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Date: 12th August 2020Series 15/Issue 241

Weekly Security & Risk Report

2MAST UK: +44 (0)1279 216 726 operations@mast-security.com www.mast-security.com

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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 241

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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12th August 2020

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

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

Issue 241 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.

Iranian Maritime guards bust 1 ton of narcoticsThe Commander of Maritime Guards in Hormozgan Colo-nel Hossein Dehaki said on Sunday 9th that border guards in Bandar Lengeh naval base managed to identify two smug-gling bands following intelligence operations. He added that they have successfully seized 1 vessel and 1 vehicle, in addi-tion to the confiscation of 1 ton of opium.

HMS Montrose Patrolling the IRTC for Maritime SecurityHMS Montrose, a Coalition Task Force (CTF) SENTINEL war-ship, has been patrolling the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) in the Gulf of Aden. “Our ships routinely patrol these waters in order to provide reassurance to mer-chant vessels, maintain freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce,” said Royal Navy Commodore Rob Bell-field, CTF Sentinel commander.

6 Gulf Arab countries back extending UN arms embargo on IranA six-nation bloc of Gulf Arab nations torn apart by internal strife endorsed an extension of a United Nations arms embar-go on Iran, just two months before it is set to expire. The Gulf Cooperation Council on Sunday 9th sent a letter to the U.N. Security Council backing an extension of an arms embargo that’s kept Iran from purchasing foreign-made weapons like fighter jets, tanks and warships.

Pakistan gets Chinese drones to monitor Indian shipsWhile it continues to engage India militarily and diplomati-cally, China has clandestinely ramped up the supply of critical surveillance equipment to Pakistan, which illustrates how the

two countries are collaborating when it comes to tackling In-dia. In a recent development, China has supplied at least 100 pieces of DJI surveillance drones, which the Pakistan military will be deploying at its naval assets, to monitor enemy (Indian) ship movements.

US Warships Seize Iran-Bound Cargo ShipThe US Navy has allegedly seized an Iran-bound cargo ship that was carrying material needed to treat coronavirus-infect-ed patients, according to the Islamic country’s semi-official news agency. The cargo ship was allegedly seized by US warships near the Chinese port of Qingdao on Wednesday morning. The ship was carrying material used in manufactur-ing oxygen concentrators used by patients who have been di-agnosed with coronavirus, according to the Iranian media on August 6th.

Malabar Naval Exercises & The Australia QuestionThe ongoing discussion about Australia’s inclusion in the an-nual Malabar naval exercises, held between India, the United States (US) and Japan, sums up the present state of geopoli-tics in the Indo-Pacific region. Being the close US ally and a member of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (The Quad), Australia should appear as a natural candidate for participa-tion in the Malabar exercises. However, owing to the likely re-action that Australia’s inclusion would trigger in Beijing, it has not happened yet. There is growing speculation that this year, shedding the inhibitions of the past, a formal invitation would be extended to Australia and that finally, Australian navy would be able to participate in the Malabar exercises.

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

Indian Ocean Region Mauritius has declared a “state of environmental emergency” after a Japanese-owned ship that ran aground offshore days ago began spilling tons of fuel. Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth an-nounced the development late on Friday 7th as satellite images showed a dark slick spreading in the turquoise waters near environmental areas that the government called “very sensitive.” Mau-ritius has said the ship was carrying nearly 4,000 tons of fuel and cracks have appeared in its hull.

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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. The trade in illegal charcoal by terror and crime groups contin-ues, although the Combined Maritime Forces and UN are work-ing 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 attrac-tive opportunities, and were seen to be increasingly active in the last inter-monsoon period. Recent incidents off Somalia have highlighted the robust protections offered by both BMP5 and well trained, vigilant armed protection teams. Illegal fishing has returned 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 nine people were killed and nearly 20 others injured Saturday 8th in a car bomb blast at the front gate of a Somali military base in Mogadishu, witnesses and security officials said. Government security officials contacted by VOA have confirmed that eight of those killed were government soldiers and other casualties included members of the solders’ families, who were at the base at the time.

Ten killed in deadly Somalia prison break attemptOfficials in Somalia say 10 people died during a shoot-out in-side the capital Mogadishu’s main prison on August 11th. A spokesman for the information ministry said six inmates who were members of the jihadist group al-Shabab were killed and four security personnel also died.

Bids open for Somalia’s first-ever oil block licensing roundSomalia has announced that it is opening licensing rounds for seven offshore oil blocks. This comes days after the Federal Government of Somalia approved the board members of the newly established Somali Petroleum Authority (SPA), which will serve to be the regulatory body of Somalia’s oil and gas industry.

Floods drive over 650,000 Somalis from their homes in 2020More than 150,000 Somalis have been forced to flee their homes since late June, including some 23,000 in the last week alone, due to flash and riverine flooding in the Southern re-gions of Somalia. Rapid assessments indicate that commu-nities in Hirshabelle and South West States are amongst the worst hit. The year has seen extreme flooding, displacing over 650,000 people across the country since the beginning of the year.

Analysts Hope Elections Do Not Slow Somalia-Somaliland TalksAs Somalia and the self-declared republic of Somaliland head

toward elections, conflict experts are calling on both sides not to let politics disrupt progress in recent talks. The two sides disagree on the status of Somaliland, which declared independence from Mogadishu in 1991. In June 2020, Somali government officials led by President Mohamed Abdullahi Far-majo met a delegation from Somaliland led by President Muse Bihi Abdi.

Somalia responds swiftly to measles outbreak in Jubaland StateSomalia’s Early Warning and Alert Network (EWARN) is again proving its value as a real-time early warning disease alert sys-tem, as in June 2020, WHO was alerted to a possible measles outbreak in a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Jubaland State and shared this information with the State Min-istry of Health. As soon as the alert was shared, a team from the WHO Somalia country office, the Ministry of Health in Kis-mayo, and Health Cluster1 partners took swift action to further verify and investigate the alert.

Al Shabaab raids SNA base in southern SomaliaAl Shabaab militants raided a Somali army base in southern Somalia on Wednesday 5th, triggering a fierce gunfight that lasted for several hours, in the latest unprecedented attack against the security forces, in what could raise questions about the preparedness of Somalia government in the fight against the militants.

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Control of Yemen territory (June 1st 2020)

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

YemenYemen’s attorney general on Friday 7th ordered prosecutors in the southern port city of Aden to launch a quick probe into reports about tons of ammonium nitrate abandoned in the city’s sea-port for several years. In a letter addressed to Aden province’s chief appeal prosecutor, Ali Ahmed Al-Awash ordered an investigation to determine the veracity of media reports that 130 containers of ammonium nitrate, the same explosive materials that devastated Beirut last week, had been abandoned in the seaport for some time.

Houthis kidnap banking officials in SanaaYemen’s Houthi group has kidnapped two officials of the Saba Islamic Bank and forced them to sign financial orders under duress, regional media reported on August 10th. “Gunmen affiliated to the Sanaa-based Houthi group kidnapped Mo-hammad Al-Baidani and Mohammad Al-Qadi while they were working as assistants to the general manager at the Saba Is-lamic Bank in the Dhamar governorate,” local Al-Masdar Online quoted a source at the bank as saying.

Air strikes launched against Houthi positions Saudi-led coalition forces launched airstrikes targeting al Houthi positions in Quraishyah district in central Yemen’s al Bayda governorate on August 10th. Forces aligned with the in-ternationally recognized Yemeni government of Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi reportedly clashed with al Houthi militants in Qaniya front in al Bayda governorate on August 9th.

Government forces repulse Houthi attack in HodeidahForces loyal to the Yemeni government on Saturday 8th re-pulsed an attack launched by the Houthi rebels in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, a military official told Xinhua. “A number of Houthi fighters launched an attack against military sites of the government forces in Tuhyata, sparking intense clashes in the area,” the local official said on condition of anonymity.

After Beirut blast, experts urge action on region’s other tick-ing time bombExperts and analysts are calling for urgent action on the FSO Safer, a rusting oil tanker off Yemen, fearing it could the Mid-dle East’s next ticking time bomb after the explosion in Beirut last week. The tanker, neglected for five years as were the am-monium nitrate stores in a Beirut port warehouse, was once used as an offshore storage platform for Yemen’s oil exports. Experts are calling for urgent action to secure the ship, which was built in 1976, so that it does not explode or leak its cargo of 1.14 million barrels of oil.

U.N. condemns air strikes in Yemen that reportedly killed childrenAn unconfirmed but large number of civilians, including chil-dren, were killed in air strikes in northern Yemen on Thursday 6th, the United Nations said. Field reports indicate that as many as nine children were killed and seven children and two women were injured, humanitarian coordination agency UNO-CHA said in a statement on Friday about strikes that hit al-Jawf governorate.

Coalition Forces Down Drone Fired By Houthi RebelsJoint forces of the Saudi-led coalition have intercepted and destroyed an unmanned aerial vehicle loaded with explosives and launched by the Shia rebel Houthi movement in the direc-tion of Saudi Arabia, the coalition’s spokesman said on Thurs-day 6th. “The Houthi militias continue to violate the Stockholm agreement and the ceasefire in Hudaydah, as well as to use the province as a site for launching hostilities and terrorist operations,” Col. Turki al-Maliki said, as quoted by state news agency SPA.

AQAP still actively targetting Houthi rebelsAl Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) killed an al Houthi militant in Rada’a district in central Yemen’s al Bayda gover-norate on August 6th, according to pro-al Qaeda media. AQAP militants also allegedly killed an STC-aligned soldier in south-ern Yemen’s Abyan governorate that same day.

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 August 11th 2020). Source: UNHCR

Mediterranean Humanitarian organisations will resume migrant rescues this month in the Mediterranean Sea, where none have operated since the Ocean Viking vessel docked in Italy in early July, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and Sea-Watch said on Thursday 6th. Before the Ocean Viking’s last mis-sion, rescue operations in the Mediterranean had been suspended for months due to the global coronavirus pandemic.

Countries urged to target smugglers after 27 migrants die at seaTwo UN agencies are calling for greater action to dismantle smuggling and trafficking networks following the deaths of 27 migrants off the coast of Mauritania, northwest Africa. The International Organization for Migration (IOM), and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, on Friday 7th expressed deep sad-ness over the incident, which they said was avoidable. The migrants, who were mostly from sub-Saharan Africa and in-cluded Guineans, were on a boat that had left Dakhla, West-ern Sahara, several days ago.

Turkey Restarts Drilling in Eastern MediterraneanPresident Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday 7th that Turkey had resumed energy exploration work in the eastern Mediter-ranean as Greece had not kept its promises regarding such activities in the region. “We have started drilling work again,” Erdogan told reporters on Friday. He said Turkey’s Barbaros Hayreddin Pasa, a seismic survey vessel, had been sent to the region to carry out its duties. The ship moved into waters off Cyprus in late July and remains in that region.

Iraqis paid €2,000 each agree to leave GreeceGreece has launched its first batch of voluntary migrant re-patriations, where recipients were each paid €2,000 to leave the country. Some 134 Iraqis left Athens on Thursday (6 Au-gust) as a part of a larger EU-funded scheme that aims to send home some 5,000 migrants from Greece to their re-spective countries.

The current migrant smuggling situation

As news emerges that NGO rescue missions will once again be-gin patrols in the region, MAST notes that crossing figures con-tinue to rise. July saw almost the same number of crossing at-temtps, year on year, with 2019. The leap from 3,000 per month crossing to 10,000+ making the attempt highlights the affects of the pandemic lockdown and a lull in the fighting in Libya, which is allowing trafficking gangs to reach ports and launching areas around the coast. There are also reports that EU states continue to force migrant vessels back to Libya or are actively liaising with the Libyan Coast Guard in order to prevent migrants leaving the country’s TTW.

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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

LibyaSpeaker of the Libyan House of Representatives, Aguila Saleh, held talks on Monday 10th with Egyptian officials and the US envoy on dealing with the Turkish intervention in Libya. On the sec-ond day of his visit to Cairo, Saleh met with US envoy to Libya Richard Norland and agreed to meet with Western delegations in addition to the Egyptian leadership. Saleh held talks with Nor-land on maintaining the cease-fire and reopening talks to end the crisis in the country.

Sudan’s Janjaweed militia advances towards Libya’s Sirte as battle looms - reportA column of about 70 armed vehicles belonging to Sudan’s Janjaweed fighters moved towards the key strategic Medi-terranean city of Sirte in support of General Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA), state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Tuesday 11th. Turkish-backed Government of Na-tional Accord (GNA) earlier said it intends to recapture Sirte, a gateway to Libya’s main oil terminals, and the airbase of al-Jufra, located in the oil region, from forces allied to the eastern Libya-based LNA, which is backed by Russia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Coronavirus pandemic is sweeping through Tripoli, Misrata and the southThe Head of the Libyan National Center for Disease Control Badr Al-Deen Najjar said the pandemic situation in Libya is es-calating especially in Tripoli and Misrata as well as the south-ern region. He said Coronavirus has swept through most Tripoli areas including Abu Salim, Hay Al-Andalus, and Souq Al-Ju-mua, adding to Tanasuh TV channel, that Misrata cases are increasing as are the numbers of cases in need for intensive medical care.

Man-Made River Authority reports 149 water wells attackedLibya’s Man-Made River Authority (MMR) announced yester-day that its field monitoring team reported on Sunday 9th that ‘‘well 219’’ in its Western field had been permanently decom-missioned due to an attack by unknown assailants. It explained that a total of 149 wells have now been attacked so far despite its continuing demands to the concerned state authorities to provide security for the Authority’s assets. In June this year it had reported 130 wells had been attacked. It said there has been no response from the state so far.

NOC Warns of Dangers at Oil PortsThe chairman of Libya’s National Oil Corp (NOC) on Saturday 8th warned against the risk of a disaster at the country’s oil ports due to a growing military presence with storage tanks held at capacity for months due to a blockade. “Oil ports are

closed, exporting is halted. So if these over-stocked tanks were attacked or exposed to fire or high temperature, it will lead to a massive disaster,” the chairman, Mustafa Sanalla, said in a video message.

U.S raises travel advisory for Libya to level four: Do Not TravelThe U.S has updated its Travel Advisory to its citizens for Libya to Level Four which advises against travel to the country. The State Department advice urges its citizens: ‘‘Do not travel to Libya due to COVID-19, crime, terrorism, civil unrest, kidnap-ping, and armed conflict.

Germany, France, Italy to push ahead with EU sanctions over LibyaGermany, France and Italy plan to push ahead with a bid to use European Union sanctions to stem the continuing supply of arms to war-torn Libya. The three countries have agreed on a list of companies and individuals providing ships, aircraft or other logistics for the transport of weapons, in violation of a United Nations embargo that has been in place since 2011, EU sources told the DPA news agency. Three companies from Turkey, Jordan and Kazakhstan as well as two individuals from Libya are involved, the sources said.

Waha oil fields repair work almost completedLibya’s Waha oil fields have had work carried out on them to maintain the production and service facilities after they were offline for more than seven months due to an oil blockade, senior oil officials said on August. 10th. The Waha oil fields in the Sirte Basin make up about a third of Libyan crude oil pro-duction, with the capacity to pump around 350,000 b/d.

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 GuineaThe Nigerian Defence Headquarters says the troops of Operation DELTA SAFE on Tuesday in Bayelsa State raided pirates and militants’ camp sand Kidnappers’ hideouts, eliminating six crimi-nals. The Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Major General John Enenche, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday 5th in Abuja. Enenche said the troops, acting on credible intelligence, monitored movements of a suspected pirate/sea gang leader, who had sneaked into Bayelsa State from Port Harcourt, Rivers State in the company of another known notorious kidnapper.

Incidents: 1. MV watchmen spotted boat with five persons to sea side of vessel at 0800 UTC in position 06:27.30N - 003:22.30E, Lagos Port, Nigeria. Persons attempted to board vessel, watchmen raised alarm and informed local authorities. Persons then fled in their boat. Vessel safe. Reported (MDAT) 1st Aug.

Nine crew snatched from BW floater off Nigeria set freeNine crew members that were kidnapped from a BW Offshore floating production, storage and offloading unit working for Addax Petroleum off Nigeria early last month have been re-leased. The crew members — all of whom are Nigerian — were taken by armed pirates from the Sendje Berge FPSO on the Okwori field in an early morning raid on 2nd July.

Ghana to build naval boats locallyGhana will for the first time build a sea craft (Fibre Reinforce Plastic Boat) for the Navy as part of efforts to limit the importa-tion of boats into the country. The move would not only em-power local industry but save the country the huge cost that was incurred in importation of boats for the Navy.

Armed security guards required in BéninAs a result of the recent increase of pirate attacks in the Gulf of Guinea, governmental authorities of Bénin have taken pre-emptive measures to prevent such attacks in their territorial waters through a new decree, Concerning Means of Protection of Ships in the Territorial Waters of Bénin. Any ship bound for a port in Bénin with an armed protection team on board, is re-quired to send through its ship agent, a request for permission to enter Benin’s territorial waters with its own armed onboard protection team.

Troops deactivate 25 illegal refineries, impound 342,000 li-tres of AGOThe Defence Headquarters says troops of Operation Delta Safe, discovered and deactivated 25 illegal refineries and im-pounded 342,000 litres of illegally refined AGO in the South-South in the last two weeks. The Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. John Enenche, disclosed this while giv-ing updates on military operations across on Thursday 6th in Abuja. Operation Delta Safe discovered and deactivated 25 il-legal refining sites in Rivers, Cross River and Akwa Ibom within the period under review.

Ghana: Official data shows record fall in sea-borne tradeOfficial first-quarter trade figures released by the Ghana Ship-pers Authority have revealed the severity of the impact of Cov-id-19 on the country’s maritime sector, with significant declines in all aspects of the business. The total volume of cargo—com-prising both containerised and general cargo—handled by the country’s two seaports in the first quarter of 2020 decreased by 44.9 percent year-on-year, the data showed.

Nigeria: Govt, China Begin Construction of Brass ShipyardThe federal government weekend said it has begun a feasi-bility study for the construction of a shipyard in Brass Island, Bayelsa State, which will be ready in six months to cater for the maintenance and repair services of cargo vessels, oil tankers and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) carriers. The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, who chaired the project’s kick-off meeting stated that it will be executed by China Harbour Engineering Company.

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 AsiaThe Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) needs its own aircraft to strengthen air patrols, especially within the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (ESSzone). Esscom Air Operations chief of staff Brig Gen Ayub Khan Mohd Khan said having air assets was vital to ensure monitoring by air could be carried out more effectively to curb cross-border crimes in hot spots and routes used as stag-ing points by cross-border criminals.

Incidents: Nothing significant to report.

Duterte orders part of Fuga Island allotted for PH Navy basePresident Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (Ceza) to set aside a portion of Fuga Island in Cagayan province for use as a base by the Philippine Navy. On Monday 10th, Vice Admiral Giovanni Carlo Bacordo, Navy chief, told INQUIRER.net that Duterte gave the order last August 6th to allocate 20 hectares on the strategically-located island “for a naval detachment.”

Chinese Vessels Maintain Presence in Philippine-claimed Waters in South China SeaTwo Chinese survey ships were spotted at a Philippine-claimed feature in the South China Sea last week while Bei-jing’s coast-guard has maintained a presence in the disputed waters through rotations, the Filipino navy chief said on Mon-day 10th, adding his forces were under orders to avoid con-frontation. The survey ships explored for about one week near Reed Bank, an area within Manila’s exclusive economic zone, Vice Admiral Giovanni Carlo Bacordo told the Foreign Corre-spondents’ Association of the Philippines (FOCAP).

Container ship rams Manila’s North Harbor pierA cargo ship on Monday accidentally rammed a portion of Pier 2 in North Harbor, Manila, according to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG). In a situation report, the PCG said the accident in-volved MV Ocean Abundance, a cargo vessel with 5,593 gross tonnage (GT) owned by Oceanic Container Lines Incorporated, and damaged five to 10 meters of Pier 2 at around 3:10 a.m.

MMEA Johor detains two Malabo-flagged tankersThe Johor state division of Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) on Saturday (8 August) said it has detained

two tankers for not having proper documentation at Kota Tinggi, the east coast of Johor. The unnamed 3,850 dwt and 520 dwt tankers were discovered floating suspiciously close together by the patrol team on Friday (7 August) at around 10 am, 8.9 nautical miles off Tanjung Penawar, Kota Tinggi.

Locsin unaware of permission for China survey ship in Philip-pine EEZForeign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. does not know of any permission for Chinese survey vessel in the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). In a tweet posted on Friday morning, Locsin said he only knew there were permissions for a US survey ship, and a French vessel. Locsin made the comment on a tweet indicating that a Chinese survey vessel is supposedly in the Reed Bank area. The ship reportedly left China on July 22nd, and arrived on August 6th.

Vietnam protests China’s military drill on Spratly reefsVietnam on Thursday 6th condemned China’s flagrant sov-ereignty violation in sending aircraft and warships to the Subi and Mischief reefs of Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands. “All activities on the Paracel (Hoang Sa) and Spratly Islands without Vietnam’s permission are violations of Vietnam’s sovereignty, hold no value and are not beneficial to peace, security and stability in the East Sea. Vietnam resolutely opposes such ac-tivities,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said Thursday.

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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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

Western North Pacific Ocean and South China Sea

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.