Please Note
WARNING ORDER –
Holidays soon and Snooper News will go mobile as I travel to far distant places & beyond …..
Could well be a galaxy …….. near you !!
Irregular editions will be sent out …
When I can get some time off the beach …… to fire off an edition.
Regards
Snooper
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THE ZAC SUTHERLAND UPDATE
Zac's Blog
My name is Zac Sunderland and I am 17 years old. I departed June 14th from Marina del Rey, California in an attempt to become the youngest person to circumnavigate the world alone by yacht.
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Further tales from our long haired solo sailor !
Photo : Jen Edney,
Caption : Well, that be ME !!!
Monday, December 8, 2008
Out of Africa
Latest Position: 12/08/08 1600Z 28 14.584S 37 22.228E (350 miles from Durban)
The last few days the winds has been very confused and I was up almost all night last night trying to keep Intrepid on course. This whole area is mixed with areas of low pressure and areas of high pressure which reduce the wind to nothing. Then there are the bits of storms from the southern ocean bringing high winds and swells from time to time. I am still making progress towards Durban. I should be in in 3-4 days depending on the wind. Also, being close to the Mozambique channel there has been a bunch of shipping. I've passed the best part of 20 ships in the past 24 hours. Other than that there is not much going on out here. I'm just ticking off the miles to Durban which is about 350 miles as the crow flies.
Cheers,
Zac
Note from Mom:
Zac sounds good when we speak to him everyday. He has been out of Mauritius for almost 2 weeks now which is about how long he can take the solitude and strain relatively comfortably. He'll be under a lot of pressure to keep focused and positive as he approaches the dangerous and unpredictable South African coast. We are gathering counsel from our experienced South African sailing friend and of course meteorologist David Morris is keeping an eye on things.
While Laurence was in Mauritius he had Zac sign a few of his posters and head shots. For the rest of December, everyone who orders one of Zac's calendars will be entered into a drawing for one of each of these. We will draw one name every week for the rest of December. Names will be drawn every Saturday and winners announced on the blog. Calendars and also T-shirts and posters can be purchased through Zac's Store located on the right hand column of the blog.
Thanks again for your support!
Marianne
posted by Zac at 9:16 AM
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Visit www.zacsutherland.com
YouTube Videos http://www.youtube.com/zacsvideos
Blog http://www.zacsunderland.com/blog/
Email zacsworldadventure@yahoo.com
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Mike Perham aged 16, the youngest person to sail across the atlantic solo now has his eye's on an even more adventurous challenge.
To become the youngest person to sail around the world solo in an open 50 racing yacht.
No Update !
Visit : http://www.totallymoney.com/sailmike/
Blog : http://www.totallymoney.com/sailmike/?cat=5
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2008 on track to be slowest year for US ports since 2004
Major US retail container port volumes fell for the 16th straight month in November, leaving 2008 on track to be the slowest year since 2004, according to the monthly Port Tracker report by the National Retail Federation and IHS Global Insight.
Volume is projected to total 15.3-million TEU for the year, compared with 16.5-m TEU in 2007. That would be a decline of 7.1%, the lowest total since 2004 when 14-m TEU moved through the ports.
Story By : Alan Peat
Date :12/9/2008
http://www.cargoinfo.co.za/newsdetails.asp?&newsid=7041
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Crackdown nets 60t of illegal imports
A recent crackdown by SA Revenue Service that netted 60 tons of illegally imported clothes from China brought into South Africa through Botswana casts the spotlight on the responsibility of retailers in vetting their suppliers.
According to Business Day, the goods were destined for three retailers. And while the retailers are not implicated in the fraud, Sars spokesman Adrian Lackay said that some retailers were so intent on procuring the cheapest goods that they were not vetting their suppliers adequately. This, he said, would expose anomalies in the value and price of goods.
Sars is taking a tougher stance. While in the past fraudulent importers could pay penalties and reclaim the goods, in future they will have to be forfeited.
Story By : Joy Orlek
Date :12/9/2008
http://www.cargoinfo.co.za/newsdetails.asp?&newsid=7048
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Heavy Metal Free Antifoulant
12/8/2008 9:00:08 AM
Sherwin-Williams Protective and Marine Coatings Division announces new SeaGuard Heavy Metal Free Antifoulant, an environmentally responsible alternative to copper-based hull coatings that prevents the growth of marine organisms on commercial and military ships.
The new product received U.S. EPA approval on June 30, 2008. SeaGuard Heavy Metal Free Antifoulant is a solvent-based ablative coating that utilizes a metal-free organic biocide agent and provides the same effective antifouling protection as traditional copper-based coatings. Because the antifouling agent in SeaGuard Heavy Metal Free has an extremely short hydrolytic half-life, it does not persist or accumulate in the marine environment and will not harm marine organisms. The breakdown products are biodegradable.
Traditional antifoulings utilize metals such as copper as active antifouling agents. These metals can harm marine life as, over time, they leach from ship hulls and concentrate in the bottom sediment. The issue is of particular concern in estuaries and bays that flush slowly, such as San Diego Bay.
Additionally, SeaGuard Heavy Metal Free Antifoulant offers ship owners the potential advantages of added fuel savings and tonnage compared to traditional antifoulings because eliminating the copper provides a substantial reduction in weight - up to 5 pounds per gallon, or 40% less weight, compared to traditional copper antifoulings.
“SeaGuard Heavy Metal Free Antifoulant is a first in our product offering to the U.S. military and U.S. commercial ship owners -- an environmentally responsible alternative to metal-based antifoulings that not only meets performance expectations but can actually increase fuel efficiency or allow for added cargo, both of which add to the bottom line,” said Doni Riddle, Vice President, Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine Coatings Division. “Sherwin-Williams is committed to not only protecting the assets of its customers, but to protecting the environments in which our products are used.”
Another environmental advantage of SeaGuard Heavy Metal Free Antifoulant is its lower level of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) -- <340 g/L. It may be applied at temperatures as low as 40 degrees F (10 degrees C).
Available in red or black, SeaGuard Heavy Metal Free Antifoulant is an ablative coating, which allows the coating surface to slough off gradually, exposing new biocide that maintains the coating’s effectiveness over time. It can be used to overcoat existing antifouling coating systems, and provides a long service life.
http://sname.marinelink.com/snamestory.aspx?stid=213782
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UNOSAT 3D Map of Piracy in Gulf of Aden
12/8/2008 8:54:28 AM
UNOSAT, the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) Operational Satellite Applications Program, released a 3D map of piracy incidents in the Gulf of Aden for 2008. This 3D perspective map illustrates the relative spatial density of reported pirate incidents in the Gulf of Aden for 2008, current as of 21 November. Incidents that have occurred within 5km of the Maritime Security Patrol Area (MSPA) following implementation on 26 August 2008 are identified. A spatial analysis of the pattern changes in attacks has also been conducted. Satellite imagery has been used in this analysis for the identification of suspected hijacked vessel locations, and to identify vessel traffic patterns through the Gulf of Aden.
This work was done by UNOSAT in support of the ongoing humanitarian operations across the Horn of Africa, and in response to the UN Security Council Resolution 1816 (2008) adopted 2 June 2008, and IMO resolution adopted 29 Nov. 2007 calling for continued monitoring of Somali pirate activity. All piracy incident data has been obtained from open media sources, specifically the Piracy Reporting Center (PRC) of the International Maritime Bureau (IMB).
Incidents are classified into 3 main types: ´Hijacking´ where pirates have taken control of a ship; ´Attempted Hijacking´ where pirates have deployed weapons & attempted to board a vessel but failed; ´Suspicious Approach´ where a vessel has followed or chased another ship; Note, a number of reported ´Suspicious Approach´ incidents may represent accidental vessel approaches misperceived as a pirate threat. This is an initial assessment and has not been independently verified.
(http://unosat.web.cern.ch/unosat/)
http://sname.marinelink.com/snamestory.aspx?stid=213776
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Coast Guard Tests Prototype Buoy
12/8/2008 8:46:24 AM
Members from the CGC Aspen bring aboard a new buoy prototype called a Spar buoy that will detect surface vessels in the water on Coast Guard base San Pedro Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008. (Coast Guard Photo by PA3 Christina L. Bozeman)
http://sname.marinelink.com/snamestory.aspx?stid=213770
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Information Warfare - Scary Stuff
December 6, 2008: China and Russia are displaying numerous instances of a new phenomenon; cyber-nationalism. This new disease manifests itself when an event, or government propaganda, stirs up nationalistic feelings among many Internet users. There then follows much chatter on message boards, email, messaging and so on. This quickly evolves into the organizing of online vigilantes. Nationalistic hackers proceed to do damage to any available target of these nationalistic feelings. Often there isn't a target, as in the case of a natural disaster, where the mobilized net users concentrate on helping out. But when the news event involves another nation, or person, there follows hacking attacks, of varying degrees of intensity, against the designated "enemy."
The governments in Russia and China have both "guided" this ire at approved targets. But since China is still a tightly (more so than Russia) controlled police state, there is also the risk of the enraged cyber patriots turning on the Communist Party. This has already happened a few times, usually in response to government corruption or incompetence. This explains why China spends so much on software, hardware and staff to gain some control over who uses the Internet inside China. Obviously, the ultimate defense against uncontrolled cyber-nationalism against the government, is to pull the plug on the Internet. That's a very short term solution, because so much of the economy depends on the Internet. Moreover, there would be a major backlash over this tactic.
As long as China is a communist police state, with a large and growing (half a billion users in a few years, they will remain vulnerable to a revolution that gets started, not in the streets, but on the net.
If you want to experience the Internet as users inside China do, go to www.chinachannel.hk. Scary stuff.
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htiw/articles/20081206.aspx
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December 9, 2008
Antarctic cruise vessel refloated
The Antarctic cruise vessel MV Ushuaia has been successfully refloated. The ship grounded December 4 at position 64¼35.5'S 062 ¼25'W, at the entrance of Wilhelmina Bay near Cape Anna in the NW Antarctic Peninsula. On board were 82 passengers and 42 crew.
Two diesel tanks were punctured and/or damaged (tank Nr.4 port side, and Nr.5 center), and spilled MGO.
The passengers, who may have gotten a little more adventure than they signed on for, were transferred to Chilean Naval Vessel Achiles next day using Zodiac landing craft from the MV Ushuaia and from another Anarctic tourist vessel, the MV Antarctic Dream, which had been standing by. The crew of the Ushuaia remained on board.
On the afternoon December 7, the crew of the MV Ushuaia and the crew of the Chilean Naval Tug Lautaro started to transfer 120 cu.m of diesel from MV Ushuaia to storage tanks on the Lautaro and 100 cu.m of fresh water was discharged into the sea. This was done to improve the buoyancy of the MV Ushuaia. Transferring fuel off the vessel also reduced the potential for additional spillage should anything go wrong with the refloating.
Efforts to refloat the vessel began at high tide (approximately 0400UTC/0100LT). The vessel was fully free at 0545UTC/0245LT. Escorted by Lautaro, MV Ushuaia began making way under its own steam towards Paradise Bay. No oil has been seen leaking from the vessel while underway; however, this could be due to wind and wave action causing any fuel leaked to be rapidly dispersed. To minimize any further oil spill, fuel from the damaged tanks is being transferred into tanks that are not compromised. Once the MV Ushuaia is in the relatively sheltered waters of Paradise Bay, a further inspection of the hull will take place.
You can read a blow by blow account of the incident from the International Association of Arctic Tour Operators HERE
http://www.iaato.org/press.html
You can get a somewhat different perspective on the incident from the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition HERE.
http://www.asoc.org/Portals/0/ASOC%20Press%20Advisory%20on%20Ushuaia120808.pdf
The Ushuaiia is the former NOAA vessel Baldridge, which was retired from the agency in 1996 and which was originally delivered to NOAA as the Researcher from American Shipbuilding, Toledo, Ohio in 1978.
http://www.marinelog.com/DOCS/NEWSMMVII/2008dec00090.html
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Brazilian HARM For Pakistan
December 7, 2008: Brazil has sold a hundred MAR-1 anti-radiation missiles to Pakistan. The MAR-1 weighs 603 pounds, is 13 feet long and has a max range of 25 kilometers. It has a 200 pound warhead and is used to seek out and destroy air-defense radars. Pakistan paid about $1.1 million for each missile (including training, tech support and spare parts). Top speed of the missile is about a 1,200 kilometers an hour (335 meters a second). At max range, it takes about two minutes to reach a target. More common times would be about a minute.
The latest version of the U.S. anti-radiation missile, the 800 pound AGM-88D, uses GPS so that the missile, which normally homes in on radar transmissions, can be used to attack targets by location alone. MAR-1 uses a similar system. The AGM-88 moves at high speed (2,200 kilometers an hour, or 36 kilometers a minute) to hit targets 100 kilometers away. This version of the AGM-88 costs less than $100,000 each. The standard version uses more complex sensors which can detect and guide the missile to a wide variety of radar signals. These versions cost about $300,000 each. GPS enables HARM (or the aircraft carrying it) to locate a radar when it is turned on, store the GPS location, then go after the target regardless of whether it is turned on or off. MAR-1 has a target radar sensor that can detect signals up to 500 kilometers away.
Another recent model of the traditional version, the AGM-88E, uses a more expensive approach to nailing enemy radars that are turned on briefly, and attempts to avoid destruction by quickly turning off power. The missile, also called the Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM), was developed jointly by U.S. and Italian firms. The original AGM-88 has been in use since the 1980s, and the original 1960s anti- radiation missile quickly evolved into what was called HARM (High Speed Anti-Radiation Missile).
The AGM-88E version defeats the favorite trick of anti-aircraft units, shutting down their radars when they note a HARM is on the way. The AGM-88E remembers where the radar is when it was on, and carries its own high resolution (millimeter wave) radar to make sure it gets the radar. Finally, the AGM-88E can transmit a picture of the target, just before it is hit, so the user can be certain of what was taken out. Currently, there are orders for over 2,000 of these missiles from the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, Italy and Germany. Production began last year, on what appears to be an endless line of HARM variants. Many other countries, like Brazil, build anti-radiation missiles, but the capabilities of these missiles varies considerably.
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htairw/articles/20081207.aspx
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Russian Federation - Topol The Unlimited
December 7, 2008: Russia is working on a new ICBM (the RS-24), with an emphasis on equipping it with decoys and other deception measures to get past U.S. anti-missile systems. This new missile is believed to be an upgrade of the existing Topol-M. The new Bulava is also a modified version of the land based Topol-M, which was the last new ICBM Russia developed before the Cold War ended in 1991. The RS-24 has been tested three times in the last two years. Russia plans to put the RS-24 in service next year.
The new Bulava SLBMs (Sea Launched Ballistic Missiles) has also finally gone into production. The Bulava will equip the new Borei class SSBN (nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine). The Borei class boats replace the aging Cold War era SSBNs, which are being retired because of safety and reliability issues and the high expense of running them. Nuclear submarines are one area of military spending that did not get cut back sharply after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
Despite several test failures, the Russians were confident in the basic technology in the Bulava. The Russians knew there would be failures, and knew that the two most recent U.S. SLBMs had a 13 percent (23 tests of the Trident I) and two percent (49 tests of Trident II) failure rate. What did make many Russians nervous was the fact that the Bulava is replacement for an earlier SLBM that had to be cancelled during development because of too many test failures. The Bulava is basically a navalized version of the successful Topol ICBM. This is the primary reason the Russians moved forward with Bulava.
The 45 ton Bulava SCBM is a little shorter than the Topol M, so that it could fit into the missile tube. Thus Bulava has a shorter range of some 8,000 kilometers. Bulava has three stages and uses solid fuel. Currently, each Bulava carries a single 500 kiloton nuclear weapon, plus decoys and the ability to maneuver. The warhead is also shielded to provide protection from the electronic pulse of nearby nuclear explosions. Take away all of these goodies, and the Bulava could be equipped with up to ten smaller (150 kiloton) warheads. But the big thing is still trying to defeat American anti-missile systems. Russia is paranoid about their nuclear missiles, as the rest of their armed forces are a shambles, and only the ICBMs and SLBMs really provide any clout.
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/hticbm/articles/20081207.aspx
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Somali Pirates And Their Aggressive Agents
December 8, 2008: Over the last decade, the Somali pirates have developed an infrastructure of agents and advisors that enable them to negotiate large ransoms for hijacked ships. The pirates themselves belong to about half a dozen gangs, which are based in towns on Somalis northern coast. This is safely away from the Islamic radical ("Islamic Courts") warlords further south. The Islamic Courts have threatened to shut down the pirates, mainly because all those foreign warships off the coast interfere with terrorist activities the Islamic radicals support.
The gunmen who work for the pirate chiefs get paid enough to just get by, and the big money is made if you manage to capture a ship. A dozen or more pirates usually go out on a larger boat (a captured fishing boat) with two or more speed boats in tow, seeking a ship to hijack. Sometimes, several of these larger boats will cooperate to track down and grab a large merchant ship. If a crew is successful in grabbing a ship (and most of these trips, which can last several days, are not), they then bring the ship back to the north coast and drop anchor near the town that is their base. Their boss will arrange for the crew of the hijacked ship to be cared for (either on the ship or ashore) and assign more pirates to guard the ship and crew.
The pirate chief will also bring in an experienced negotiator. These are usually local businessmen, who have developed the proper connections and knowledge over the past decade. Contacting the shipping company that owns the captured vessel is easy, as the ship itself has the contact information, and satellite phones on which to make the call. Most, if not all, of the negotiators have business connections in the Persian Gulf, and this has sometimes come into play during haggling for the ransom, and making arrangements for payment.
The ship owner calls in the insurance company, which then engages professional negotiators. The insurance company and the shipping company will spend $300-500,000 on negotiators, lawyers and cash transportation specialists to carry out the deal. Of late, the negotiations have taken about two months, and a ransom of one or two million is usually paid. This tends to be delivered, in cash, usually via a well armed tugboat coming north from Kenya (where ports like Mombassa have banks that can supply the required amount of currency, usually, per the pirates request, in used, but recent, $50 and $100 notes). The armed cash escorts bring the money to the ship, the pirates haul it ($2 million in hundreds weighs less than 30 pounds) aboard, count it, then leave with their loot. At that point, some of the armed escorts stay with the ship as the crew fires up its engines and gets them away from Somalia.
The ransom is usually divided according to a previously agreed on formula of shares. This is how pirates have done it for centuries. The pirate chief often gets about half the ransom, and takes care of most expenses out of that share. The pirates don't begrudge the boss his half, because the pirate gang is kept together by this guy, and his personal stash of cash. The pirates who actually took the ship, and the negotiator, get shares that can amount to five percent (or more) of the ransom per man. For a two million dollar ransom, that's $100,000 per man. This is a fortune in this part of the world. You can buy a nice new house, take a wife (or another wife), buy a fishing boat or shop and, basically, be set for life. This payout, in cash, encourages the other pirates in the gang, and everyone in the neighborhood. Parties are usually thrown, and a good time is had by all. Meanwhile, the insurance companies plan their next rate hike for ships that feel they must travel near the Somali coast.
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htseamo/articles/20081208.aspx
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Obama urged to create White House office for cyberspace
by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) Dec 8, 2008
Cybersecurity is a major national security threat and US president-elect Barack Obama should create an office in the White House to deal with the problem, a high-level panel of experts said on Monday.
The warning was issued in a report by the Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency, a group of government and cybersecurity experts assembled by the Washington-based Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS).
"Cybersecurity is among the most serious economic and national security challenges we will face in the 21st century," the commission said in a summary of its report, "Securing Cyberspace for the 44th Presidency."
"We face a long-term challenge in cyberspace from foreign intelligence agencies and militaries, criminals, and others," it said.
"This struggle will wreak serious damage on the economic health and national security of the US unless we respond vigorously," the commission said.
"Only a comprehensive national security strategy that embraces both the domestic and international aspects of cybersecurity will improve the situation," it said in the report available at tinyurl.com/6r68tb.
The commission said the approach should include "international engagement and diplomacy; military doctrine and action, economic policy tools, and the involvement of the intelligence and law enforcement communities."
"This strategy should be based on a public statement by the president that the cyber infrastructure of the United States is a vital asset for national security and the economy and that the US will protect it, using all instruments of national power," the commission said.
It urged Obama, who takes office January 20, to create a White House office for cyberspace which would be responsible for "managing the many aspects of securing our national networks while protecting privacy and civil liberties."
During his campaign for the presidency, Obama pledged to create a senior level post of Chief Technology Officer in his administration.
The panel also called for laws regarding cyberspace to be updated, saying they were "decades old, written for the technologies of a less-connected era."
The commission began its work in 2007 after the United States was hit by a wave of damaging attacks in cyberspace.
Its consultations included discussions with senior officials in the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, and in the US intelligence community.
A US congressional panel warned last month that China has developed a sophisticated cyberwarfare program and stepped up its capacity to penetrate US computer networks to extract sensitive information.
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Obama_urged_to_create_White_House_office_for_cyberspace_999.html
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Fire on Russian naval ship kills one: reports
Baltic port of Baltiysk.
by Staff Writers
Moscow (AFP) Dec 8, 2008
A Russian naval officer on Monday was killed by a fire aboard a patrol boat docked in the Baltic port of Baltiysk, in Kaliningrad region, a naval spokesman said, quoted by Russian news agencies.
"The body of the dead officer was found during an examination of the area on the Neukrotimy (Untameable) patrol ship where a fire had taken place," said the spokesman, Igor Dygalo, quoted by RIA Novosti.
The vessel was about to be decommissioned from service, Interfax quoted him as saying.
The accident follows the inadvertent fatal gassing of 20 people aboard a Russian submarine in the Sea of Japan last month.
In a demonstration of growing assertiveness, Russian ships have in recent weeks held exercises in the Caribbean Sea with Venezuela's navy and one Russian warship passed through the Panama Canal for the first time since 1944.
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Fire_on_Russian_naval_ship_kills_one_reports_999.html
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DSIT Solutions Sells Underwater Site Security System
The complete harbor surveillance system will enable the customer to detect, track, classify and promptly respond to above-water as well as underwater threats.
by Staff Writers
Givat Shmuel, Israel (SPX) Dec 09, 2008
DSIT Solutions has announced the sale of its AquaShield Diver Detection Sonar (DDS) System to an undisclosed EMEA government. The system will be installed in an area with critical infrastructure, including a port and energy production facilities.
"This sale is very important to DSIT as it was concluded following rigorous trials conducted by the customer, which is known for its professionalism and pursuit of high standards" said Dan Ben-Dov, DSIT's Vice President for Sales and Marketing.
"That is why we were so pleased when the customer expressed its satisfaction with the AquaShield's performance. In designing the AquaShield we have placed our emphasis on long range detection, automatic mode of operation and low cost of maintenance. This order confirms that this has been the right strategy for DSIT."
The project includes the underwater installation and integration of the system with an already existing Command and Control system. The complete harbor surveillance system will enable the customer to detect, track, classify and promptly respond to above-water as well as underwater threats. The system is expected to be installed and in full operation by the end of 2008.
Benny Sela, DSIT's CEO, was pleased to report that "We are seeing growing interest in the AquaShield system as additional potential customers become aware of the benefits from its installation."
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/DSIT_Solutions_Sells_Underwater_Site_Security_System_999.html
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One Voice set to publish UK maritime study
Janet Porter - Monday 8 December 2008
Richard Everitt
BRITAIN’S maritime industry will publish an in-depth analysis early next year setting out the strategic importance of shipping, ports and related professional services to the UK economy as part of a concerted effort to build greater support among decision-makers and opinion-formers.
The initiative is at the centre of a new push by the organisations that represent all factions of the country’s diverse maritime community to present a united front in dealings with government ministers, legislators, and civil servants.
One Voice, the grouping established in the summer that brings together six leading industry associations, has now drawn up a lengthy agenda as it starts to make itself heard.
Top of the list is research by Oxford Economics that has been commissioned by One Voice to produce what will be the first ever comprehensive study covering virtually the entire maritime sector.
That will provide the hard facts and figures with which the industry will be able to back up its case in dealings with policy-makers, One Voice chairman Richard Everitt said today.
The coalition plans to launch the report at a parliamentary reception and hopes it will form the basis of a better understanding of maritime issues and concerns at the highest level.
The idea behind the Oxford Economics study is to “bring all the strands together,” by measuring the importance of the whole maritime sector to both the UK and London’s position as a global financial and professional services centre, said Mr Everitt who is also chief executive of the Port of London Authority and chairman of the UK Major Ports Group.
Excluded from the study will be the contribution to the local economy of the International Maritime Organization, the only UN agency based in the UK which also adds to the level of maritime expertise in the capital. and is the reason why a number of other international shipping organisations are headquartered in London.
One Voice, founded by the Baltic Exchange, British Ports Association, Chamber of Shipping, Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers, Maritime London, and UK Major Ports Group, now has a small dedicated secretariat. The recent move of the British Ports Association and UKMPG to the same building as the Chamber of Shipping is helping to foster closer relations between the trade organisations, said Mr Everitt. Also sharing premises are the Merchant Navy Training Board. and Ports Skills and Safety.
The government has welcomed the formation of One Voice, with shipping minister JimFitzpatrick saying recently that it had helped to simplify the relationship between the two sides.
The main message to government is the need for an “investment friendly” environment.” That requires certainty, with Mr Everitt urging the government not to keep “tinkering at the edges” in a way that undermines business confidence and drives away ships from the Red Ensign or non-domiciled shipowners from the UK.
Safeguarding a competitive commercial, fiscal and employment climate is one of the top priorities for One Voice.
But other key issues include landside infrastructure and planning; the environment; the Marine Bill; skills; the rates revaluation of UK ports; maritime security; and coastal shipping.
The latter is of particular concern after a recent report which concluded that new international rules on sulphur emissions that come into force in 2015 could shift between 30% and 50% of coastal cargo traffic back on to the roads because of the added cost of marine fuel.
One Voice feels that the British government has something of a “blind spot” with regards to coastal shipping that has not grown in tandem with the UK flag fleet.
The threat to shortsea services from new emission rules is a further setback, but One Voice now plans to work with other European bodies to find a solution and ensure coastal shipping in northern Europe is not priced out of business.
http://www.lloydslist.com/ll/news/one-voice-set-to-publish-uk-maritime-study/20017597955.htm
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Pirates shifting the goalposts on EU armada: watchdog
13 hours ago
MOGADISHU (AFP) — As an EU armada began operations off Somalia's pirate-infested coast Monday, maritime authorities said pirates had extended their already vast area of activity further south.
Britain's Admiral Philip Jones will have six warships and three spotter planes at his disposal over the next year for his naval force, dubbed Atalanta, which took over protection duties Monday from four NATO vessels.
The EU's first-ever naval operation will also be allowed to use force, where necessary, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said.
"The rules of engagement are very robust, with the possibility of using all means including force to protect, to deter and to prosecute all acts of piracy," Solana told reporters in Brussels.
At least eight EU members will participate in the operation, which is tasked to escort aid deliveries to war-torn Somalia by UN World Food Programme vessels and patrol the area to dissuade pirate attacks on merchant ships.
"This operation, under British command, I hope will begin to establish international order in seas that are vital to trade right around the world," said British Foreign Minister David Miliband.
But the pirates have already modified their tactics in the game of high-seas tag with warships deployed to protect shipping, and have gradually turned their gunsights on targets outside Somalia's waters.
"The problem is that the pirates are no longer just attacking ships off the Somalian coast but are going further east and south where there is no naval protection," Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau piracy reporting centre in Kuala Lumpur told AFP.
"Previously the pirates were attacking off southern Somalia but now you are seeing attacks 400 to 500 miles (640 to 800 kilometres) from the Kenyan coast, where they are targeting ships, and they are going even as far off as Tanzania, which is further south."
Heavily-armed pirates set a Dutch container ship ablaze in an unsuccessful attack off Tanzania on Saturday, the IMB said.
"So it is clear that the pirates are expanding their base of operations and operational area," Choong told AFP on Monday, adding that the pirates are becoming bolder and more dangerous.
"We find it very disturbing that they are going so far out of their operational area, encroaching in waters at least two countries away."
"The fact that they can attack 450 nautical miles (830 kilometres) east of Dar Es Salaam is very worrying."
The heavily-armed pirates, many of them former fishermen who accuse French and Spanish tuna fleets of having exhausted local fish stocks, prey on ships along a key route leading to the Red Sea through which one-third of the world's oil transits.
Equipped with high-powered boats, assault rifles and rocket launchers, the pirates have attacked more than 100 ships since the beginning of the year.
Drawn from several local clans on the Somali coast, they are currently holding more than a dozen foreign merchant vessels and their crew in several ports along the Indian Ocean coast.
Their biggest prize to date, the Saudi supertanker Sirius Star, was hijacked off the Kenyan coast on November 15, before being taken to the Somali port of Harardhere where it remains the subject of tense ransom negotiations.
The challenge facing the EUNAVFOR Atalanta mission is enormous, even before the pirates' southward migration is taken into account.
Out of the 80 attacks reported in the past three months alone, half of them occurred in or around the so-called corridor which merchant vessels have been encouraged to use in order to benefit from navy protection.
"You would need at least 100 naval ships in the area to make a decisive impact but this is impossible," said Jean Duval of French maritime security firm Secopex.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iRNBs3Ns-tSd9ajr8qgOUPKip4bg
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Marine and Coastal Management - Contract 'above board'
December 08 2008 at 01:42PM
By Gershwin Wanneburg
The department of environmental affairs and tourism has denied any impropriety in awarding a contract to a company of which the son of a senior department official was a director.
Marine and Coastal Management (MCM), a division of the department, has awarded contracts worth more than R28-million to consultancy firm Resolve Group.
One of these contracts was awarded in July while Simpiwe Mayekiso, the son of MCM chief Monde Mayekiso, was a director at Resolve.
Mayekiso's son joined Resolve's board in January this year and resigned at the end of August, according to Resolve CEO David Storey.
Resolve has been awarded six contracts from MCM, which manages the country's marine and coastal activities since 2002, the department said.
Both the department and Storey said all dealings with Resolve were above board.
Resolve had declared Mayekiso's directorship, the department added.
"As Dr Mayekiso was not involved in the process, there was no conflict of interest."
"The department did follow the proper bidding procedure and is satisfied with the process in this regard."
Storey said Mayekiso had been appointed to Resolve's board as a non-executive director by his former employer Kagiso Trust Investments, a Resolve shareholder.
Storey said Mayekiso would have had no financial gain from his position as a director of Resolve, because Resolve was not part of any of Kagiso's employee incentive schemes.
"Absolutely no direct or indirect benefit was accrued by Simpiwe," Storey said.
"I have no doubt we would have won the tender because of our performance on previous work with the department."
The department said the following contracts had been awarded to Resolve:
In 2002, for medium-term rights allocations process, a tender worth R3,53-million.
In 2004, for rendering project management support for the allocation of long term fishing rights - R3,12-million.
In 2004, for assisting the department in the allocation of commercial and subsistence fishing rights - R7,6-million.
This year a contract worth R9,5-million which is being finalised to perform a performance review of commercial fishing sectors.
An extension of the bid awarded in 2004 as a result of an extended allocations process - R4,2-million.
A contract worth R500 000 for large pelagic rights allocations.
The contract for the long-term fishing rights allocations was not put out to tender because it was an extension of an existing tender, the department said.
This article was originally published on page 5 of Cape Argus on December 08, 2008
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=139&art_id=vn20081208114421442C335102
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Chinese maritime patrol near Diaoyu Islands irreproachable
www.chinaview.cn 2008-12-09 01:15:39
BEIJING, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- The patrol of Chinese ships in its territorial waters is irreproachable, said a Foreign Ministry spokesman Monday night.
The comment by spokesman Liu Jianchao came in response to a question regarding the reported marine surveillance by Chinese ships in the seas near the Diaoyu Islands on Monday.
"The Diaoyu Islands and adjacent islets are Chinese territories since ancient times. The usual cruising of the Chinese ships within Chinese seas is irreproachable," Liu said.
Editor: Sun
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-12/09/content_10474985.htm
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Anti-whaling radicals last stop before Japanese showdown
December 9, 2008 - 6:56AM
Victory is in sight for the anti-whaling radicals using direct action to stop Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean, their captain says.
Sea Shepherd Captain Paul Watson and his motley crew on board the protest vessel MV Steve Irwin are due to take on final supplies in Hobart on Tuesday before setting out to intercept the Japanese fleet.
"I think that we are going to able to shut them down," Capt Watson told Sky News on Monday.
"They came to this on a purely economic basis and we have to make sure they don't make profits out of what they are doing,"
"They've lost profits for three years running. They can't do it for a fourth or fifth year in a row.
"They are deeply in debt so we have to keep them on the ropes financially.
"If we can do that, I think we can win this battle."
Tokyo makes no secret of the fact that the whale meat ends up on dinner tables and accuses Westerners of insensitivity to its whaling culture. Only Norway and Iceland defy the whaling moratorium outright.
The anti-whaling activists risk being arrested if they forcibly interrupt Japan's whale hunting.
Japan's Sankei Shimbun newspaper reports activists will be captured and handed over to the Japanese Coastguard.
If arrested by the coastguard, they will be charged and tried with forcible obstruction of business under Japanese law.
During the last Antarctic hunt, Japan alleged that Sea Shepherd activists tracked down and hurled bottles of chemicals at the fleet to disrupt its operations, leading many Japanese to label them as "terrorist".
Two activists boarded a Japanese whaler in January, sparking a two-day stand-off before they were handed over to an Australian customs vessel.
Japan's fleet set off in mid-November with plans to slaughter hundreds of whales, despite strong opposition from Australia and New Zealand, where whale-watching is a popular pastime.
Japanese whalers kill about 1,000 whales a year using a loophole in a 1986 global whaling moratorium that allows "lethal research" on the ocean giants.
http://www.watoday.com.au/national/antiwhaling-radicals-last-stop-before-japanese-showdown-20081209-6u8a.html
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Unexploded torpedo found under pier
9 hours ago
A controlled explosion was carried out after an old torpedo was found under a pier.
Divers discovered the bomb buried within the structure of Largs Pier in Ayrshire on Monday afternoon, Strathclyde Police said.
Bomb disposal experts were called to the scene and the torpedo was picked up by a navy boat.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5jzOOdcNo7haEid-N4Ao0aIaK9kpw
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Vietnam, S. Korea to cooperate in maritime pollution control
December 9, 2008 2:44 pm by pna
HANOI, Dec. 9 — Vietnam and South Korea will boost cooperation in controlling marine environment pollution, especially in preventing oil spills, the local newspaper Vietnam News reported on Tuesday.
The cooperation agreement was signed by Deputy Head of the Vietnam Sea and Islands General Department Nguyen Van Cu and South Korea's Director of Maritime Pollution Division Lee Wan Sub in Hanoi on Monday.
Under the agreement, the two sides will share information and experience in oil spill, oil pollution supervision and cooperate to increase the capacity of preventive system.
Established in March 2008, the Vietnamese General Department of Sea and Islands under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is the first state-run agency in charge of sea and islands management in Vietnam. (PNA/Xinhua)
http://balita.ph/2008/12/09/vietnam-s-korea-to-cooperate-in-maritime-pollution-control/
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British commander takes charge of EU piracy force
A British admiral was preparing to take control of anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden on Monday as an EU task force succeeded a flotilla of Nato warships patrolling the region.
Last Updated: 1:29PM GMT 08 Dec 2008
Vice-Adml Philip Jones of Britain's Permanent Joint Headquarters at Northwood will command Operation Atalanta, the EU mission to protect ships travelling through the pirate infested waters of the western Indian Ocean.
While the formal handover was to take place at a ceremony in Brussels, EU ships in the Gulf of Aden - the stretch of water between Somalia and Yemen - will not replace their Nato predecessors until December 15.
"This operation under British command, I hope will begin to establish international order in seas that are vital to trade right around the world," said the Foreign Secretary David Miliband.
The mission will not provide the only cover for shipping in the region - there are regular patrols by warships from the United States, India, Russia and Malaysia.
Action became necessary as the rate of pirate attacks on commercial ships soared over the past year: since the Nato mission began in October, 32 vessels have been attacked and 12 of them seized.
The pirates operate out of ports in the chaotic state of Somalia, where the central government has all but disintegrated in a conflict between rival warlords.
The Gulf of Aden, which links the Indian Ocean with the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal, has traffic of about 50 cargo ships a day.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/piracy/3682804/British-commander-takes-charge-of-EU-piracy-force.html
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Tuesday, December 9, 2008
USS Davis captures boat carrying cocaine worth $90 million
Herald staff
EVERETT -- A Navy frigate based in Everett on Friday captured a fishing vessel in the eastern Pacific that military officials say was carrying more than 4 metric tons of cocaine valued at more than $90 million.
The USS Rodney M. Davis, home-ported in Everett, was working with the U.S. Coast Guard and the Joint Interagency Task Force-South conducting counternarcotics operations, Navy Lt. Myers Vasquez said.
Nine suspected smugglers were arrested during Friday's incident.
Vasquez would not disclose the home-port of the fishing vessel or the precise location of the seizure.
The Davis has a history of drug-fighting work. In April 2001, the Davis helped with the largest cocaine seizure in maritime history when sailors boarded a fishing boat from Belize about 1,500 miles south of San Diego, according to a Navy Web site. The fishing vessel was carrying nearly 27,000 pounds of cocaine, about three times more than Friday's seizure.
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20081209/NEWS01/712099876
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Pirates attack ship off Sultan Kudarat
By Charlie Señase
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 13:20:00 12/09/2008
COTABATO CITY – The captain of a cargo vessel was injured Monday after his ship was attacked by unidentified men off Kalamansig, Lebak in Sultan Kudarat, police reported Tuesday.
Senior Superintendent Abdulrakman Aplak, head of the provincial police mobile group, said the still unidentified captain of MV Ramona FM which arrived from Manila and Cebu to unload cargo in Kalamansig was attacked by the armed men aboard two pump boats shortly before midnight Monday.
Aplak said the ship captain was immediately rushed to a Lebak hospital for treatment of a leg wound sustained from a rifle grenade that hit the deck.
The suspects fled when responding Army and militiamen securing the Kalamansig-Lebak coastline arrived, said Aplak of the attackers who were believed to be members of an extortion gang.
In the past, the police official said, owners of commercial vessels using the Kalamansig route had complained of pirates mulcting docked ships of cash and fuel.
"I suspect them to be members of a revenue-generating unit of a lawless band operating in the coastal areas of Sultan Kudarat and Maguindanao," Aplak said.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view/20081209-176959/Pirates-attack-ship-off-Sultan-Kudarat
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Cyber-Security: A Hard Sell
Getting the U.S. to prioritize the overhaul of vulnerable, dated information networks may not be easy amid economic turmoil and demand for a quick-fix stimulus
By Stephen Baker
Plenty of companies are lining up for a share of the billions of dollars in federal economic relief, citing doomsday scenarios in the event they don't get bailed out. Few can match the worst-case scenarios set forth by cyber-security proponents.
Consider remarks before Congress last year by O. Sami Saydjari, CEO of Cyber Defense Agency, a security research and consulting firm, and a former official at the Defense Dept.'s research arm, DARPA. Following a major cyber-attack, he told legislators, electricity, banking, and communications could all go dead, leaving Americans scrounging for food, water, gasoline—even hunks of firewood traded on the black market.
Even with that chilling warning, Saydjari and his colleagues didn't make much headway with Congress and the Bush Administration. They now hope that President-elect Barack Obama, who stressed the importance of cyber-security on the campaign trail, will channel stimulus funds to strengthening the security of the U.S. information networks.
National Defense at Stake
To that end, a 44-page report by the Commission on Cybersecurity, a bipartisan panel that includes executives, lawmakers, and military officers, outlines an ambitious defense program (BusinessWeek.com, 12/7/08). Saydjari estimates that the job will cost from $30 billion to $50 billion, take five years, and employ tens of thousands of engineers and scientists.
Obama's campaign rhetoric aside, cyber-security may still be a hard sell politically to a public that wants instant results. The plans outlined in the report are not "shovel-in-the-ground projects," Saydjari explains. The first year would largely be spent studying the vulnerabilities and outlining a response. Most of the spending—and jobs—would come in years two through five. This work involves rearchitecting the very systems that sustain our information economy.
But economic stimulus is only one aspect of cyber-security. The far more important issue is national defense. Saydjari and other experts stress that the U.S. economy is built upon networks that are vulnerable to attacks. These could come from hackers, terrorists, or even national governments.
Counting on Obama
Jeffrey Carr, who heads an open-source cyber-defense study group known as Grey Goose, says that cyber-defense reports are already circulating among Obama transition team officials. "We're hoping that they'll support a reinvigorated and more expansive effort right out of the gate," he says.
The U.S., as a pioneer of information networks, faces special challenges: a mixture of aging legacy systems. China, by contrast, operates on a newer, far more secure set of Internet protocols. So in the worst-case scenario, China could launch a pre-emptive attack on U.S. networks, and the U.S. would be hard-pressed to mount an effective response.
With the launch of the Russian Sputnik satellite in 1957, U.S. military analysts quickly woke up to the strategic challenge presented by space exploration. It was a crucial theater in which neither Cold War power could afford to cede dominance to the other. Saydjari says that information networks constitute a vital "underspace."
Building Digital Bulkheads
Early work, he predicts, will be to segment pieces of the information architecture so that an attack in one sector will not spread to others. He compares this to the partitions known as "bulkheads" in ships, which prevent rushing water from sinking the entire vessel.
Past efforts to persuade the government to improve cyber-defense have been sidelined. In 2002 a group of scientists sent an urgent letter to President Bush asking for rapid action to defend American cyber-space. "There is no doubt that such a serious national vulnerability is a real and present danger," they wrote. "Many nations, including Iran and China, for example, have already developed cyber-offense capabilities that threaten our economy and the economies of our allies."
The Administration pushed forward with other priorities, including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. However, on Jan. 8, the President approved a vast Cyber-Defense Initiative. Much of the early work, according to an interview with Melissa Hathaway, who oversees cyber-defense under the Director of National Intelligence, is reducing the number of the government's Internet access points, so that they can be more easily controlled and defended.
Cyber-Security Czar Needed
Saydjari says the effort must reach throughout society—securing even the computers in homes and offices. This will involve agreeing on safe industry standards with leading tech companies, and extending awareness throughout the nation's companies and schools. And to be effective, the effort requires a cyber-security chief who reports directly to the President.
Baker is a senior writer for BusinessWeek in New York.
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/dec2008/tc2008128_182619.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_news+%2B+analysis
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Terrorism on the unguarded sea
By H.D.S. Greenway
December 9, 2008
WHAT if by sea? With security tightening on the land routes into the United States from Canada and Mexico, and with new warnings that the United States could face a nuclear or biological attack within five years, could the next outrage come through America's largely unguarded ocean frontiers?
The distance from Karachi to Mumbai is about the same as from Haiti to Miami, Tampico to Houston, Halifax to Boston, and Baja, Calif., to Los Angeles, says an old shipmate from my Navy days. Wouldn't it be simple for terrorists to acquire a ship, perhaps a fishing trawler, and sail it into any number of ports virtually undetected?
"There is now no routine surveillance of the broad oceanic approaches to the homeland," he says. "Only in the close approaches to major US ports does the Coast Guard maintain the type of active radar coverage essential to the control of shipping, and this surveillance is focused on the relatively large commercial ships . . ."
Because he is still involved with government work he asked that I not use his name.
Much thought has been given to the possibility that mass death could arrive in a closed container aboard a container vessel, and be shipped directly from its port of entry to anywhere in the United States. Efforts are made to inspect ships in their ports of departure, with the cooperation of foreign governments, but even so only a tiny fraction get inspected.
But my friend argues that terrorists, having gone to great effort to acquire their death-dealing devices, might not be willing to consign them to commercial shipping systems.
"There is no system in place for detecting and investigating the larger number of ocean-going, noncommercial vessels plying our coastal waters that are capable of carrying weapons of mass destruction," he says.
A yacht could slip into Miami from the Caribbean virtually undetected and blow the city to smithereens. A small freighter offshore could launch smaller attack boats, as the Somali pirates do, and as was done in Mumbai, and remain undetected until too late.
The same would be true of any number of European ports, especially in the Mediterranean with close proximity to the discontent of North Africa. It wouldn't have to be nuclear to do great damage. One remembers the French ammunition ship that blew up by accident in Halifax harbor during World War I, devastating the city. Port cities everywhere are vulnerable to what would be powerful, maritime truck bombs.
Stephen Flynn, a former Coast Guard officer, now at the Council on Foreign Relations, points out that in addition to our sea ports, most of America's inland cities are located along waterways, "and the level of patrols is next to none. We are very exposed to water-borne attack."
My ex-Navy friend thinks we need a sea-traffic control system, "analogous to the one that manages all air traffic. But, politically, this is proving to be very hard. Commercial and general aviation grew up under the eye of government air traffic control systems. Seafaring has been unregulated and uncontrolled since the beginning of time," he says. There is no mandatory identification system for smaller boats entering US waters.
The Coast Guard does have a "Marine Domain Awareness" program, and a volunteer auxiliary in which civilians donate their time, their boats, and sometimes planes, to patrol our coasts and harbors looking out for anything unusual. According to Flynn, this is probably the best way to thwart an attack because terrorists like to carry out surveillance and make dry practice runs. People who work our waterfronts and in coastal waters are in the best position to notice something strange.
Flynn thinks this should be greatly expanded, with Homeland Security "engaging with the maritime public, yacht clubs, fishermen, coastal home owners, dock workers, and the like, telling them what to look for." He says the British are much better at alerting communities than we are.
Drug runners now use semi-submersible submarines to avoid detection. Terrorists could follow suit with something much worse than heroin aboard. The 9/11 attacks came from the air from our own airports. The fire next time could come undetected, as my Navy friend says, from the "great anonymity of the ocean."
H.D.S. Greenway's column appears regularly in the Globe.
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/12/09/terrorism_on_the_unguarded_sea/
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12-08-2008 18:27
Daewoo to Build 4th 1,800-ton Submarine
Type-214 submarine
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering will be commissioned to build the Navy's fourth Type-214 1,800-ton submarine equipped with high-tech missiles and sensor systems as part of programs to create an expanded submarine command by 2018, a military source said Monday.
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration will ink a contract with Daewoo soon, the source said on condition of anonymity. Daewoo competed with Hyundai Heavy Industries, which constructed the first batch of three Type-214 submarines, for the bidding, he said.
The per-unit price will be about 110 billion won.
The Navy aims to launch a total of nine Type-214s by 2018 in a bid to strengthen its blue-water capability, and will also seek to acquire locally built 3,000-ton submarines.
The diesel-electric submarine, which was first built with technical cooperation from Germany's Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW), is expected to play a key role in sea defense against North Korea and other hostile forces, and anti-submarine warfare, Navy officials said.
The 1,800-ton submarines are also a core part of the soon-to-be-created ``strategic mobile squadrons,'' involving Aegis-equipped destroyers and anti-submarine aircraft, which can be deployed in a conflict situation, they said.
The submarine is armed with state-of-the-art torpedoes and submarine-to-surface missiles. It has a maximum submerged speed of 20 knots and a crew of 40.
The 65.3-meter-long submarine is equipped with Air Independent Propulsion (AIP), which improves its underwater performance and gives it stealth capability. The submarine can submerge to depths of up to 400 meters and carry out underwater operations for as long as two weeks. Its operational radius reaches Guam.
Its ISUS-90 integrated sensor submarine system enables operators to deal with varied information in many different variants and detect up to 300 targets simultaneously.
The first Type-214 submarine, named Sohn Won-il, began operations with the Navy earlier this year, while the second and third ― the Jeong Ji and the Ahn Jung-geun ― are to be operational in 2009 and 2010, respectively, after sea trials.
gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/12/116_35766.html
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US Officers heavy on tech, light on strategy
By Philip Ewing - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Dec 8, 2008 6:38:54 EST
Too many technicians and not enough strategists in the officer corps makes the Navy badly suited for operations in the 21st century, according to a book released Dec. 3.
What’s more, its fleet is designed to re-fight World War II, not deal with a new generation of enemies, and unless the Navy makes dramatic changes, it’ll be irrelevant in tomorrow’s world picture, one of the book’s 13 authors concludes.
The book, “America’s Defense Meltdown,” published by the Center for Defense Information, faults the Navy’s culture of elevating officers with technical backgrounds — including aviators and engineers — rather than purpose-trained tactical thinkers. No matter how well engineers perform as commanders in peacetime, argues conservative author William Lind, a wartime Navy requires tactical experts qualified as engineers.
“The technical-engineering way of thinking and the military-tactical-strategic way of thinking are opposites,” Lind wrote. “War is not an engineering problem. ... Most engineers, which is to say most U.S. Navy officers, cannot deal well with challenges they do not expect and that do not lend themselves to quantitative calculation.”
The book is aimed at the incoming Obama administration, with recommendations for rebuilding the U.S. military after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Although the book also faults Navy shipbuilding, which has been roundly criticized in other reports, its main suggestion for the Navy is to remake the officer culture.
Lind, who wrote the book’s Navy chapter, contrasts the dominance of engineers in the Navy to what he describes as the preference for tacticians elsewhere. All U.S. submarine skippers are nuclear engineers, “in strong contrast to Britain’s Royal Navy, whose submarine commanders have nuclear engineers where they belong, in the engine room,” Lind wrote.
The first step to remaking the Navy’s officer culture is remaking the Naval Academy, Lind says. The curriculum at Annapolis should focus on “war-fighting,” he writes, rather than engineering, and male and female midshipmen should be educated separately. Co-ed classes create a “stultifying air of political correctness,” Lind wrote.
He also recommends sweeping changes to the fleet. The Navy should mothball its Aegis warships, he wrote, because it will never fight an open-ocean war against a peer competitor such as China or Russia. It should use aircraft carriers as cargo ships, carrying supplies or helicopters, if needed, rather than fixed-wing planes.
Lind also recommends the Navy develop its own carrier-launched low-level ground-attack aircraft. The F/A-18 Hornet isn’t built to orbit a battlefield and carry heavy ordnance loads, he wrote, even though that mission will be in ever greater demand.
http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/12/navy_tactical_120808w/
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Greenpeace protests anti-whaling arrests
December 9, 2008 - 3:54PM
Greenpeace officials from around the world gathered in Tokyo on Tuesday to protest what the group says is unfair treatment of two activists arrested earlier this year on suspicion of stealing whale meat.
About a dozen members of the environmental group presented a letter addressed to Prime Minister Taro Aso asking that Japan stop the "political prosecution" of the two and end whaling in a designated ocean sanctuary. They briefly gathered for a quiet protest in front of a parliament building before addressing reporters.
Japan has maintained its whaling program despite heavy criticism from abroad. The government kills about 1,000 whales a year under a whaling program allowed by international rules, and sells the meat as food.
The Greenpeace group, made up of executive directors from its offices in the US, Brazil, Australia and Japan, emphasised Tokyo's status as a global role model.
"Japan is one of the seven largest economies in the world, and with power comes responsibility," said Marcelo Furtado of Greenpeace Brazil.
In April, Greenpeace members Junichi Sato, 31, and Toru Suzuki, 41, removed a box containing whale meat from a postal company warehouse in Aomori, northern Japan. The meat was presented to the government as evidence that workers on government-funded whale hunts were stealing meat for their own consumption and profit.
The two were arrested by police in June for theft and illegally breaking and entering the warehouse, then later released on bail. Authorities also searched Greenpeace's office in Tokyo.
Greenpeace says the two are banned from direct contact with the group and are under police surveillance ahead of their trial, expected early next year.
The Japanese have hunted whales for centuries, and whale meat was widely eaten in the lean years after World War II. The meat, however, has plunged in popularity in today's prosperous Japan and, while still on the menu in a few upscale Tokyo restaurants, is only eaten regularly in small coastal whaling communities.
http://news.theage.com.au/world/greenpeace-protests-antiwhaling-arrests-20081209-6uo7.html
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Somali piracy now attracting the dogs of war
A Spanish boat after being released off Somalia where it had been captured by pirates in April. Photo/REUTERS
By KEVIN J. KELLEY (email the author)
Posted Saturday, December 6 2008 at 10:14
Piracy off the Horn may prove lucrative for more than just the pirates.
Private security firms, including US-based Blackwater Worldwide, have begun angling for contracts to provide armed protection for vessels plying the treacherous seas around the Horn.
Blackwater representatives held a series of meetings in London last week with several potential clients.
And Britain’s Hart Security, a maritime-defence company founded by a former SAS officer, has already entered a partnership with Swinglehurst, a London-based insurance brokerage.
Swinglehurst said last month that the deal with Hart will enable it to offer “war risk cover” to ship-owners at “extremely attractive insurance rates” for voyages through the Gulf of Aden.
“This could be the biggest new market since Iraq... the potential is huge,” an unnamed security consultant in Nairobi told the French press agency. “Everybody is talking about it,” added Bernard Jacquemart, head of information and analysis for Paris-based Securite Sans Frontieres. “There is a very large potential market here. It’s not only Somalia, but the Gulf of Guinea — where you have oil — and the Bay of Bengal,” Mr Jacquemart added.
The use of armed private guards to combat or deter pirates also carries risks of bloodshed as well as potentially rich rewards. In Iraq, these agents have been accused of employing “spray and pray” tactics — meaning they shoot randomly when they feel threatened.
Blackwater has been a focus of controversy within the United States due to its operations in Iraq. The company’s personnel — described by critics as mercenaries — shot dead 17 civilians in one incident in Baghdad last year.
Blackwater said its guards had come under attack from insurgents, but survivors charged that the company’s employees had started shooting without provocation.
An Iraqi investigation concluded that the Blackwater forces had committed “premeditated murder.”
And the Associated Press reported in mid-November that US prosecutors have drafted an indictment against six Blackwater guards in connection with the deadly shootings in 2007.
The company’s workers have been victims too. Four slain Blackwater contractors were mutilated and hanged from a bridge in the Iraqi city of Fallujah in 2004.
Blackwater has a strong incentive to look for new business opportunities.
It receives an estimated $300-$400 million a year through a State Department contract for services in Iraq.
But the private security industry is worried that its costs and legal vulnerability could both rise sharply next year as a result of an agreement that ends foreign contractors’ immunity from Iraqi law.
In its pitches to shipping firms, Blackwater points out that it has its own well-equipped guardian vessel, the 183-foot McArthur, that can escort freighters through pirate-infested waters.
The McArthur can carry two helicopters along with the type of inflatable boats used by naval commandoes. The ship has space for 30 Blackwater guards as well as a 15-member crew.
Blackwater says it prefers to keep its personnel on the company’s own ship because of potential liability issues. At the same time, the guards could engage in combat with the pirates.
“We would be allowed to fire if fired upon,” Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell said. “The right of self-defence is one that exists in international waters.”
The primary goal of Blackwater missions in the vicinity of the Horn would be deterrence, Ms Tyrrell added. “That is the main idea here.”
Shippers may turn to private firms such as Blackwater out of concern that the armed forces of nation-states cannot alone thwart the increasingly bold Somali pirates.
The US Navy has intensified its patrols of the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden in the vicinity of Somalia.
Naval vessels from India, Russia, Britain and other European nations have joined the effort to stop, or at least curtail, the piracy.
And the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously last week to renew for one year its authorisation for countries to use military force against the Somali pirates.
But the attacks have only increased during the past month. And many have been successful, with the pirates seizing ships for ransom payments.
US military officials say the area where the pirates prowl is too vast to be monitored closely.
http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/-/2558/498936/-/s0jysez/-/
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Asia's age-old battle with the pirates
By Matthew Heavens
BBC News, Singapore
The recent seizure of a giant oil tanker off Somalia may be one of the most audacious recent attacks by pirates, but for people here in South East Asia, it's an old and familiar story.
The journals of James Brooke, the famous "White Rajah of Sarawak", who governed part of Borneo in the 19th century give a sense of the age of the problem.
He recounted his attempts to wipe out piracy in the region, describing pitched battles along the coastlines between the British navy and the fleets of tribal longboats that preyed on shipping.
It's the stuff of adventure books.
But for some coastal villages tucked away among the thousands of islands that make up Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, piracy has been a way of life for generations.
Bows and poisoned arrows have given way to automatic weapons and grenades, and the busier the trade routes have become, the richer the pickings.
The narrow waterways between Malaysia and Indonesia - the Straits of Malacca and Singapore - are now among the busiest shipping lanes in the world, accounting for 40% of global trade.
As the shortest route between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, they are crowded with tankers taking oil to Japan and China, and container ships bringing goods back the other way to their markets in the West - some 70,000 vessels last year.
Joint efforts
By 2005, pirate attacks in the Straits were happening almost weekly and Lloyds of London began classifying the waters as a war zone.
Insurance premiums soared and the region's governments were forced to take aggressive action.
The navies of Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia began co-ordinated air and sea patrols, and pirate organisers in Indonesia and Malaysia were arrested and punished, thanks to improved intelligence and policing on shore.
So far, the campaign has been largely successful.
Monitors at the International Maritime Bureau have recorded only two attacks this year, compared with about 40 in 2004.
The Straits and neighbouring waters have now been relegated to third on the IMB's pirate warning list, after the Gulf of Aden and Somalia and the waters off Nigeria.
Experts also point to other factors, such as the surge of aid money after the 2004 Asian tsunami, which helped some poor communities that might otherwise have been tempted into piracy.
But there is evidence the problem may be moving elsewhere in the region.
The remote eastern islands of Indonesia and the southern Philippines have seen a rise in attacks.
The Sulu and Celebes Seas, also part of the route used by giant oil tankers, have been called by one researcher an "ungoverned maritime space".
Islamic insurgents in the southern Philippines have used piracy and smuggling to fund their activities in the past, and there is a fear that events off Somalia may encourage them, or others in the region, to try something more ambitious.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/7753991.stm
Published: 2008/12/07 17:11:07 GMT
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Somalia-UN-Piracy
UN, Kenya to hold int’l conference on piracy off Somalia
APA-Mogadishu (Somalia) – Kenya and the United Nations are planning an international conference on piracy off Somalia on 10 and 11 December in Nairobi, sources said here.
The first day of the meeting will be held by technical experts and will be followed the next day by a ministerial conference which will be addressed by President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya, a UN release said here Monday.
The Ministerial Conference will be co-chaired by Kenya’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Moses Wetangula and the UN Special Representative for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah and attended by 140 representatives from some 40 countries, regional and international organizations.
Mr Ould-Abdallah, said the meeting was extremely significant and timely in the light of the growing menace of piracy in the waters around Somalia which continues to threaten the freedom and safety of maritime trade routes.
Piracy is rampant in Somali waters where nearly 100 pirate-related attacks occurred since the start of this year.
http://www.apanews.net/apa.php?page=show_article_eng&id_article=82512
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Spain could delay Somalia anti-piracy plans -paper
09 Dec 2008 08:22:06 GMT
Source: Reuters
MADRID, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Spain could delay sending about 200 military personnel to participate in the international anti-piracy naval operation off the coast of Somalia, Spanish daily ABC reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed military sources.
Defence Minister Carme Chacon has decided not to seek authorisation from parliament on Wednesday to send the Spanish ship SPS Victoria to the Somali coast, which means it will not set sail on Jan. 8, as was expected, ABC said.
The sources cited by the newspaper said the ship may now join the task force in the second phase of the anti-piracy operation, called Atlanta.
The European Union agreed on Monday to launch the operation off the coast of Somalia involving warships and aircraft from several nations.
Last month, Chacon said Spain would send an initial 196 military personnel to participate in the Atlanta operation, with a further 114 due to be sent out later in the year.
No one at the Defence Ministry was immediately available to comment. (Reporting by Judy MacInnes; Editing by Louise Ireland)
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L9493475.htm
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Weekly Piracy Report 2 December - 8 December 2008
Suspicious crafts
None reported
Recently reported incidents
02.12.2008: 0230 UTC: Tema anchorage, Ghana.
Four robbers boarded an oil tanker at anchor. Robbers stole ship’s stores and escaped when noticed. No injuries to crew.
16.11.2008: 0945 LT: Posn: 05:34.53N – 005:22.39E, Warri river, Nigeria.
Several speedboats with heavily armed men approached a general cargo ship under pilotage. They fired warning shots into the air, ordered the pilot to stop the ship and demanded the gangway ladder to be lowered. The pirates boarded the ship and sailed it to a their rebel base where they anchored it. The 19 crew were taken ashore. The crew and ship was later released. No harm to crew.
06.12.2008: 1142 UTC: Posn: 06:42S – 046:58E, off southern Somalia (450 nm east of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania / 350 nm west of Seychelles islands)
Two pirate skiffs were seen approaching a container ship underway. The 2nd mate increased speed, raised alarm, activated fire hoses and mustered crew on bridge. The pirates fired upon the ship with guns and RPG. Master activated SSAS, DSC distress and increased speed to maximum. After some time, the pirates stop firing and the distance increased. The pirates reloaded their weapons and start firing again. For some reason, one of the skiffs slowed down and the other boat was just trailing without firing. Finally, the two skiffs stopped and aborted the attempted attack. No injuries to crew. A fire broke out on board the vessel due to the gunfire and RPG. A white hulled fishing boat-like vessel was sighted 10 nm away, which could be the pirate mother vessel.
06.12.2008: 0145 LT: Belawan outer anchorage, Indonesia.
Robbers boarded a chemical tanker at anchor. They broke the bosun store padlock and stole ship's stores. Attempt to contact authorities were futile.
03.12.2008: 0419 UTC: Posn: 12:59.49N - 047:41.56E, Gulf of Aden.
Pirates, armed with automatic rifles, in a speedboat fired upon a chemical tanker underway. They tried to board the tanker twice, using a portable ladder, but were unsuccessful due to the evasive manoeuvres taken by the tanker. Pirates aborted the attempted attack after two hours. A coalition helicopter came to investigate.
01.12.2008: 2100 LT: Posn: 02:51.00N - 104:19.00E,7.3nm off Teluk Juara, east of Pulau Tioman, Malaysia.
Ten armed pirates boarded a tug underway. They threatened the master and crew with knives. Pirates tied up the crew with ropes and locked them in a compartment. They escaped with tug's and crew cash, documents and personal belongings. On 02.12.2008 at 0215 LT, the 2nd officer reported the incident to owners and owners instructed the master to sail the tug to Thailand. Incident reported to local police.
http://www.icc-ccs.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=308:weekly-piracy-report&catid=32:weekly-piracy-report&Itemid=10
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Warship will lead anti-piracy battle
Tuesday, December 09, 2008, 10:00
A WESTCOUNTRY warship is to spearhead anti-piracy efforts off the African coast in the European Union's first joint naval operations.
Devonport-based HMS Northumberland has already been operating off the East African coast for a little over a month, providing a deterrent against heavily-armed pirates operating in the area.
The frigate is expected to head a fleet of at least seven ships in the Gulf of Aden, in a British-led EU maritime mission.
Defence Secretary John Hutton met his French counterpart Herve Morin last week at Northwood, Britain's joint operation headquarters, in London.
After the meeting Mr Hutton conceded that tackling the increasing threat of piracy to world trade would be difficult.
But he said: "We just can't allow the trade and commerce of the world to be jeopardised by pirates and we have to stand up and defend ourselves. If we do not, we will regret that day.
"It is a very, very serious threat. We have to deal with this problem and have a credible operation with a real and serious threat to the pirates."
Mr Hutton rejected suggestions that the public would be sceptical about the joint mission, believing that most would see the benefits of tackling the "direct and clear threats to our economic interests".
The threat from pirates from lawless Somalia has been steadily growing in the area in recent months. They operate high-powered speedboats and are often armed with automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenades.
The treacherous waters off the Horn of Africa are regularly used by Shell Oil, as well as by aid agencies shipping food.
Pirates are currently holding around 15 ships, including the giant oil tanker the Sirius Star and a Ukrainian ship with 33 military tanks on board.
They are demanding a multi-million-pound ransom for the Sirius Star and her crew, threatening to blow her up if their demands are not met.
It is one of more than 100 attacks that have been carried out off Somalia this year.
HMS Northumberland is faced with identifying potential pirate vessels from innocent fishermen and merchant ships and carrying out regular boarding operations. The frigate's commanding officer, Commander Martin Simpson said: "Operations mostly involve local fishermen and cargo boats, and allow us to speak to local seamen about their concerns and observations in the area, while also hopefully reassuring them.
"It is often forgotten that local fishermen and small cargo ship owners are frequently the victims of piracy as much as the larger international carriers."
Last month, Plymouth-based HMS Cumberland detained eight suspected Somali pirates following an attempted hijacking of a Danish vessel in the Gulf of Aden.
Crews from the Royal Navy warship shot dead two pirates after a foreign flagged dhow, believed to be Yemeni, was identified as having tried to hijack the Danish vessel MV Powerful. A Yemeni national was also found injured and later died.
Further details of the EU maritime operation, titled Operation Atalanta, are expected to be announced later today.
http://www.thisiswesternmorningnews.co.uk/news/Warship-lead-anti-piracy-battle/article-532086-detail/article.html
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Russia replacing anti-pirate ship off Somalia
32 minutes ago
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's navy says a warship on anti-piracy patrol off Somalia will be replaced soon.
Russia sent the missile frigate Neustrashimy, or Intrepid, after pirates seized a Ukrainian ship carrying tanks in September. The ship from Russia's Northern Fleet has been escorting freighters and the navy says it has helped thwart at least two pirate attacks.
Navy spokesman Capt. Igor Dygalo said Tuesday that the Intrepid will remain in the region through the end of December and be replaced by a ship from Russia's Pacific Fleet. The navy previously said it would replace the Neustrashimy with another ship and continue the Russian presence off Somalia.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hRQwvk-sKqcW3ED56Blz99vxjlpAD94V4GN81
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EU firms should stop toxic dumping off Somalia
ABDIMAJID OSMAN
08.12.2008 @ 08:30 CET
EUOBSERVER / COMMENT - The European Union's defence ministers launched on 10 November 2008 an anti-piracy mission called "Atalanta" off the coast of Somalia.
The bloc claims that the goal of the enterprise is "to escort the World Food Programme's humanitarian convoys to Somalia and to contribute to the improvement of maritime security off the Somali coast as part of the European Union's overall action to stabilise Somalia."
Somalia: European and Asian companies are dumping toxic waste, including nuclear waste in the sea, the author says (Photo: wikipedia)
Print
Comment article
More recently, the EU pushed for a UN Security Council resolution that was adopted on 2 December to allow member states to fight pirates off the coast of Somalia.
The French UN Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert expressed his satisfaction with the resolution because: "Piracy is killing. Every day more than three million Somali people are depending on food aid, on emergency relief - which comes, 95 percent of it - by sea."
In a time when Somalia is experiencing one of its most serious humanitarian crises ever, one would think that the unexpected determination and speed of the EU in deploying military muscle in the region should be welcomed by the Somali people.
But unfortunately, Atalanta looks like another disappointing duplicity toward the war-torn nation. Doubts hang over whether the EU is genuinely keen to help the people of Somalia in their desperate search for peace and stability.
Securing supply of oil
Two factors undermine the credibility of the EU's operation in Somalia. Firstly, the main goal of the mission seems to be to secure the supply of goods and oil to the rich countries in the West.
In the past, the European Union resolutely rejected repeated calls from the African Union and Somalia's neighbours to deploy peace-keeping forces in the country.
The rise of piracy on Somalia's waters has suddenly ignited a spark in the corridors of EU decision makers, after the hijacking of a large Saudi oil tanker reminded the western world of the vulnerability of maritime trade at a time of financial crisis.
The organisation Refugees International (RI) criticised, recently, this global hypocrisy toward Somalia. The RI stated that "the speed and resolve with which piracy has been addressed by the UN Security Council underlines Somali sentiment that economic interests trump humanitarian concerns."
Secondly, the EU's inability or unwillingness to stop and punish the European-owned companies that have for many years been dumping toxic waste off the Somali coast seriously undermines the ethical claims of the new EU endeavour.
Toxic waste
In 1996, when I was in the northern autonomous region, Puntland, in Somalia, there was already a widespread fear that foreign ships were taking advantage of the collapse of the Somalian state by using the nation's waters as a refuse dump.
When the tsunami of 2004 hit the country, the United Nation Environment Programme (UNEP) reported that many waste containers washed up on the the coast of Puntland. It is now widely understood that European companies are systematically dumping toxic waste in these waters.
The UN special envoy for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould Abdallah, has in the past few months repeatedly sounded the alarm about illegal fishing and toxic dumping off Somalia by European firms.
Mr Abdullah said that his organisation has "reliable information" that European and Asian companies are dumping the waste - including nuclear waste, - in this region.
The European Union has responded to these allegations with silence.
At a press conference on 2 December, following the UN Security Council resolution on Somalia, a reporter from Inner City Press asked Ambassador Ripert of France, which holds the EU's presidency, about how the waste issue will be dealt with.
The ambassador answered: "I have no comment on the issue."
There is now a fear that, if the EU clears Somali waters of pirates, European waste-dumping firms will inherit a safe haven to exercise their criminal and immoral activities.
If Europe wants to help the unfortunate people of Somalia, the most responsible and credible way to start would be stop and punish those companies.
In the long term, the union should also develop a comprehensive plan for the restoration of peace and stability in the country.
The Somali born author is a chemist at Linkoping University Hospital, Sweden and can be contacted at abdimajid@passagen.se
http://euobserver.com/9/27244
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BuaNews (Tshwane)
South Africa: SA Navy Commissions New Specialist Reaction Squadron
Luyanda Makapela
9 December 2008
Cape Town — The Navy's new Maritime Reaction Squadron (MRS) is to be commissioned at a special parade in Cape Town on Tuesday, hosted by Chief of the South African Navy, Vice Admiral Johannes Mudimu.
According to the Department of Defence, this specialist unit has been trained for deployment in various peacekeeping capacities on the African continent, assisting in boarding operations at sea and assisting in humanitarian operations and disaster relief.
The unit was formed in 2005 when Vice Admiral Mudimu ordered the formation of a Maritime Reaction Squadron munit which could fulfil a specific mandate within the South African Defence Force (SANDF).
At the time, many Navy members were involved in peacekeeping operations on the African continent, including VIP Protection, observer missions and using boats to conduct patrols in the Great Lakes Region.
There was a need for a specialist unit to conduct an oversight role and it needed to be positioned within the Navy due to its expertise in riverine and littoral operations (which is the boundary area between ocean and land).
The MRS members have been benchmarked against defence forces in the US, UK and France.
They were trained to use small boats and helicopters which can be used to launch assaults from sea and to establish a beach-head on a target area.
Currently the unit is divided into various sections, namely an operational boat element, operational diving team and a rapid force element. These sections will work together to provide a force that can be rapidly deployed into any situation as required by government.
One of the Navy projects that will ensure that the MRS is equipped to fulfil all their obligations is Project XENA. The project is divided into various sub-projects, of which one is the acquisition of new boats.
The new Project XENA boat will also be unveiled to the public for the first time on Tuesday. At the event, the media will be invited to board the SAS Drakensberg, which will be berthed alongside in the harbour.
There will also be a demonstration of the MRS capabilities, teams will be deployed in small boats climbing over the side of the ship and by members fast-roping out of a helicopter onto the forwards flight deck.
http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/200812090337.html
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Mumbai Terrorists Relied on New Technology for Attacks
By JEREMY KAHN
Published: December 8, 2008
MUMBAI, India — The terrorists who struck this city last month stunned authorities not only with their use of sophisticated weaponry but also with their comfort with modern technology.
The terrorists navigated across the Arabian Sea to Mumbai from Karachi, Pakistan, with the help of a global positioning system handset. While under way, they communicated using a satellite phone with those in Pakistan believed to have coordinated the attacks. They recognized their targets and knew the most direct routes to reach them in part because they had studied satellite photos from Google Earth.
And, perhaps most significantly, throughout the three-day siege at two luxury hotels and a Jewish center, the Pakistani-based handlers communicated with the attackers using Internet phones that complicate efforts to trace and intercept calls.
Those handlers, who were apparently watching the attacks unfold live on television, were able to inform the attackers of the movement of security forces from news accounts and provide the gunmen with instructions and encouragement, authorities said.
Hasan Gafoor, Mumbai’s police commissioner, said Monday that as once complicated technologies — including global positioning systems and satellite phones — have become simpler to operate, terrorists, like everyone else, have become adept at using them. “Well, whether terrorists or common criminals, they do try to be a step ahead in terms of technology,” he said.
Indian security forces surrounding the buildings were able to monitor the terrorists’ outgoing calls by intercepting their cellphone signals. But Indian police officials said those directing the attacks, who are believed to be from Lashkar-e-Taiba, a militant group based in Pakistan, were using a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone service, which has complicated efforts to determine their whereabouts and identities.
VoIP services, in which conversations are carried over the Internet as opposed to conventional phone lines or cellphone towers, are increasingly popular with people looking to save money on long distance and international calls. Many such services, like Skype and Vonage, allow a user to call another VoIP-enabled device anywhere in the world free of charge, or to call a standard telephone or cellphone at a deeply discounted rate.
But the same services are also increasingly popular with criminals and terrorists, a trend that worries some law enforcement and intelligence agencies. “It’s a concern,” said one Indian security official, who spoke anonymously because the investigation was continuing. “It’s not something we have seen before.”
In mid-October, a draft United States Army intelligence report highlighted the growing interest of Islamic militants in using VoIP, noting recent news reports of Taliban insurgents using Skype to communicate. The unclassified report, which examined discussions of emerging technologies on jihadi Web sites, was obtained by the Federation of American Scientists, a Washington-based nonprofit group that monitors the impact of science on national security.
VoIP calls pose an array of difficulties for intelligence and law enforcement services, according to communications experts. “It means the phone-tapping techniques that work for old traditional interception don’t work,” said Matt Blaze, a professor and computer security expert at the University of Pennsylvania.
An agency using conventional tracing techniques to track a call from a land line or cellphone to a VoIP subscriber would be able to get only as far as the switching station that converts the voice call into Internet data, communications experts said. The switch, usually owned and operated by the company providing the VoIP service, could be located thousands of miles from the subscriber.
The subscriber’s phone number would also likely reveal no information about his location. For instance, someone in New York could dial a local phone number but actually be connected via the Internet to a person in Thailand.
In Mumbai, authorities have declined to disclose the names of the VoIP companies whose services the Lashkar-e-Taiba handlers used, but reports in Indian news media have said the calls have been traced to companies in New Jersey and Austria. Yet investigators have said they are convinced that the handlers who directed the attacks were actually sitting somewhere in Pakistan during the calls.
One senior Lashkar-e-Taiba leader who American officials believe may have played a key role in planning the Mumbai attacks is Zarrar Shah. Mr. Shah, known to be a specialist in communications technology, may have been aware of the difficulties in tracing VoIP.
To determine the location of a VoIP caller, an investigating agency has to access a database kept by the service provider. The database logs the unique numerical identifier, known as an Internet Protocol (I.P.) address, of whatever device the subscriber was using to connect to the Internet. This could be a computer equipped with a microphone, a special VoIP phone, or even a cellphone with software that routes calls over the Internet using wireless connections as opposed to cellular signals.
It would then take additional electronic sleuthing to determine where the device was located. The customer’s identity could be obtained from the service provider as well, but might prove fraudulent, experts said.
Getting the I.P. address and then determining its location can take days longer than a standard phone trace, particularly if service providers involved are in a foreign country.
“Ultimately, we can trace them,” said Mr. Gafoor, referring to VoIP calls. “It takes a little longer, but we will trace them.”
Washington is assisting the Indian authorities in obtaining this information, according to another Indian police official who also spoke anonymously because of the continuing investigation.
Further complicating this task is the fact that I.P. addresses change frequently and are less tied to a specific location than phone numbers.
Computer experts said that while these challenges were formidable, none were insurmountable. And they cautioned that security services and police forces might be disingenuous when they complain about terrorists’ use of new technologies, including VoIP.
The experts said that VoIP calls left a far richer data trail for investigators to mine than someone calling from an old-fashioned pay phone. Mr. Blaze, the computer security expert at the University of Pennsylvania, also noted that 15 years ago the Mumbai attackers would probably not have had the capacity to make calls to their handlers during the course of their attacks, depriving investigators of vital clues to their identities. “As one door closes — traditional wire line tapping — all these other doors have opened,” Mr. Blaze said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/world/asia/09mumbai.html?ref=world
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Cruise ship evacuated due to Somali pirate threat
31 minutes ago
BERLIN (AP) — Hundreds of passengers on a round-the-world cruise will disembark before reaching waters off Somalia and fly to Dubai to avoid pirates, German cruise operator Hapag-Lloyd said Tuesday.
The company said the 150-meter (490-foot) MS Columbus and its crew will continue on through the Gulf of Aden. Passengers will rejoin the vessel in Oman for the remainder of a trip that began last month in Genoa, Italy.
A company spokesman said passengers would be transferred to planes, but would not comment further.
Pirates off the Somali coast have recently started trying to take cruise vessels after a string of attack on cargo ships, including a Saudi oil tanker and a Ukrainian ship carrying tanks and other weapons.
The British naval commander in charge of the European Union's anti-piracy mission off the coast of Somalia said Tuesday that the force may station armed guards on the most vulnerable cargo ships in high-risk areas.
British Vice-Admiral Philip Jones said the guards may be placed on some ships transporting food aid to Somalia.
The EU mission includes four ships and two maritime reconnaissance aircraft On Dec. 15 it will replace a four-vessel NATO flotilla that has been conducting anti-piracy patrols off the Somali coast.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gB7YMEDuCwwY9ncDOtPAkEI4-H2wD94V5GDG0
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Russian frigate escorts another convoy along Somali coast
12:30
09/ 12/ 2008
MOSCOW, December 9 (RIA Novosti) - A Russian frigate currently protecting civilian ships from Somali pirate attacks near the Horn of Africa is escorting another convoy of four vessels in the area, a Navy spokesman said.
Capt. 1st Rank Igor Dygalo said the Northern Fleet's Neustrashimy (Fearless) is currently escorting the Russian Nadezhda (Hope), the Fesco Yenisey flying a Marshall Islands flag, along with the Panamanian Symphony, and the Cayman Islands-flagged Nanami.
The Neustrashimy will continue to escort commercial vessels through the dangerous waters off the Somali coast until the end of the year when it will be replaced by the Pacific Fleet's destroyer Admiral Vinogradov, which left a naval base near Vladivostok on Tuesday on course for the Indian Ocean.
During its current mission in the Gulf of Aden, the Neustrashimy had already escorted seven convoys, comprising a total of 24 ships.
Russian Navy commander Vladimir Vysotsky earlier said that warships from all of the Navy's fleets will be involved in anti-piracy measures in the region.
Russia dispatched the Neustrashimy to the region in October, following the surge in pirate attacks.
According to the UN, Somali pirates have attacked over 120 ships so far this year, resulting in the seizure of 39 vessels and the capture of at least 600 merchant seamen for ransom. There are 280 merchant seamen from 14 different ships currently being held by Somali pirates.
The east African nation has been without a functioning government since 1991 and has no navy to police its coastline.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20081209/118761187.html
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Frigate wins third warfare trophy
Published Date: 09 December 2008
PORTSMOUTH-BASED HMS Richmond has won her third warfare trophy of the year.
The Type 23 frigate has been presented with the Fleet Electronic Warfare Effectiveness Trophy.
The trophy is awarded annually by the Royal Navy to the ship or unit which has made the greatest contribution to EW.
Richmond's trophy cabinet already boasts two awards for her anti-submarine work during operational sea training.
Petty Officer Andrew Deacon, who heads the EW department, said: 'It is a great honour to receive this award and my team and I are very pleased with the recognition we have received.'
The ship's commanding officer, Commander Mark Southorn, said: 'I am very proud of PO Deacon and his team for winning this award.
'It is highly deserved for their hard work and professionalism.'
In May this year HMS Richmond deployed to the northern Arabian Gulf.
The EW team ensured that all merchant vessels approaching Iraqi oil terminals were challenged and if necessary boarded.
The role was vital in assuring the security of the platforms and the personnel working on them.
http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/Frigate-wins-third-warfare-trophy.4772823.jp
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Suspected people smuggling vessel intercepted
Written by Customs
A vessel with 44 passengers and 3 crew on board was intercepted by Border Protection Command near Broome in Western Australia today, after an earlier sighting by an Air Force Orion P3 surveillance aircraft.
While the vessel was identified some considerable distance from the Australian mainland, Border Protection Command maintained surveillance of the vessel and responded when it reached the Australian contiguous zone.
The Minister for Home Affairs Bob Debus said the moment the vessel reached the area HMAS Maryborough under the control of Border Protection Command acted swiftly to apprehend the vessel and ensure the safety and security of all on board.
"The group will now be transferred to Christmas Island where they will be detained and processed. The nationalities and intentions of the people on board are yet to be determined and
no significant health issues have been identified at this stage."
The Government this week announced plans to strengthen border security arrangements with the creation of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service.
Mr Debus said it would have the capability to gather information, coordinate maritime surveillance and on-water response and engage internationally with countries in our region to address and deter people smuggling from our shores.
"The Government will also provide an additional Navy vessel and surveillance aircraft to protect Australia's offshore maritime areas from illegal activity, including people smuggling."
"The increase, along with existing Defence and Customs assets already operating, will provide a significant deterrent to anyone seeking to break Australia's maritime laws or enter Australia illegally.
"Border Protection Command's 12 aircraft fly more than 2400 missions every year and this addition means there will now be 17 Navy and Customs vessels patrolling 365 days a year."
The increase will see up to eight Royal Australian Navy vessels working in conjunction with Customs patrol vessels to respond to incidents. Defence will increase its aerial surveillance by adding extra aircraft to its current AP3-C Orion along with extended surveillance hours.
"People smugglers are taking advantage of good seasonal conditions and the extra border patrols will be kept in place to cover this period of activity.
http://www.australia.to/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1834:suspected-people-smuggling-vessel-intercepted&catid=1:latest
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How to solve the pirate problem
By Mike Steere
For CNN
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Violent and predatory pirates are "totally out of control" according to experts; but what can be done to solve the problem?
It's the question that major trading nations, navies and shipping companies are all battling to answer as luxury yachts, large freighters and even competitive race boats face unprecedented levels of piracy.
As of December 5, a staggering 286 crew members aboard 14 vessels were still being held captive by pirates after a significant flurry of attacks that started in July this year.
The center of pirate activity has been the Arabian Sea, east of Africa. The majority of this year's pirate attacks have occurred in the Gulf of Aden region, particularly the waters off the coast of Somalia.
The number of hostages taken in the nine months to the end of September is more than triple the amount taken in the same period last year.
While many attacks have focused on trading vessels, luxury yachts have not been immune. Among the victims was French yacht "The Ponant," which was hijacked by Somali pirates in April and 30 crew were taken hostage.
Michael Howlett, assistant director of the International Maritime Bureau, said the number of pirate attacks was "totally out of control... and totally unprecedented."
There have been 101 reports of ships being attacked by pirates, including 40 hijackings, 34 cases of ships being fired upon, with over 800 crew members being affected, he said.
Howlett told CNN the pirates are hard to stop due to a lack of effective authorities in Somalia, limits in terms of how patrolling navies can act, and the vast expanses of water in which the pirates are operating.
"Because there is no real deterrent they are acting with complete disregard for everyone else," he said.
For cruising yachties in the area, the piracy problem has meant a dramatic rethink of plans.
Many cruisers cross the Gulf of Aden when heading towards the Mediterranean in February and March -- however, it appears that in 2009 these sailors may not be as free to make the journey.
As a result of the piracy sailors on one popular discussion site appear to be turning away from the area completely.
"The pirates have evolving tactics, and the situation changes often enough that what works today may not tomorrow. There is no absolute defence other than not sailing there," one sailor advised another.
So, how can this situation be remedied?
According to Howlett, the long term solution is a stable, functioning and effective government in Somalia.
"We need an effective government in Somalia ... and what we really need is a coordinated response. Somalia can't do it without its neighbors and the international community," Howlett told CNN.
Because most of the pirates are operating from Somalia, they need to have their supply lines and support networks cut off there, he continued.
In the shorter term, solving the problem, or at least minimizing it, depends upon the actions of the navies patrolling the area.
"The only effective parties are the navies. We would like them to play a bigger part, particularly engaging in some pre-emptive targeting.
"What we need to do better is make it more difficult using co-ordinated attacks. There needs to be more robust rules of engagement," Howlett said.
Without the ability to launch pre-emptive strikes, the naval vessels must wait until something happens until they can act, and even then they are limited in what they can do.
"It's really because their rules of engagement don't allow them to be involved at the moment," he said.
Still, the maritime community greatly appreciates the work of coalition, U.S. Navy, NATO, French and Yemeni coast guard vessels that were helping to deter some would-be attackers.
United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Somalia spokesman, Peter Smerdon agreed that further naval assistance would be a huge help in the area.
The WFP in Somalia had been under threat with pirate attacks a serious danger for shipments of food into the impoverished country.
However, Smerdon said the WFP had now secured the services of European Union (EU) naval vessels to escort them into the area for one year.
"We don't foresee that the piracy issue is going to go away very quickly -- so this is excellent for us."
Smerdon told CNN that if pirates were to affect the flow of food aid into the country it could spark a massive humanitarian crisis.
The WFP was currently feeding about 1.7 million Somalian people every month and was aiming to increase that to 2.4 million per month, he said.
However, even with increased naval efforts, the attacks would still be hard to prevent due to the range of water pirates cover, Howlett said.
Over on the west coast of Africa, in the waters off the coast of Nigeria, frequent attacks by pirates are causing similar concerns.
In the first nine months of 2008, there were 24 piracy incidents in Nigerian waters, according to the most recent IMB piracy report. However, as the report noted -- it is believed attacks are seriously under-reported in Nigeria which is a "cause for great concern."
Another major issue is whether ransom payments should be paid.
While a South Korean shipping company decided to pay one of the ransoms requested, others have refused to -- citing the likelihood it would encourage more attacks.
Howlett said there was currently no set policy for ransoms, as it was a difficult area to deal with.
"Nobody wants to pay the ransom, but it's tricky because if you don't pay the ransom then you won't get your ship back."
Howlett said the piracy problem could also have a significant impact on the world economy if it is not addressed quickly.
"We are already starting to see a number of larger shipping operators re-routing their ships via South Africa. This will be a lot more expensive and the incurred costs will get passed on to the consumer," he said.
For now, Howlett said shipping operators and recreational boaters needed to take caution through the area -- or avoid it if possible.
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/SPORT/12/05/solving.pirates/
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Tuna Commission considers restrictions on some fishing practices
Posted at 07:32 on 09 December, 2008 UTC
The Western and Central Pacific Tuna Commission meeting in South Korea is considering temporary restrictions on some fishing practices in order to preserve fish stocks.
One of the measures would be a closure for three months of purse seine netting using what are know as Fish Aggregating Devices..floating objects or platforms with material hanging into the water beneath them,attracting fish.
As part of Greenpeace’s campaign for even greater cutbacks in tuna fish in this region, they displayed a FAD lifted from international waters between Solomon Islands, Nauru and Kiribati, that consisted of a wooden pallet and a tube of netting, with many strips of plastic attached.
It also had a satellite beacon placed on top so the unknown owner could track the device.
Ocean’s Campaigner with Greenpeace, Sari Tolvanen, says Greenpeace wants to see a longer break in the use of these devices because of a huge increase in useage:
“And this is why it has become so problematic because it attracts the juvenille fish and tuna they all get caught in one big the nets when the fishing boat comes and collects the catch from the FADs so its stopping the recovery of the more declined tuna stocks such as Big eye and yellow fin .”
Other conservation measures being proposed to achieve the 30 per cent reduction in the catch of Bigeye and Yellowfin include high seas closures and a catch retention scheme.
http://www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=43580
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Pirate hostages are 'misbehaving'
December 09 2008 at 01:52PM
Mogadishu - Crew members on an arms-laden Ukrainian cargo ship held by Somali pirates attempted to overpower two of their captors, prompting the hijackers to threaten to punish the men on Tuesday.
Speaking to AFP from the MV Faina cargo they hijacked on September 25 and have held off the coast of Somalia ever since, a spokesperson for the pirates said the incident took place late on Monday.
"Some crew members on the Ukrainian ship are misbehaving. They tried to harm two of our gunmen late Monday," said the pirate, who declined to give his name.
"This is unacceptable, they risk serious punitive measures. Somalis know how to live and how to die at the same time, but the Ukrainians' attempt to take violent action is misguided," the spokesperson added.
'This is unacceptable'
He said two of the pirates were taken by surprise when a group of crew members attacked them.
"Maybe some of the crew are frustrated and we are feeling the same but our boys never opted for violence, this was a provocation," the pirate spokesperson explained.
More than 120 attacks by Somali pirates have been reported this year alone in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean but all the hijackings have so far been resolved peacefully through the payment of ransoms.
At least 16 ships and more than 300 crew are currently being held.
The MV Faina is carrying 33 battle tanks and other weaponry and was headed to the Kenyan port of Mombasa when it was seized by pirates two and half months ago.
The pirates have lowered their ransom demand to $3,5-million and told AFP late last month that an agreement had already been reached for the ship's release.
In recent days, some sources have reported frustration among the pirates over delays in the ransom payment.
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=87&art_id=nw20081209133343159C923225
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No red alert yet as ‘agent orange‘ rises in bay
Guy Rogers ENVIRONMENT & TOURISM EDITOR
A BRIGHT orange slick in Algoa Bay which has puzzled residents has been identified as a “red tide”.
Marine and Coastal Management regional manager Delricia Augustus said yesterday her office had sent a vessel to Seaview on Friday.
“Indications are the slick is an algal bloom or ‘red tide‘. But samples were taken and we will only be certain once these samples have been analysed by our Cape Town laboratories.”
The same phenomenon had been spotted in the harbour yesterday.
No dead fish were spotted, which indicates toxicity levels are either low or non-existent, and oxygen not unduly depleted.
The worst red tides, on the West Coast, have led to mass “crawl-outs” by rock lobster seeking to avoid the toxicity and sudden dip in oxygen, while the public has been warned against eating mussels. Augustus said it was not yet necessary to issue a warning, but the slick is being monitored.
Marine biologist Prof Tris Wooldridge said: “We do have a few each summer. They‘re usually preceded by a couple of days of south-easterly winds, resulting in upwelling in which nutrients are brought to the surface. A couple of days of calm warm weather, like we‘ve just had, results in a ‘blooming‘ or proliferation of them.”
They had so far been non-toxic in this area.
http://www.theherald.co.za/herald/news/n04_09122008.htm
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ANALYSIS-Policy muddle sets Nigeria oil delta on knife-edge
Mon 8 Dec 2008, 14:35 GMT
By Nick Tattersall
LAGOS, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Nigeria needs to strike a delicate balance between military muscle and political negotiation in the Niger Delta if it is to protect Africa's biggest oil industry from a fresh spate of crippling attacks, analysts say.
A campaign of sabotage over the past three years, in which militants have blown up pipelines, attacked flow stations and kidnapped foreign oil workers, has cut crude oil production in the world's eighth biggest exporter by around a fifth.
The insecurity also presents a growing threat to exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Nigeria provides some 10 percent of world supply, much of it to Europe and the United States where it is used for power generation or making chemicals.
Hawks within the security forces champion a military option, viewing the militants as plain criminals who need flushing out, while some politicians favour negotiation, seeing a degree of legitimacy in the activists' grievances.
The lack of a clear policy combining the two has left the region on a knife-edge as the militants wait to see if they will be brought to the negotiating table or attacked with gunboats.
"There is definitely division right now. There are no clear instructions, there's no clear command and control, which makes things very confusing on the ground," said one security contractor working in the oil industry.
President Umaru Yar'Adua's 18-month old administration announced a new Niger Delta ministry in September, meant to co-ordinate "youth empowerment" and development initiatives, but a minister has yet to be named and good will is evaporating.
"Initially when this government came into office and the vice president visited communities and committees were set up we thought that something would happen," said Jonjon Oyeinfie, former leader of ethnic rights group the Ijaw Youth Council.
"Almost two years after they came into office, nothing concrete has happened. It doesn't seem to be the major priority. One wonders if they have the political will," said Oyeinfie, who sits on a negotiating team representing the militants.
Some blame politicians accused of sponsoring oil thieves or of gaining kickbacks on security contracts for deliberately seeking to maintain the status quo.
"All identified highly-placed persons engaged in sponsoring of violence for economic and political reasons (must be) dealt with," Ledum Mitee, head of a government panel set up to consider solutions for the delta, said last week.
SPOILING FOR A FIGHT
Militants holed up in camps deep in the mangrove creeks say they are battling for a fairer share of the natural wealth in the Niger Delta, where impoverished villages nestle alongside multi-billion dollar industry installations.
But while the gang leaders grow rich from the theft of industrial quantities of crude oil, the average citizen has seen little benefit from their campaign, with insecurity rife and kidnapping and robbery spiralling out of control.
The Mitee panel of ex-ministers, activists and academics -- set up to consider ways of calming the delta -- estimated last week that $20.7 billion of oil revenues had been lost to oil theft and sabotage between January and September alone.
Ratings agency Fitch said that oil production shortfalls because of continued insecurity, which reduces inward investment as well impacting revenues, was a "key risk" to the 2009 budget in sub-Saharan Africa's second-biggest economy.
Yet the region's three main states -- Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta -- lack a coherent common security policy, analysts say.
Rivers in the east has taken a more combative approach, using the army and navy to flush out militants from their camps while Bayelsa and Delta have tended to prefer negotiation.
The main militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), declared a ceasefire in September after its positions were hit by military helicopters and gunboats in Rivers in what it called a six-day "oil war".
An uncompromising new commander in the western states of Bayelsa and Delta appears in recent months to have been following Rivers' lead, making strong in-roads against oil theft -- known locally as "bunkering" -- in some parts of his region.
Security analysts say the military appears to be flexing its muscles and preparing to strike against the camps of factional leaders such as Farah Dagogo, Boyloaf and Tom Polo.
"How successful a hit against Farah, Boyloaf, Tom Polo would be is questionable. It could blow up the ceasefire, set back the political road map and make the job of the Niger Delta ministry almost impossible," one private security contractor said.
"The repercussions would be extremely severe." (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/ ) (Editing by Matthew Tostevin)
http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL8467455.html
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Sunday, December 7, 2008
Direct Link: http://www.mercopress.com/vernoticia.do?id=15436&formato=html
Chilean vessel manages to out run Somali pirates
A Chilean cargo vessel managed to outrun an attack with rifles from pirates in the north east of Africa, according to Arturo Claro Fernandez, vice-president of Compañía Sud Americana de Vapores, CSAV, one of Chile’s main maritime transport companies.
Claro Fernandez broke the news during the closing day last Friday of the Exponaval 2008 fair in Valparaiso. The incident apparently happened that same week.
The group of kidnappers closed on one of the “Norasia” units with several small fast boats but the quick reaction from the crew speeding the vessel impeded the highjackers from boarding her. The incident involved heavy rifle shooting from the pirates but fortunately nobody was injured.
Claro Fernandez made the announcement during a speech at the fair analyzing the current sea trade business.
“Pirates tried to highjack us the Norasia off Somalia, but it was an attempt with rifles and the vessel managed to escape”.
“The situation was very complicated, but the captain was fast in reacting and had the vessel on full steam, thus aborting the kidnapping”, said Claro Fernandez.
He said CSAV vessels usually steam along the Pacific rim and through the Suez canal to Europe, “mostly with containers”, but this is not the first time “our vessels have suffered theft or kidnap attempts. Similar actions have occurred along the Brazilian coast”.
The Chilean entrepreneur said high seas piracy has become “a well organized business with mother ships and a sophisticated communications system”.
The northeast coast of Africa off Somalia has become the hottest spot where even a giant oil tanker and a vessel transporting tanks and war material were recently kidnapped.
At Exponaval 2008 is was also revealed that the Chilean Navy tall ship “Esmeralda”, with its annual promotion of cadets had also been targeted by the pirates along the African coast.
However when the corsairs realized it was a naval vessel and possibly armed they desisted of their planned attack.
As on next week the European Union is increasing patrolling along the Somali coastline with an increased number of frigates.
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Evergreen trims services, capacity
December 8, 2008
Evergreen Line plans to cut capacity by merging two of its direct east-west services from Asia to Europe and from Asia to the United States into one pendulum service with an eastbound and a westbound leg.
The existing AUS (Asia-United States) and CES (China-Europe Shuttle) services will be restructured into the new pendulum service UAE (U.S.-West Coast-Asia-Europe) and the existing pendulum service CPS (China, South-U.S. West Coast).
The new routing will extend the scope of the old AUS service to call ports in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent.
The UAE service will employ 10 S-series and three E-series ships. The new CPS service will utilize two E-series and three UX-series vessels.
The Taiwanese carrier said the restructured services will enable it to save on bunker fuel.
The UAE service will start from Los Angeles on Dec. 15, and the CPS service will start from Pusan on Dec. 16.
The westbound rotation will be Los Angeles, Oakland, Taipei, Kaohsiung, Hong Kong, Yantian, Tanjung Pelepas, Colombo, Suez Canal, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Thamesport and Zeebrugge.
Eastbound rotation will be: Rotterdam, Hamburg, Thamesport, Zeebrugge, Taranto, Port Said, Colombo, Tanjung Pelepas, Yantian, Hong Kong, Kaohsiung, Los Angeles and Oakland.
http://www.pacificshipper.com/news/article.asp?sid=33094<ype=news_review
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How unsafe are our seas?
December 9, 2008
Image: A rocket is fired from the Indian Navy's destroyer INS Mumbai during a naval exercise off the western coast of India, March 8, 2004. Photograph: Sebastian D'Souza/AFP/Getty Images)
Commodore R S Vasan (retired), a former Indian Naval Officer and head of Strategy and Security Studies at the Center for Asia Studies at Chennai, assesses the maritime dimensions of the Mumbai terror attacks
It has now been confirmed that an inflatable boat found in Colaba, south Mumbai, was the one the terrorists used to come ashore and unleash terror in Mumbai.
With the conclusion of Operation Cyclone, this analysis is aimed at examining the preparedness of our maritime forces and other security agencies, which have a major role in thwarting such attacks.
The naval authorities at Mumbai initially said that the ingress of the terrorists by boat was not substantiated. However, it was clear by the end of the day that the terrorists did use the sea route. The boat was abandoned and the terrorists fanned out towards their targets.
The naval ships of the Indian Navy's prized Western fleet and the dockyard facilities are close to the terrorists's landing point. The private shipping yards, some of which are engaged in building/repairing modern warships, are located adjacent to the naval facilities.
The Indian Navy's action/perception: In a media interview on November 25, the commander-in-chief of the Western Naval Command indicated that both the naval and the Coast Guard's surface and air units were deployed to locate the terrorists's mothership. If even a fraction of these very forces were deployed in a coordinated manner earlier, based on the wonderful intelligence provided, there would have been a good chance of thwarting the attack.
http://specials.rediff.com/news/2008/dec/09sld1-how-unsafe-are-our-seas.htm
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Obama's Africa opportunity: Use a new military command to drive change
By Laura Conley and Ethan Porter
Monday, December 8th 2008, 4:00 AM
Barack Obama's immense popularity on the African continent is more than a feel good story - it's of vital strategic utility to the United States. As an underdeveloped and unstable continent hangs in the balance, Obama has a unique ability to leverage his influence to root out terrorism and strengthen African states.
The open question is: Will he go about it the right way?
Africa is not usually considered a hot spot in the war on terrorism, but by all accounts it now is. Al Qaeda's affiliate in northern Africa has carried out increasingly lethal suicide attacks this year, and CIA Director Michael Hayden recently noted Al Qaeda has strengthened in Somalia as well. Weak states dominate the African landscape and expedite the spread of disease, crime and extremism, due to their uncontrolled borders and limited governance.
Because of his ancestry and resultant popularity on the continent, Obama begins with a head start. He builds on this with the nomination of Susan Rice, assistant secretary of state for African affairs during the Clinton administration, as UN ambassador.
All this points to a newly collaborative, diplomacy-heavy approach to the continent.
But to truly tackle instability in Africa, Obama's biggest asset will be an unlikely and underappreciated tool, created by the Bush administration: the United States Africa Command, or AFRICOM for short. AFRICOM was launched in October by the U.S. military as the first American command focused solely on the continent. It brings together defense, development and diplomatic professionals under one roof - with the aim of preventing conflict as much as resolving it.
AFRICOM has been intensely criticized since its inception as too hawkish for America's delicate challenges in Africa. Emira Woods, co-director of Foreign Policy in Focus, has said that the creation of the command is akin to "putting a velvet glove of humanitarian aid over the fist of the military." Many Africans share her wariness.
This line of thinking misses the point. AFRICOM is not an attempt to disguise a militarization of U.S. foreign policy; it is a recognition of the military's limits.
Obama should champion AFRICOM as a state-strengthening vehicle. He needs to explain clearly and repeatedly that the command is not an attempt to conquer Africa by stealth or lay claim to its resources. On the contrary, in Obama's hands it can be a means by which America can help Africans help themselves.
If he takes this tack, there's ample evidence that Africans will heed his words. Last spring, the Nigerian militant group Mend stunned observers by announcing it would abide by a ceasefire - if only Obama requested one. After Obama's election, Tony Leon, a member of South Africa's parliament, admitted that "Severed from Bush, AFRICOM presents a more positive picture. I think Obama is a page turner."
If Obama breaks with the worst unilateralist tendencies of the Bush administration, which by all accounts he will, he can use the command to take Africa's temperature, and help the U.S. government respond. For example, peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo are in need of reinforcements, as are their counterparts in Darfur. The utter collapse of Somalia, illustrated by the mushrooming pirate problem, also cries out for an influx of aid. AFRICOM, alongside the State Department, can train African peacekeepers in abundance.
The launch of AFRICOM and the election of the first President with personal ties to the continent bring the U.S-Africa relationship to a critical juncture. Obama won the presidency by running an improbable and innovative campaign. If he brings the same flexible yet strong leadership to AFRICOM and draws on this remarkable moment of goodwill, the intertwined fates of African states and American security interests may be considerably brightened.
Conley is a special assistant for national security at the Center for American Progress. Porter is the associate editor of Democracy: A Journal of Ideas. The views presented are their own.
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2008/12/08/2008-12-08_obamas_africa_opportunity_use_a_new_mili.html
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Regards
Snooper
NNNN
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