Kiribati-flagged supply vessel towing Panama-flagged accommodation work barge was en route to Dubai, UAE, the duty officer of the supply vessel sighted three per-petrators boarding the barge from two small boats at 0300 LT in position 01:38.5N - 102:57E, approx 5.6nm South of Tanjung Laboh, Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia. At 0400 LT, the perpetra-tors escaped in their two small boats. Crew safe and nothing stolen. No further assistance was required; and the supply ves-sel and barge resumed their voyage. Reported (ReCAAP) 18 May.3. Duty crew spotted three perpetrators armed with knives on board Singapore-flagged chemical tanker at 0400 LT in po-sition 01:05.03N - 104:10.8E, Tanjung Uban Anchorage, Indo-nesia. The general alarm was raised and the crew mustered. Upon realizing that the crew had been alerted, the perpetra-tors left the ship. The crew later found a small knife on the deck that was left behind by the perpetrators. The crew was safe and nothing was stolen. Reported (ReCAAP) 17 May.4. Underway Comoros-flagged tug boat towing Comoros-flagged barge was boarded by two perpetrators at 1850 LT in position 01:13.85N - 103:30.08E, approx 2.2nm SSW of Tan-jung Piai, Johor, Malaysia. The perpetrators stole two mooring ropes and escaped in a small craft. There was no confronta-tion with the crew. Master reported the incident to Singapore

VTIS. A safety navigational broadcast was initiated. Reported (ReCAAP) 15 May.

U.S., Singapore navies exercise together in South China SeaUSS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10) and the Republic of Singapore Navy Formidable-class multi-role stealth frigate RSS Stead-fast (FFS 70) conducted a bilateral exercise in the South China Sea, May 24th-25th. The events were an opportunity for Gabri-elle Giffords and Steadfast to practice and enhance bilateral interoperability between the two navies, with emphasis on the importance of communications and coordination while sailing together.

US pushes back in South China SeaThe U.S. Navy is sending an increasingly obvious number of ships into a disputed Asian sea to prove that COVID-19 won’t stop it from resisting China’s maritime expansion, observers say. China, which claims about 90 percent of the South China Sea, never halted military activities in the resource-rich tropi-cal sea, despite the disease outbreak in its own country. Wash-ington now wants its Asian allies – smaller countries fearful of China’s reach – to know they have not been forgotten as the pandemic rips through the United States, analysts say.

Abandoned boat found off Muar with $80,000 worth of drugs on boardThe Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) discov-ered RM250,000 (S$80,000) worth of drugs inside a small boat found abandoned near Parit Jawa on May 20th.

To see MAST’s services in the region, please click here.

11MAST UK: +44 (0)1279 216 726 operations@mast-security.com www.mast-security.com

Hijack

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Suspicious Activity

Theft

Central and South America Nothing significant to report.

Incidents: Nothing significant to report.

Standing advice: The repercussions of a vessel being caught acting as a mule with drugs stowed will depend on the type, amount and na-tional laws, but may be disruptive and costly. When and if operating in these areas, especially Columbia and Peru, it is advised that: • Potential stowage areas such as rudder shafts are denied as far as possible, and/or routinely searched. • Access points are closely monitored by a vigilant watch for the duration of the vessel’s call at port.

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Note: The forecasts are correct as of the day before publication. For latest updates please follow the provided links.

MAST UK: +44 (0)1279 216 726 operations@mast-security.com www.mast-security.com

Nothing significant to report.

Severe Weather Warnings Warnings detailed on this page are from the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and are issued by respective Regional Specialised Metrological Centres, Tropical Cyclone Centres or Na-tional Meteorological Services. For further information on severe weather warnings please click here.