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HIJACKS AND KIDNAPS Stephen Askins’ Webinar on tanker security in the new ‘tanker wars’ August 2019 Stephen Askins along with Intertanko’s Phillip Belcher, UK Chamber of Shipping’s David Balston, BIMCO’s Jakob Larsen engaged in candid discussion on present and future tanker safety and security issues in the wake of the Stena Impero and Grace 1 seizures. Topics discussed: The threat. Implications for ports who choose to receive Adrian Darya 1 (ex-Grace 1). […] CONTINUE READING	Could BMP 5 and the use of a citadel have prevented the capture of the Stena Impero? » The UK Sunday papers rightly are questioning why “we” wern’t prepared for the Iranian reaction to the detention of the Grace 1 (language matters here – Gibraltar have lawfully “detained” the Grace 1 and Iran have unlawfully “captured” the Stena Impero). There is no legal equivalence between the two events. Indeed Lawrence Freeman asks the […]
	Grace 1 – Gibraltar passes new law to seize ship and exposes “British” tankers to reciprocal action by Iran » Image Source: https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/panama-says-it-cut-iran-oil-tanker-from-boat-registry-after-terrorism-alert The reaction of the Iranian government to the boarding of the Grace 1off Gibraltar has been swift and direct reciprocal action has been threatened against “British” ships. Whether that is British flagged as opposed to British managed or operated ships, is unclear. But in the light of the recent attacks on tankers in […]
Ransoms revisited » US Executive Order signals change of approach to payments to terrorists, in contrast to UK’s Counter Terrorism and Security Act. On 24th June 2015 President Obama issued an Executive Order which set out the conclusions to the recent US review on dealing with hostages. The US, like the UK, had a strict policy against even […]	HIJACKS AND KIDNAPS Ransomware and Cyberterrorism – Is it legal to pay to unlock your computer? May 2017 The IT world is reeling from what is described as an unprecedented cyber-attack which has manifested itself in the form of a denial of access “ransomware” locking computers and threatening to delete data if the demand for a payment of US$300 in bitcoins is not paid. It is said to have affected 200,000 computers in […] CONTINUE READING
Piracy in the Sulu Sea – The “new Somalia” or a limited threat? » The National Counterterrorism Centre describes the Abu Sayyaf Group (“ASG”) as “the most violent of the Islamic separatist groups operating in the Southern Philippines” and it has as one of its aims the promotion of an independent Islamic State in western Mindanao. It is on the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s proscribed list. It is […]
HIJACKS AND KIDNAPS UK Flagged Vessels exposed to greater risk in Indian Ocean? August 2016 There is a possibility that the UK government may have inadvertently exposed UK flagged vessels to a greater risk of hijacking and to have also undermined the deterrent effect of the widespread arming of ships in the Indian Ocean. The deployment of armed guards on UK flagged vessels is only allowed in “exceptional circumstances […] CONTINUE READING	Authorities must not confuse refugees with pirates » Can the tactics deployed against Somali pirates really work in a desperate struggle against immigrants from north Africa to Europe, given the continent’s legal obligations to migrants and refugees? It is estimated that some 80,000 people have attempted to cross the Mediterranean from Libya to Europe in the past year. The EU is seeking a […]