Piracy News

A Nigerian pirate who was convicted and sentenced for hijacking a Dutch freighter has been charged again in connection with a previous piracy incident in 2017. The case has been in motion for more than six years. South African police arrested pirate action group leader Itoruboemi Benson Lobia at an airport in Johannesburg in late 2018, acting on an Interpol warrant issued by the Netherlands. A South African court approved his extradition, and in 2022, a Dutch court convicted...

Convicted Nigerian Pirate Charged Again for Second Hijacking

Published Nov 14, 2024 6:15 PM by The Maritime Executive

A Nigerian pirate who was convicted and sentenced for hijacking a Dutch freighter has been charged again in connection w...

Two Somali pirate leaders have been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for their role in kidnapping and holding an American journalist for ransom. Abdi Yusef Hassan, 56, and Mohamed Tahlil Mohamed, 43, were arrested in the U.S. in 2018-19. Federal prosecutors charged them with hostage taking, terrorism, and firearms offenses in connection with the kidnapping of American freelancer Michael Scott Moore. In early 2012, Moore made a trip to Somalia to report on piracy, an important driver...

Two Somali Pirates Get 30 Years in Prison for Kidnapping a Journalist

Published Nov 14, 2024 3:05 PM by The Maritime Executive

Two Somali pirate leaders have been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for their role in kidnapping and holding an...

Private maritime security guards play an important role in defending merchant ships from Houthi rebel attacks in the Red Sea, and while they face tremendous risk in the course of their duties, they have not been targeted directly - until today. According to maritime security consultancy Vanguard, Houthi small craft made suspicious close approaches to two floating armories off the coast of Eritrea on Thursday, including one operated by a prominent Chinese security company. On August 15, the private...

Houthi rebels patrol the Red Sea (file image courtesy Houthi Military Media)

Two Floating Armories Report Run-Ins With Houthis, Shots Fired

Published Aug 15, 2024 1:10 PM by The Maritime Executive

Private maritime security guards play an important role in defending merchant ships from Houthi rebel attacks in the Red...

Guards Shoot and Detonate Houthi Bomb Boat Just Yards Away From Impact

Published Jul 23, 2024 1:56 PM by The Maritime Executive

A team of private maritime security contractors aboard a merchant ship recently shot and destroyed a Houthi suicide drone boat as...

Op-Ed: Lightly-Armed Guards Are No Solution for Houthi Attacks

Published Jul 8, 2024 7:13 PM by Simon O. Williams

The world’s main shipping artery is under persis...

One Injured in Robbery Aboard Heavy Load Carrier Off Batam

Published Jul 1, 2024 4:22 PM by The Maritime Executive

Indonesian maritime security agency Baklama has reported another daring robbery at sea off the Riau Islands, adding to a...

Italy Seizes Consignment of Weapons Intended for Libyan Warlord

Published Jun 23, 2024 4:13 PM by The Maritime Executive

Reports have emerged that last week, Italian authorities worked with U.S intelligence to seize a consignment of Libya-bo...

Crew of Hijacked Bangladeshi Bulker Return Home After Long Voyage

Published May 14, 2024 3:15 PM by The Maritime Executive

The bulker Abdullah, which was captured and released by Somali pirates earlier this year, has returned safely to Banglad...

Haiti's Gangs Try Their Hand at Piracy, Hijacking a Ship Full of Food

Published Apr 9, 2024 4:29 PM by The Maritime Executive

Haiti's gang warlords have turned the country into a disaster zone, abusing the citizenry and shutting down com...

Op-Ed: Somali Pirates Are Back, But a Full-Scale Return is Unlikely

Published Dec 17, 2023 8:03 PM by Peter Viggo Jakobsen and Troels Burchall Henningsen

An Iranian fishing vessel, Almeraj 1, was reportedly hijacked by Somali pirates in November 2023. According to&nbsp...