• Five incidents were recorded globally during the reporting period

• East Africa HRA and Indian Ocean: Two incidents was recorded during the reporting period

• West Africa HRA: Three incidents were recorded during the reporting period

• South and Southeast Asia: No incidents were recorded during the reporting period

• Americas: No incidents were recorded during the reporting period

• East Africa HRA: Suspicious activity in the Gulf of Aden highlights latent piracy threat posed to commercial vessels

• Mediterranean: Artillery strike on Tripoli Port marks significant militancy threat to commercial vessels and port operators

• Two incidents were recorded during the reporting period

• Continuous piracy threat off the Somali coast and extending to the Gulf of Aden and Gulf of Oman. Actors involved in the ongoing conflict in Yemen have targeted vessels transiting the Bab-el-Mandeb Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS); increased vigilance is advised during daylight hours

1. 22/02/2020. 0748 UTC. SUSPICIOUS APPROACH. 12:10:00N – 043:31:00E. UKMTO. 16NM SE of Khor Angar, Djibouti.

An MV reported a suspicious approach by 11 skiffs with 4-5 perpetrators on board. Crew on board the MV sighted ladders on board the suspect vessels. Onboard AST fired
warning shots. The MV was reported safe.

2. 20/02/2020. 1824 UTC. SUSPICIOUS APPROACH. MDAT-GoG. 13:26:60N – 049:42:00E. Approximately 75NM S of Al Mukalla Port, Yemen.

A transiting merchant vessel (MV) reported a suspicious approach involving at least three unidentified skiffs within a range of 1NM. Location approximate.

• Three incidents were recorded during the reporting period
  
• Continuous threat off Nigeria, Benin, Togo and Ghana in addition to the coastlines of Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo

1. 21/02/2020. 0320 UTC. ATTACK. 02:56:00N – 003:30:00E. NYA. 182NM WSW off Brass, Nigeria.

Unidentified assailants on board a speedboat approached a container vessel and proceeded to chase it. The speedboat attempted to attack the vessel, and crew on board the target vessel heard shots being fired from the speedboat. The pirates demanded via VHF Ch.16 that the container vessel stop. The Captain responded that he would not stop the vessel, and at 0420 UTC the pirates abandoned the attack.

2. 20/02/2020. 0110 UTC. HIJACK. 05:04:59N – 002:03:41E. MDAT-GoG / NYA. 75NM SW of Cotonou, Benin.

A tanker vessel was attacked by an unknown number of perpetrators. The officer on watch was alerted to at least two armed men on board the vessel. An alert was sent from the vessel before communications were reportedly cut. Latest reports indicate that 10 crewmembers have been kidnapped. There are no further details at the time of writing.

3. 18/02/2020. 0020 UTC. CRIMINAL BOARDING. 06:17:30N – 003:14:06E. NYA. Lagos Secure Anchorage Area, Nigeria. 

Three perpetrators on board a small motor vessel approached and attempted to board an anchored tanker vessel. The Officer on watch spotted the perpetrators at the vessel’s anchorage line and sounded the alarm. Upon hearing the alerted crewmembers, the perpetrators aborted the attempted boarding and escaped via their motor vessel. Lagos Port Control personnel were informed of the incident and a patrol vessel was dispatched to the area.

• There were no incidents were recorded during the reporting period

• Criminal boardings remain the primary threat to the region. However, the threat from Extended Duration Cargo Theft (EDCT) is present across the Malacca Strait and South China Sea

NSTR

Between 20-22 February two suspicious approaches were recorded in the Gulf of Aden. On 20 February a transiting merchant vessel (MV) reported a suspicious approach within a 1NM range of the MV’s position and on 22 February a second incident was reported when an MV sighted 11 skiffs with approximately 4-5 perpetrators on board. After onboard AST fired warning shots, the pirates disengaged.

NYA Analysis: 

According to NYA MarTrackTM data, a total of five suspicious approach incidents have been recorded across the Gulf of Aden since the start of 2020. An observed feature of the incidents includes perpetrators utilising multiple skiffs – typically at least three – when targeting a commercial vessel. This demonstrates sophisticated capabilities analogous to those witnessed throughout the Horn of Africa in 2011 by Somali-based pirates. Despite concerted international and regional counter-piracy efforts in the East Africa HRA, the continued prevalence of PAG activities highlights the latent threat posed to commercial vessels transiting the region. On 22 February, the use of warning shots were crucial in forcing the PAG to disengage and therefore demonstrates the importance of onboard AST and for vessels transiting the region to remain vigilant. NYA GOC advises all vessels and maritime operators to remain alert and be aware of the BMP5 practices in order to effectively mitigate against the threat posed by PAGs in the Gulf of Aden.

On 18 February at approximately 1400 LT Tripoli Port was subjected to indiscriminate artillery shelling by the Libyan National Army (LNA) under the leadership of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar. An LNA spokesperson reported that a Turkish cargo vessel was targeted in the bombing; however, this remains contested by other local sources.

NYA Analysis:

The incident represents the first direct attack against Tripoli Port since the beginning of the LNA offensive against Tripolitania under Operation FLOOD OF DIGNITY on 4 April 2019. Prior to the 18 February, shelling and artillery attacks had typically remained limited to residential areas and infrastructure assets south of the port along existing front lines, including the Ayn Zarah neighbourhood and Tripoli International Airport (TIP). The LNA’s purported intent to target Turkish vessels within the port, despite the absence of any confirmed strikes against vessels within the port, also raises the threat posed to commercial vessels over the short term, as the group is likely to remain willing and able to target maritime operations to prevent Turkish aid from reaching Government of National Accord (GNA) forces in the short term. Additionally, this threat is likely to be increasingly centred around maritime operations given the GNA’s reliance on maritime supply lines as a result of the LNA’s existing aerial superiority and expanding no-fly zone above Tripoli. Though the prospect of an immediate resumption in attacks targeting port assets is unlikely in the short term, similar incidents are likely in the medium term.

The report’s findings are predictive and estimative. To communicate these findings clearly and in order to accurately compare threat levels, the report uses a variation of terminology used by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).

Piracy: CV/NYA uses a modified version of the definition of piracy adopted by BMP5. For the purposes of this report, the term ‘piracy’ includes all violent and non-violent acts against vessels, her crew and cargo occurring either in internal waterways, territorial waters or deep offshore. Based on this definition, CV/NYA classifies piracy incidents into six categories: 
Hijacking – Crew lost control of the vessel and / or pirates kidnapped at least one crewmember and / or passenger (s)
Boarding – Pirates successfully board a vessel with the intent to hijack it but their attempt to take control of the vessel or kidnap crewmember(s) and / or passenger(s) failed
Attack – Vessel was attacked with gunfire or RPG fire, no boarding was successfully completed
Pirate Action Group (PAG) – Sighting or reporting of firearms and boarding equipment on board a suspicious vessel or sighting of a confirmed pirate mother ship
Criminal boarding – Vessel boarded with criminal intent, theft does not have to occur
Suspicious approach – Suspicious activity reported (i.e. a vessel was approached by unidentified skiff(s) with one or more persons on board).

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