Somali pirates attacking ships in the Indian Ocean held more than 1,200 seafarers as hostages last year and tortured or abused half of them as violence escalated, a study found. A total of 1,208 mariners were held, the Broomfield, Colorado-based One Earth Future Foundation said today in a report, “The Human Cost of Somali…
The manufacturers of ECDIS (Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems) equipment are to publish information on the latest versions of the software used to operate their equipment, in order to help clarify certain anomalies that had been identified with some older systems. This was the principal outcome of a meeting hosted by the IMO…
Beijing. Beijing said on Friday that two surveillance fleets that entered Japanese waters close to disputed islands in defiance of warnings from Tokyo would conduct “law enforcement” activities. The fleets arrived days after the Japanese government announced it had completed its planned purchase of the islands in the East China Sea, which it administers…
The ICC International Maritime Bureau’s Piracy Reporting Centre (IMB-PRC) has recorded a spike in activity off the coast of West Africa. Since 18 August 2012, three vessels have been hijacked by pirates in this region. These recent attacks are notable as they have all been against tankers, with the purpose of stealing the valuable…