Safety and Security

The London-headquartered Security Association for the Maritime Industry (SAMI) has selected  National Security Inspectorate (NSI) as its independent assessor of maritime security companies, after a competitive tendering process.SAMI was established in 2010 to serve as an independent regulatory trade association for the maritime security industry and has a membersh ...

Mohammad Saaili Shibin, accused of being the negotiator for the ransom of four U.S. citizens held hostage on the high seas aboard the yacht S/V Quest has been indicted for his alleged role in successfully extracting a ransom for a separate vessel and 22 hostages held by Somali pirates.Mr. Shibin has been in federal custody since being brought to the ...

The U.S. Coast Guard today announced the publication in the Federal Register of a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking on implementation of the 1995 Amendments to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) for Seafarers, 1978, and changes to domestic endorsements.The Coast Guard says that the proposed rule enhan ...

Port state control authorities worldwide are planning a major crackdown to ensure ships are meeting structural safety and Load Line Convention requirements. Beginning September 1, a Concentrated Inspection Campaign  (CIC) will be mounted that will continue until November 30.During the campaign port state control officers (PSCO's) will verify applicable documents and wil ...

EU Navfor says that late on the morning of July 16, the owners of the MV JUBBA XX reported that the laden tanker had been pirated in the northern Indian Ocean, on itsr regular route from the United Arab Emirates to the port of Berbera, SomaliaThe vessel was located by a Maritime Patrol aircraft  on the morning of July 17, t 100 nautical miles n ...

Pirate attacks on the world's seas totaled 266 in the first six months of 2011, up from 196 incidents in the same period last year, according to the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Maritime Bureau's (IMB) Piracy Reporting Center (PRC) revealed today.More than 60% of the attacks were by Somali pirates, mostly in the Arabia ...

Armed robbers are climbing on board ships anchored in the vicinity of Barcelona City, Venezuela, under cover of darkness. There have been cases in which the crew has been gagged, threatened with high caliber weapons and crew members have been beaten. Local authorities have discouraged owners from reporting these incidents to P&I clubs to avoid panicking crew members of ...

Eleven suspected pirates detained by the EU NAVFOR Spanish warship, ESPS CANARIAS on March 28, 2011 were today transferred to Seychellois legal authorities for prosecution. The suspected pirates were detained by the warship after they allegedly threatened a Seychelles-flagged fishing vessel 260 nautical miles northwest of the Seychelles.  The transfer has been mad ...