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Living 4 the Weekends ……. !!!!
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 14th June 2008 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 !!!
No Update
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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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USS Mahan Counterpiracy Ops
1/29/2009 10:29:59 AM
As part of Combined Task Force (CTF) 151, the guided-missile destroyer USS Mahan (DDG 72) is cooperating with approximately 14 nations also operating in the Gulf of Aden, Red Sea, Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea.
CTF 151, a counterpiracy task force, was established to create a lawful maritime order and develop security in the maritime environment.
“In our first two weeks on patrol, we have coordinated and deconflicted our efforts with a host of other navies,” said Cmdr. Steve Murphy, commanding officer of Mahan. “Though we sail under different flags and command arrangements, we share a common goal of promoting maritime security in the region.
“Under the guidance of CTF 151, we are sharing information and applying lessons learned, and in my estimation, we are making a difference.”
Naval ships and assets from more than 20 nations have been invited to join CTF 151. Working with coalition navies on matters threatening maritime security and stability is at the heart of the U.S. sea services’ maritime strategy, known as “A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Sea Power.”
The maritime strategy outlines the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard’s six core capabilities, many of which Mahan is employing during this current counterpiracy mission. Those capabilities include: forward presence, deterrence, maritime security, sea power, power projection, and humanitarian assistance and disaster response. The maritime strategy states that threats to maritime security, such as piracy, require international cooperation.
“Piracy is a pernicious problem that has been going on in this region for quite some time,” said Murphy. “We understand that our efforts alone cannot guarantee safety in the region. It is a broad international effort and includes promising actions taken by the commercial shipping industry to protect themselves and ongoing efforts to establish stability ashore.”
In August, the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), headquartered in Bahrain, created the maritime security patrol area (MSPA) in the Gulf of Aden to support international efforts to combat piracy. This helps channel the shipping activity and maximizes the efforts of the combined naval activity, concentrating global navies’ counterpiracy activities within a specific maritime corridor.
“As part of CTF 151, Mahan’s mission is to safeguard the free flow of commerce by deterring and disrupting piracy,” said Murphy. “The officers and crew of Mahan are well trained, and they are dedicated to providing maritime safety and security as part of a broad international effort.” Mahan, a multimission platform, helps set the conditions for security and stability in the maritime environment by monitoring maritime traffic, performing routine queries of vessels and conducting visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) operations.
http://sname.marinelink.com/snamestory.aspx?stid=214319
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Pirates hijack German tanker
January 30, 2009 Edition 2
NAIROBI: Somali pirates hijacked a German-owned tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas in the Gulf of Aden yesterday - the third ship to be taken this year.
"The MV Longchamp was hijacked with a crew of 13 - 12 Filipinos and one Indonesian," said Andrew Mwangura, of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme. It was not clear where the tanker, which was flying the Bahamas flag, was bound. - Reuters
http://www.themercury.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=4817237
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IMO Meeting on Anti-Piracy
1/29/2009 10:18:26 AM
A high-level meeting in Djibouti has been convened by IMO to help address the problem of piracy and armed robbery against ships off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden.
The meeting, which was opened Jan. 26 by IMO Secretary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos and the Prime Minister of Djibouti, Mr. Dileita Mohamed Dileita, is expected to conclude and adopt, pursuant to a request made by the IMO Assembly in its resolution 1002 of 2007, a regional agreement to assist countries in the region to build capacity to suppress piracy and armed robbery against ships in the Western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden.
The opening session was attended by several Ministers of Transport and Ambassadors of countries in the region; high-level representatives of States that have sent naval assets to protect shipping from acts of piracy and armed robbery in the troubled waters off Somalia (including those of China, Italy, Japan, the Russian Federation and the United Kingdom); and officials of international organizations co operating with IMO on this issue (including the United Nations and the World Food Programme).
In his opening address, Secretary-General Mitropoulos expressed appreciation to the countries that had to date contributed to the protection of shipping off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden. He underlined that it was indicative of the seriousness with which the issue was now being addressed worldwide that the response to earlier calls by IMO and the United Nations, rallying support for decisive action, had come from afar.
Mr. Mitropoulos further stressed that the contributing alliances of Governments, organizations and individual countries (citing the European Union, NATO and China, India, the Russian Federation and Saudi Arabia) had done their duty and that the time had now come for States in the region to add their own contribution to the concerted efforts of the international community. More importantly, he continued, it was "time for Somalia itself to act. One can have few hopes that the situation at sea will improve dramatically unless and until there is significant improvement on the political front on land. For it is favourable political developments ashore that will help stem the scourge offshore. The fate of Somalia is in the hands of the people of Somalia as they, and they alone, are, and should be, the masters of their country and its destiny. We wish their leaders courage, wisdom, prudence and determination to bring peace and stability to their country and among its citizens; to help them build hope in themselves and in the future of their country; and to succeed in leading their proud nation to the path of happiness and prosperity - of which it has been deprived for so long and which it so much deserves."
The Djibouti meeting will conclude on 29 January 2009 and is being attended by senior officers from the maritime and port authorities of Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, France, Jordan, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates, the United Republic of Tanzania and Yemen as well as from other IMO Member States.
The event follows from earlier regional meetings, also convened by IMO, including the Subregional seminar on piracy and armed robbery against ships and maritime security held in Sana'a, Yemen, in April 2005; the Follow up subregional workshop on maritime security, piracy and armed robbery against ships held in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman, in January 2006; and the IMO subregional meeting on piracy and armed robbery against ships in the Western Indian Ocean, held in Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania, in April 2008.
The Dar es Salaam meeting, in particular, developed a draft regional Memorandum of Understanding concerning the repression of piracy and armed robbery against ships in the Western Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Aden, and the Red Sea, which forms the basis of the draft agreement now being considered in Djibouti.
The draft regional agreement is based on the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) and its Information Sharing Centre (ReCAAP-ISC), which has operated, and continues to operate, with great success in the Asian region.
The draft agreement recognizes the extent of the problem of piracy and armed robbery against ships in the region and calls on its signatories to co-operate to the fullest possible extent in the repression of piracy and armed robbery against ships, with a view towards sharing and reporting relevant information; interdicting ships suspected of engaging in acts of piracy or armed robbery against ships; ensuring that persons committing or attempting to commit acts of piracy or armed robbery against ships are successfully apprehended and prosecuted; and facilitating proper care, treatment, and repatriation for seafarers and passengers subject to acts of piracy or armed robbery against ships, particularly those who have been subjected to violence.
Signatories will agree to arrest, investigate and prosecute persons who have committed piracy or are reasonably suspected of committing piracy; seize suspect ships and the property on board such ships; and rescue ships, persons, and property subject to acts of piracy. These acts would be consistent with international law.
The agreement also covers the possibilities of hot pursuit into another country's territorial waters and shared operations, such as nominating officers to embark in the patrol ships or aircraft of another signatory.
The draft agreement further envisages the setting up of national focal points for piracy and armed robbery against ships and the sharing of information relating to incidents reported.
It additionally envisages that signatory countries will review their own national legislation with a view towards ensuring that there are national laws in place to criminalize piracy and armed robbery against ships, and adequate guidelines for the exercise of jurisdiction, conduct of investigations, and prosecutions. This is intended to allow for the prosecution, conviction and punishment of those involved in acts of piracy or armed robbery against ships, and to facilitate extradition when prosecution is not possible.
http://sname.marinelink.com/snamestory.aspx?stid=214310
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Sea-floor miner mulling delisting as economic crunch bites, but remains optimistic
By: Irma Venter
Published on 30th January 2009
The global economic crisis has taken another victim, this time from the fledgeling marine mining industry.
Aim-listed Neptune Minerals will today (January 30) present a proposal to the company's annual general meeting to delist.
This follows hot on the heels of another sea-floor miner hopeful,TSX- and Aim-listed Nautilus Minerals' December decision to terminate an agreement with the company that was to provide the support vessel for its undersea mining project, in a move to preserve Nautilus' cash position.
The firm will also reduce its workforce by about 30%.
Both Neptune and Nautilus are explorers and developers of precious- and base-metal sea-floor massive sulphide (SMS) deposits.
Neptune Minerals has granted exploration licences of more than 278 000 km2 in the territorial waters of New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Federated States of Micronesia and Vanuatu.
Neptune Minerals MD and CEO Dr Simon McDonald tells Mining Weekly that there is no firm decision yet, but that the board is of the opinion that delisting would be in the best interest of the shareholders and company.
He says the rationale behind the decision "is to save costs in the current downturn, but also because it is difficult to get [an] appropriate valuation for joint venture and investment discussions based on the current share price".
McDonald says Neptune has realised – along with other junior miners and explorers – that it is difficult to secure funding from Aim-based sources.
"Many Aim juniors are delisting at present, probably for similar reasons," says McDonald.
Neptune has around a hundred shareholders, with the top ten holding more than 80% of the shares, and the top 20 holding more than 90%.
Neptune first listed on AIM in October 2005 at 25 p, dipping down to 12 p,and finally to the current level of just over one pence.
McDonald says Neptune anticipates to be unlisted "only until an appropriate time to relist, probably not on Aim, but a main board somewhere".
He says relisting would most likely happen closer to the start of production.
Funding until then would come from private sources, value-added by investment, joint venture participation, and through use of offshore equipment for equity.
How much money would Neptune require, though?
McDonald says if the company decided on contract mining – whereby it wouldn't need to buy mining systems but pay opex per ton of ore lifted – capex would be low.
However, if the company decides to buy its own equipment, then it could be debt or equity funded, "with the quantum obviously dependant on the systems ultimately chosen", says McDonald.
He believes this figure could be in the range of $250-million to $500-million, which includes initial and sustaining capex for a period of ten years.
McDonald assures that delisting would not affect Neptune's project pipeline.
"With adequate private funding it should have no effect – [it] could actually speed up the project pipeline as we have had our primary funding focus on Aim for the past two years".
Taking a more holistic look at the fledgeling SMS marine mining industry, McDonald says things are not nearly as bad as they appear.
"Nautilus made a very strategic decision to cancel their mining orders, to conserve their cash reserve, but also with the dramatic fall in price of shipping and so forth, they may actually be able to renegotiate construction for a much lower price.
"Nautilus pulling the contracts may not be as grim a prospect as it first appears.
"The world generally seems depressed and may remain that way for 24 months or longer - a good time to be delisted - but that is only relative to the hyper hysteria of the past two years."
McDonald says the copper price is still much higher than when Neptune started out in 1999.
"Neptune continues to have very positive discussions down non-conventional funding avenues, such as marine companies, offshore operators in the cable and trenching, and oil and gas service industries; and Asian metal companies."
Editor: Martin Zhuwakinyu
http://www.miningweekly.com/article.php?a_id=151402
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Russian nuclear missile cruiser visits Goa port
January 29th, 2009 - 7:48 pm ICT by IANS
New Delhi, Jan 29 (IANS) The Russian Navy’s nuclear-powered heavy missile cruiser Pyotr Veliky (Peter the Great) has arrived at the port of Mormugao in Goa after participating in a two-day naval exercise with the Indian Navy, an official said Thursday.Pyotr Veliky, known as the “killer of aircraft carriers”, was in the warmer waters of the Indian Ocean for the biennial Indra exercise with the Indian Navy. During the exercise, the two navies carried manoeuveres on how to destroy aircraft carriers.
“Pyotr Veliky, the Russian warship, has participated in the naval war games that concluded Jan 27. Now it is docked in Mormugao on an unofficial visit, the only port on India’s western coast that has facilities for berthing of nuclear powered ships,” a navy official said, requesting anonymity.
The programme for the exercise provided for a joint drill of tasks to protect navigation, fight piracy and terrorist actions and hold gun and missile firing practice.
The warship from the Russia’s Northern Fleet will leave the Mormugao port Friday after replenishment of food and water.
The Pyotr Veliky will join up with a task force from Russia’s Pacific Fleet, comprising the Admiral Vinogradov, an Udaloy class destroyer, a tugboat and two fuel tankers, which are carrying out anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden.
There has been a marked increase in the incidents of piracy in the Gulf of Aden, one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, with over 110 ships attacked last year.
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/russian-nuclear-missile-cruiser-visits-goa-port_100148722.html
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Whaling and dealing: Tell the US to stop negotiating at the expense of whales
We have received worrying rumours of a political deal that could result in increased whaling off the coast of Japan - threatening already endangered whales. We need your your help in ensuring that this deal is killed off - and not the whales.
According to leaked reports from a closed door meeting in Hawaii, the International Whaling Commission is currently considering a proposal that would involve the trading of a small reduction in the quota of whales that Japan hunts in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, in return for an agreed increase in hunting minke whales off the coast of Japan. Of greatest concern is that one of the minke whale populations in this area is listed as endangered.
The only acceptable agreement would be a complete end to Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary - but we cannot let this happen at the cost of endangered whales in the North Pacific.
The most disturbing information about these reports is that the United States IWC Commissioner and the US Chair of the IWC seem to be at the forefront of the proposal. Both are appointees from the Bush administration who are still in place, and already attempting to undermine Obama's foreign policy on whaling.
It is clear that there are many, many big issues on President Obama’s plate in his first week in the Oval Office. His words and action on climate change and other environmental issues are very welcome but if the news reports are true, then this issue simply cannot wait.
While on the campaign trail, President Obama’s position was unequivocal - no commercial whaling and stronger international regulations on whaling.
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/oceans/whaling/ending-japanese-whaling/US-whaling-dealing
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French ports hit by strike
French ports and shipping services were hit yesterday (Thursday)– as workers responded to a call from leading trade unions to stage a national one-day strike.
The aim is to force government to introduce measures to protect jobs and wages in this global economic crisis.
The port of Marseilles was worst affected, according to press reports.
Story By : Alan Peat
Date :1/30/2009
http://www.cargoinfo.co.za/newsdetails.asp?&newsid=7347
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Suez Canal to take a knock
Suez Canal traffic is set to shrink further as Mediterranean Shipping Company – the world’s second largest container line - considers diverting more container services around the Cape of Good Hope, reports Lloyds List.
After already deciding to reroute the eastbound leg of its Asia-Europe Lion service, MSC said it was now “actively examining other services that might be routed via the Cape in order to reduce our operating costs by avoiding Suez Canal dues”.
MSC is following CMA CGM whose joint FAL2 service is already taking the longer route in order to avoid canal dues of around $600 000 per transit – and is also now looking at other services that could go via the Cape.
With fuel prices now much cheaper, the added cost of bunkers is far less than the Suez Canal toll saving, making a sizeable net gain for container lines.
Story By : Alan Peat
Date :1/30/2009
http://www.cargoinfo.co.za/newsdetails.asp?&newsid=7346
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Croatian Navy presents "Vukovar" and "Dubrovnik" frigates
10:38 GMT, January 28, 2009 Croatian Navy presented its two newly acquired "Helsinki" rocket frigates on January 26, in Lora Naval Base in Split. RTOP-41 and RTOP-42 that recently arrived from Finland were given the names of "Vukovar" and "Dubrovnik".
The ceremony attended Envoy of the President, Chief of General Staff General Josip Lucic, MOD State Secretary Mate Raboteg, Defence Inspector General Lieutenant General Marijan Marekovic, Deputy Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Slavko Baric, Navy Commander Rear Admiral (LH) Ante Urlic and other high military and civil guests, among whom mayors of Vukovar Zdenka Buljan and Dubrovnik Dubravka Suica.
Rear Admiral (LH) Ante Urlic expressed his satisfaction that the ships were given names after heroic Croatian cities – Vukovar and Dubrovnik, saying that these were multi-role ships that can perform traditional tasks and serve for Coastguard needs, thus expanding the Croatian Navy capabilities.
On behalf of the Minister of Defence, the present were addressed by the MOD State Secretary Mate Raboteg saying that this was great success of the Croatian Navy, since for the first time since Croatian independence; Croatian Navy got new ships in the fleet, which was also a start of the new investment cycle in the Navy equipping. The State Secretary also emphasized that ships were bought in very good technical condition and were regularly maintained and that they came with the excellent offset program which implied transfer of technology and knowledge. He also said that all the equipment on ships were NATO compatible but also correspond to the equipment on the two existing frigates RTOP "Petar Kresimir IV" and "Dmitar Zvonimir". The price for the two rocket frigates with transport and equipment was 95 million kunas.
Chief of General Staff General Josip Lucic particularly emphasized the symbolism of names given to the ships. The General also announced that a keel laying in a Croatian shipyard for the Croatian Navy was expected this year already, after which it should become continuity. Afterwards, the ceremony of giving the new names to the ships followed, which has been done with the help of Vukovar and Dubrovnik mayors, followed by the flag hoisting and blessing of the Military Bishop Josip Jezerinac. The guests and media representatives also had chance to sail on RTOP-41 "Vukovar" in Kastelanski Bay.
http://www.defpro.com/news/details/5167/
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Nigeria - A new plan to decongest the Port of Lagos
More than 15 000 overtime containers, including those not cleared by customs, will soon be moved from Lagos port to Ikorodu Terminal and other bonded terminals in the city by the task force on port decongestion.
The decision to move the containers was reached after a meeting by the customs service, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), the terminal operators and other stakeholders in Lagos, the national PR officer of Nigeria customs, Wale Adeniyi, told Vanguard/All Africa Global Media.
Story By : Alan Peat
Date :1/29/2009
http://www.cargoinfo.co.za/newsdetails.asp?&newsid=7335
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USAF Awards Northrop Grumman $276 Million Contract for Global Hawk UAV
08:10 GMT, January 29, 2009 SAN DIEGO | The U.S. Air Force has awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract valued at $276 million for operations and maintenance support of the RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned reconnaissance aircraft.
With eight Global Hawks (seven Block 10s and one Block 20) currently stationed at their main operating base at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., or deployed in-theatre, this sustainment contract calls for continued training and peacetime operations support for fiscal years 2009 and 2010. It will also provide operational assistance for two new forward operating locations at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, and Naval Air Station Sigonella, Italy.
"During that two-year period, all of the next-generation Block 20 Global Hawks will be fielded at all three operating locations and also continuing in support of the global war on terrorism (GWOT)," said George Guerra, Northrop Grumman vice president of high-altitude long-endurance systems. "We are delighted in the Air Force's confidence in this truly dynamic and flexible intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance system that has recently supported various domestic missions, from wildfires and hurricanes to coastal patrols and drug interdictions."
All work under this contract, such as ongoing engineering, data and configuration management, global supply chain management, spares and repairs, technical data and field services as well as maintenance, will be managed and executed by the 560th Aircraft Sustainment Group at Warner Robins Air Logistics Center in Robins Air Force Base located in middle Georgia.
Northrop Grumman's Global Hawk teammates performing work under this contract include L-3 Communications, Salt Lake City, Utah (communication system); Raytheon Company, Waltham, Mass. (integrated sensor suite and ground station); and Rolls-Royce Corporation, Indianapolis, Ind. (engine).
Logging more than 21,000 combat hours thus far with 95 percent mission effectiveness, Global Hawk can fly up to 65,000 feet for more than 35 hours and see through any inclement weather, day or night. It provides military field commanders with persistent, high-resolution, near real-time imagery and other critical sensor data. The Block 20 configuration can carry 1,000 more pounds (up to 3,000 pounds) of internal payload and operate with two-and-a-half times the electrical power than the Block 10.
Global Hawks are currently flown in four locations across the globe: Beale Air Force Base, home of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing and the RQ-4's main operating base, in Northern California; Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California; Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland; and in support of the GWOT.
http://www.defpro.com/news/details/5189/
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French port visits SA to market itself as an alternative logistics hub
By: Terence Creamer
30th January 2009
Representatives from the Port of Le Havre visited South Africa in mid-January to market the fast-expanding French port as an alternative maritime gateway into Europe.
The delegation met with large South African exporters such as petrochemical group Sasol, as well as with shipping lines and South Africa’s State port operator Transnet.
Commercial director Pierre-Yves Collardey argued that Le Havre, which is located on the coast of the Normandy region, in northern France, was coming into its own as a logistics hub, with strong road, waterway and rail linkages into the hinterland of France and the rest of Europe.
It had also emerged as a trans-shipment hub for parts of northern and southern Europe, as well as the UK and Ireland.
Collardey asserted that the harbour offered a viable alternative for South African exporters and shipping lines, some of which were feeling the effects of port congestion at other European harbours, as well as inland logistics constraints.
At present, trade between South Africa’s ports and Le Havre was standing at an insignificant level of between 20 000 TEUs and 50 000 TEUs yearly, with only a quarter of that moving in a northbound direction.
Northbound trade included vegetables, chemicals, automotive components and metallurgical products, with the southbound consignments consisting mainly of manufactured products and electrical equipment, automotives, chemicals and French-specific products such as wine, spirits and perfumes.
There were currently four weekly services operating between the harbour and South Africa’s harbours at Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London and Durban, with Durban being the main counterparty hub. Transit times were between 15 and 19 days.
The deep-water harbour, which is able to cater for all sizes of vessel, is also currently being expanded from its modest yearly capacity of 2,5-million TEU to six-million TEU – it should reach that nameplate by 2016.
Despite the global economic slowdown, the port was targeting to grow volumes and market share in 2009, given some of the constraints being face by its European competitors.
Collardey anticipated that the port could handle close to three-million TEUs during 2009.
“Our key message to South Africa exporters and shippers is that we see the country, as well as Africa generally, as an important market and we would like them to see us as a competitive alternative gateway into the European market,” Collardey concluded.
Edited by: Martin Zhuwakinyu
http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/french-port-visits-sa-to-market-itself-as-an-alternative-logistics-hub-2009-01-30
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Warships too late to intervene as Somali pirates seize German gas tanker
January 30, 2009 Edition 2
Katharine Houreld
NAIROBI: Somali pirates have hijacked a German gas tanker and its 14-man crew in the Gulf of Aden, the third ship captured off the Horn of Africa this year.
The MV Longchamp, registered in the Bahamas, is managed by the German firm Bernhard Schulte Ship Management, which said seven pirates boarded the tanker early yesterday.
Spokesperson Andre Delau said the ship's master had been allowed to communicate briefly with the firm and he had said the crew of 12 Filipinos and one Indonesian was safe.
"We think that everything is in order, no one is injured," Delau said.
No ransom demand had yet been made, the company said.
Nathan Christensen, a spokesperson in Bahrain for the United States Fifth Fleet, said the ship had been seized off the southern coast of Yemen, 60 sea miles from the town of al-Mukalla.
Robin Phillips, deputy director of the Bahamas maritime authority in London, said the Longchamp was sailing in a corridor secured by European Union military forces when it sent a distress signal before dawn.
"Ships and helicopters were dispatched, but they arrived too late."
Shots could be heard over the radio, said Phillips.
He said the ship later set a course south for Somalia.
Cyrus Mody of the International Maritime Bureau said 166 crewmen on nine ships, not including the Longchamp, were being held off Somalia.
The Longchamp is designed to carry liquefied gas, but Phillips said he did not know whether it was full. Liquefied petroleum gas is a mixture of gases used to fuel heating appliances and vehicles.
Somali waters are being patrolled by more than 12 warships from countries that include Britain, France, Germany, Iran and the US.
China and South Korea have also ordered the dispatch of warships to the region.
Warships have helped many cargo ships fight off the pirates, but Christensen says none was near the Longchamp when it was taken.
Pirates seized more than 40 ships off Somalia's 3 000km coastline and collected an estimated $30 million in ransoms last year.
http://www.capetimes.co.za/?fArticleId=4816793
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Now Irish Army orders 27 SA-designed armoured vehicles
By: Keith Campbell
30th January 2009
South African armoured and mine protected vehicle manufacturer BAE Systems Land Systems OMC has won the Irish Army's Light Tactical Armoured Vehicle (LTAV) contest, securing an order for 27 RG32M LTVs. According to Irish reports, the contract is worth €19,6-million, and includes options for a further 27 vehicles (the contract value probably includes these options). Deliveries will start this year and take place over a three year period.
This deal follows on the heels of a third order from Sweden for the RG32M. The latest Swedish contract, announced last month (December) is for 60 vehicles and is worth some €18-million. It follows two previous orders for RG32Ms, the first - placed in 2005 - for 102 vehicles, and the second, placed in 2007, for another 98. The 200th and last vehicle acquired under these first and second contracts was delivered last year, and the first vehicle from the new contract will be delivered in February 2010. The RG32Ms of this third batch will be upgraded in various ways (the details are confidential) and the delivery of the production vehicles will be preceded by an upgrade and test cycle during this year.
Regarding the Irish order, the RG32M LTV was chosen after two months of intensive field trials, beating two European competitors - the Mowag Eagle IV from Switzerland, and the Iveco MLV from Italy. The Irish are adopting an LTAV, as they call this type of vehicle, specifically to participate in peacekeeping missions abroad, on behalf of the UN or EU - Ireland currently has an infantry battalion serving with the EU force in Chad.
In Irish service, the RG32M LTV will be employed in various roles, including surveillance, communications, target acquisition, and transporting US-made Javelin anti-tank missiles. The Irish vehicles will be armed either with 12,7 mm heavy machine guns or 40 mm automatic grenade launchers.
The RG32M LTV is the latest version of the RG32M, LTV standing for Light Tactical Vehicle. It has improved mine protection in comparison with previous models, providing greater blast survivability and crew protection.
The RG32M LTV is classified as a light armoured vehicle, in the light mine protected patrol vehicle category, and has a gross vehicle mass of only 9 t. Its armour can protect its crew from armour-piercing rifle fire as well as anti-tank land mine blasts, with its externally mounted windows providing improved side-blast protection. It has a 200 mm wider hull and 50 mm greater head space in comparison to earlier RG32Ms. The LTV version also has an increased, 2 t, payload and a new design of load bay which can take a wide variety of mission-specific equipment, making it more versatile. Despite its better protection and greater internal space, it has lost none of the ground clearance, agility, or mobility of the earlier versions.
The RG32M family makes extensive use of commercial-off-the-shelf components, reducing maintenace costs and minimising logistical burdens. These latest contracts take the total number of RG32Ms, of all models, built or on order, to more than 500. All have been, and will be, manufactured at the company's plant in Benoni, east of Johannesburg.
Edited by: Martin Zhuwakinyu
http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/now-irish-army-orders-27-sadesigned-armoured-vehicles-2009-01-30
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PetroSA proposes new offshore facility
Melanie Gosling
January 30 2009 at 09:00AM
PetroSA, which will run out of local gas supplies by 2010, plans to import liquified natural gas (LNG) and pipe it onshore to avoid having to close down its Mossel Bay refinery.
The state-owned company has said that, if South Africa's dwindling offshore gas supplies forced it to close, it would have a serious impact on the economy of the Mossel Bay region and result in the loss of about 1 800 jobs.
The company proposes to build a floating liquified natural gas facility offshore to process the imported supplies, and then pipe it onshore to the refinery.
It is looking at several locations, but the preferred option is to use the existing pipeline at Vleesbaai, a relatively undeveloped southern Cape bay near Mossel Bay.
The proposal has alarmed residents of Vleesbaai and surrounding areas, as they say the proposed underwater, offshore facility will damage the marine environment and, because of the dangers of LNG, will create an unacceptable risk in the area.
They also say having ships offloading at the facility, as close as 3km offshore, would spoil the scenic coastline in a region where the major industry is tourism.
Ninham Shand is conducting the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the LNG facility.
PetroSA writes in the EIA document that the offshore gas supplies that feed the gas-to-liquid refinery at Mossel Bay are dwindling, and that the resource is expected to fall to such low levels by 2010 that it would no longer be economical to exploit them.
The company was exploring regions off the southern Cape coast and West Coast to find new gas supplies, but said there was no guarantee that these would be sufficient.
"Consequently, PetroSA is proposing to import liquified natural gas to augment the supply of indigenous gas, in order to sustain the gas-to-liquid facility (at Mossel Bay)," the document said.
Other locations for the facility are Voortbaai near Mossel Bay and the existing PetroSA offshore platform.
The imported LNG, transported in ships, would be turned back into gas on the vessel at the floating offshore facility near Vleesbaai, and then piped to shore.
Angry local residents have formed the Rescue VleesBay Action Group to oppose the offshore facility.
This article was originally published on page 4 of Cape Times on January 30, 2009
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=594&art_id=vn20090130001840917C192405
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16 rebels killed, suicide boat sunk as fighting rages in Lanka
Colombo, Jan 30 (PTI) At least 16 LTTE rebels were killed in fierce clashes with the Sri Lanka army which broke through the defences of one of the remaining rebel bastions, even as the Navy sunk an approaching explosives-laden suicide boat this morning.
Sri Lanka Navy attack boats deployed in the Mullaittivu seas destroyed an LTTE suicide boat around 3 am this morning, officials said.
The navy boats deployed in the sea blockade along the northeastern coast intercepted the explosive-laden Tiger suicide craft launched from the Mullaittivu coast and destroyed it with heavy gunfire, sources said.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa last night set a 48-hour ultimatum to the beleaguered LTTE to surrender and allow free movement of civilians trapped in conflict areas and assured a "safe passage" to civilians.
"I urge the LTTE, within the next 48 hours to allow free movement of civilians to ensure their safety and security. For all those civilians, I assure a safe passage to a secure environment," Rajapaksa said.
The statement came two days after External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee met Rajapaksa here and sought an assurance that the safety of Tamil civilians caught in the hostilities will be ensured.
Meanwhile, ground clashes continued, with Sri Lanka Army thrusting into the remaining LTTE hideouts stretching from the south of Kilaly lagoon to the Paranthan- Mullaittivu road, the defence ministry said.
At present, Lanka Navy has deployed four blockades along the northeastern coast of the island to prevent arms supplies and LTTE cadres from escaping via sea route. PTI
http://www.ptinews.com/pti%5Cptisite.nsf/0/0273C7E88D6F6C616525754E002ED9EB?OpenDocument
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Pakistan Navy to acquire submarines, drones, spy planes
January 30th, 2009 - 3:32 pm ICT by IANS
Karachi, Jan 30 (IANS) The Pakistan Navy is to acquire drones and spy planes, as also submarines as force multipliers to augment its capabilities, a top military commander has said. Speaking Thursday at a ceremony here to induct a Fokker aircraft and commission the T-56 Engine Test Bench at the Pakistan Navy Aviation Base PNS Mehran, Admiral Noman Bashir described the induction of Z-9 helicopters, airborne early warning systems (AEWs), and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as force multipliers for the navy’s fleet of aircraft.
The T-56 engine powers the navy’s P-3C Orion maritime reconnaissance aircraft.
To enhance the navy’s “subsurface defence capabilities”, Bashir said a contract would soon be signed for the German-designed HDW Type-214 submarines.
Commander of Naval Aviation, Commodore Adnan Nazir, said the Fokker, being a versatile aircraft, would serve to augment the operational capabilities of the fleet.
The setting up of the T-56 Engine Test Bench was a step towards self-reliance as it would be used for overhauling and maintaining the P-3C aircraft, Dawn Friday quoted Nazir as saying.
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/south-asia/pakistan-navy-to-acquire-submarines-drones-spy-planes_100149010.html
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Thursday, Jan. 29, 2009
Ship stopped by US forces is searched in Cyprus
By MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS - Associated Press Writer
NICOSIA, Cyprus -- A ship that was searched by U.S. forces in the Red Sea last week with a suspected Iranian arms shipment bound for Hamas militants in Gaza arrived in Cyprus on Thursday and was being searched by authorities, an official said.
The Cypriot-flagged container ship was docked in the southern port of Limassol, where it had arrived after a stop in Port Said, Egypt, the senior Foreign Ministry official said on condition of anonymity in keeping with ministry rules.
He said the search would not be completed until Friday morning.
On Tuesday, Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said his country had done all it could to intercept the ship's suspected arms shipment to Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, but its hands were tied.
Mullen said the vessel was stopped in the Red Sea last week carrying Iranian arms, and U.S. authorities suspect the shipment was ultimately bound for Gaza, where Hamas and Israel are observing an uneasy truce after three weeks of fighting.
"The United States did as much as we could do legally," Mullen said Tuesday. "We were not authorized to seize the weapons or do anything like that."
The U.S. Navy searched the ship with permission of the captain and found small munitions, U.S. military officials said.
The vessel was allowed to continue its voyage, and Mullen said it was expected in port in Syria.
Israel launched a 22-day offensive late last month on Hamas-controlled Gaza to try to end years of militant rocket fire on Israelis and to halt the smuggling of arms that turned Hamas into a threat to much of southern Israel.
The Cypriot Foreign Ministry official said Thursday that the ship docked in Limassol was the one that U.S. authorities had stopped in the Red Sea. He said Cypriot officials did not know whether the ship had offloaded anything during its stopover in Egypt but that the search would determine what it was carrying.
http://www.kentucky.com/473/story/676409.html
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Piracy & Security
New transit lane for Gulf of Aden
David Osler - Wednesday 28 January 2009
SHIPOWNERS and maritime unions have changed the small print of the deal under which many seafarers are entitled to double pay danger money for serving in the piracy-prone Gulf of Aden, following the introduction of a new transit lane system from next Sunday.
As of February 1, the existing Maritime Security Patrol Area — introduced by coalition navies last year as a safe passage corridor — will be replaced by two separate five-mile wide eastbound and westbound, separated by a two-mile buffer.
The shake-up comes on account of the increase in number and repositioning of warships in the region, and is also designed to reduce risks of collisions.
As a result, the eastern and western boundaries of the so-called high-risk area, agreed by the joint owner-union International Bargaining Forum last October, will be adjusted accordingly.
Seafarers sailing within the high-risk area will still enjoy many of the conditions that have traditionally applied in war risk areas, including a bonus worth 100% of basic wages, double the normal rate of death and disability compensation, and the right to sign off a ship to be repatriated at company expense where a vessel does not use routes designated by western navies.
The high risk area agreement will be reviewed at the end of next month.
The IBF deal formally covers tens of thousands of seafarers on thousands of ships, effectively setting the going rate in the industry for pay and conditions.
The new eastbound lane will begin at 045°E between 11°48’N and 11°53’N, be oriented along a straight line course of 072°, and will terminate at 053°E between 14°18’N and 14°23’N.
The westbound lane will begin at 053°E between 14°25’N and 14°30’N, be oriented along a course of 252°and terminate at 045°E between 11°55’N and 12°00’N.
The hisk risk area will be adjusted to meet the mouth of the new corridors, with the western border running from the coastline at the border of Djibouti and Somalia to position 11°48’N, 045°E; from 12°00’N, 45°E to Mayyun Island in the Bab El Mandeb Straits.
The eastern border will run from Rhiy di Irisal on Suqutra Island to position 14°18’N, 053°E’, and from 14°30’N, 053°E to the coastline at the border between Yemen and Oman.
http://lloydslist.com/ll/news/new-transit-lane-for-gulf-of-aden/20017612611.htm
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVj9NP7j7jvIE0vcjba_ksfm3UWG7lLs9KXw2TE_arDXOTomWnh6WfaJusp-FstY6HBz33eaH0JE9O858z7bDl4x9sisQ7iC8cP_yHZE4CrXbTdBRlm18AlnxIqHoGF-nKDj9B6YuzcM0/s1600-h/New+MSPA+Routing.jpg
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Thursday, January 29, 2009
Send the Sea Fighter to Somalia
This April Sea Fighter (FSF 1) is expected to emerge from the repair shop with a fresh suite of point defense weapons and other upgrades/repairs. According to some media reporting, including the Navy's own fact file on the ship on the official US Navy website, Sea Fighter (FSF 1) may be commissioned as a Navy ship. The $20 million dollar upgrade was an earmark from former California representative Duncan Hunter, who believed small, faster vessels will be important in the future fleet for dealing with irregular warfare challenges. For what has become a cost around $100 million dollars since construction, Sea Fighter (FSF 1) displaces around 950 tons, roughly three times smaller than its more capable cousins of the Littoral Combat Ship. $100 million dollars for a first in class ship? There is a catch, the ship was built to commercial standards as a technology demonstrator.
The High Speed Vessel model has proven very successful for humanitarian operations and other low intensity, non warfare related naval activity, but is being adopted in the form of the Littoral Combat Ship to begin addressing challenges for naval forces in the high intensity, complex environments of the littorals. The problem is, everything is still theory. With costs to the LCS program quickly approaching $30 billion and the LCS program giving the impression it could soon be a fast track acquisition process in the near future, $30 billion becomes expensive theory.
So why not send the prototype Sea Fighter (FSF 1), which is reportedly being commissioned into the US Navy anyway, to Somalia and attached to Task Force 151? There is no question the capabilities of Sea Fighter (FSF 1) are limited, apart from addressing very small boat operations this platform comes absent any high intensity warfare capability whatsoever. That isn't trivial, irregular warfare can rapidly and without warning evolve towards hybrid warfare, meaning conventional weapon systems can be introduced into a conflict scenario and create problems. The unexpected use of anti-ship missiles by Hezbollah in their war against Israel is an often cited example.
But there are also good reasons to do it. Sea Fighter can be useful in helping the Navy understand the logistics costs and requirements that they will need for our future littoral ships like LCS, and give some indication regarding the requirements and expectations regarding what a small crew, high speed vessel can do against irregular challenges like piracy.
Capabilities under and over the sea have advantages over capabilities on the sea in naval warfare, aircraft and submarines are simply more agile, more lethal, and are more difficult to counter than ships are in direct war confrontation. However, I believe that sustained presence on the sea will trump presence under or over the sea in dealing with irregular warfare challenges in the littorals where the Rule of Engagement becomes more restricted under the requirements to give more attention to detail in identification of friend and foe.
Combined Task Force 151 is currently made up of three ships:
USS San Antonio (LPD 17) - a 25,000 ton flexible air, sea, and land capable platform with 3 helicopters, several small boat crew, Marines, military police forces, Coast Guard detachments, and command and control capabilities that allow us to coordinate with international naval forces in the region.
USS Mahan (DDG 72) - a ~9,000 ton Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer capable of providing area air defense, land attack, major anti-shipping attacks, with an attached sonar but no helicopter facilities. 30+ knot speed allows this vessel to be very responsive in the convoy corridore that has been established by international partners for protecting shipping and has small boat detachments. The Arleigh Burke class is one of the most heavily armed warships in the world.
HMS Portland (F79) - a ~4900 ton Type 23 Royal Navy anti-submarine frigate that supports a single helicopter, has top speed greater than 28 knots, and has endurance for about 7800 nautical miles. The Royal Navy deploys boat teams from Type 23 frigates and the platform has a long history of sustaining long term operations in the littorals against drug runners and other smuggling activities.
The least expensive of the two US Navy platforms is actually the 25,000 ton LPD-17 which costs roughly $1.7 billion, compared to a new (but more capable than Mahan) Arleigh Burke class ship that costs $2.2+ billion dollars. Sea Fighter isn't perfect, it certainly can't carry the unmanned platform load of the larger LCS but it does have some capabilities for carrying equipment. Like they say with the LCS, the ship is built and we have it so why not use it. At most a slight redesign to build in NVR and the addition of something similar to the simple weapons suite of the LCS, Sea Fighter (FSF 1) would run somewhere in the neighborhood of $150 million dollars.
We intend to buy 8 Arleigh Burke class destroyers at a minimum of $2.2 billion each over the next 6 years. For the same money we could field 80 Sea Fighters (FSF 1) and 10 T-AKEs at $500 million each to support that force. We currently have 62 Arleigh Burke destroyers, is an investment for 8 more Arleigh Burke class destroyers really the right move for the high end heavy surface fleet today, or would the money be used more wisely to do something remotely similar to building 80 smaller platforms in the cost range of Sea Fighter and 10 additional T-AKE logistics ships to support such a force in addressing the irregular challenges emerging in the littorals?
Posted by Galrahn
http://informationdissemination.blogspot.com/2009/01/send-sea-fighter-to-somalia.html
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Who do pirates call to get their cash?
Friday, 30 January 2009
Piracy off the coast of Somalia is big business. Last year alone pirate gangs were paid an estimated £35m from holding scores of ships and hundreds of crew members to ransom. But securing their release is the responsibility of a hidden mini-industry of lawyers, negotiators and security teams based nearly 7,000km (4,200 miles) away, in London, UK, the business capital of the world's maritime industry. The key players in this sector like to keep their activities as discreet as possible but in my investigation I gained access to people involved in every part of the ransom chain.
When a ship's owner discovers one of their fleet has been hijacked, the first port of call for them is normally to a lawyer like Stephen Askins, whose firm is one of the few that deals with kidnaps and ransoms at sea.
"We would expect to be called early," says Mr Askins. "And how you then deal with the negotiations will be a team decision.
There's no official "how to pay a ransom" rulebook - and the uncertainty leads "lots of sensitivity".
"People will do it in different ways," says Mr Askins, "but at the end of the day it's somebody from the owner's side talking to someone from the pirate's side, negotiating their way to a final settlement."
No two kidnaps are the same but the proliferation of attacks off the coast of Somalia in the past year means a pattern has been established where the pirates see it as a business. They may be armed and dangerous but, Mr Askins says, money is their chief motivation.
"They are negotiating for money, therefore anybody who has been on holiday and has tried to bargain with an Egyptian [market trader] for a carpet will understand how difficult it is to negotiate a conclusion. But we don't have the option of walking away, we have got to keep negotiating."
It's a radical departure from the airline hijackings of previous decades. Then, hijackers, who tended to be politically motivated, knew it was only a matter of time before special forces would be called in and try to kill them. Ransoms were often not paid.
But Somali piracy is different. Paying a ransom is not illegal under British law, unless it's to terrorists. And while governments have failed to clamp down to hijackings, a precedent of paying up has been established. So, as soon as pirates set foot on a ship they know pay day is only a matter of time.
The next link in the chain is a specialist negotiator, whose job is to try to reach a reasonable price.
Going rate
Negotiations tend to begin with astronomical demands from the hijackers before the price is bargained downwards.
James Wilkes, who runs specialist maritime risk company Gray Page, which has been involved in negotiations in several hijackings in Somalia, says it can mean daily contact with pirates for several months. The average hijack lasts two months before a ransom is paid.
The going ransom rate is $1m-$2m, but getting to a final figure is like a "tense boardroom negotiation" he says.
"A commercial transaction is probably a good way to describe it. They have hijacked the ship, the crew and its cargo and they want a certain amount of money for its release.
"It's about finding the right way to get the ship released and on the right terms, although human lives are involved and the consequences of something going wrong are quite significant."
But agreeing a ransom leads to an even bigger headache - getting the money to the pirates.
It's fraught with difficulties. The ransom for the Sirius Star oil tanker, hijacked in November, appeared to have been dropped from the air. But normally it means delivering a huge wodge of cash by sea to the hijackers, who will have anchored off the coast of northern Somalia.
Fixed overheads
Once a drop-off boat and crew have been hired and the weather negotiated, there's another big hurdle, according to risk consultant Darren Dickson: more pirates.
Navigating the high seas with a stash of money is not for the fainthearted.
"Some of these people who have done these drop offs by boat actually have to fend off pirates as they are delivering the ransom themselves," says Mr Dickson. His firm has delivered ransoms to several pirate gangs.
Dodging the pirates is only one difficulty - another is to make sure the good guys know what you're up to as well. According to Mr Dickson, of Drum Cussac, it's vital that "you're not going to be looked at as a pirate vessel... then you might get taken out by a naval vessel."
All these specialist services don't come cheap in the UK. Factor in the cost of lawyers, risk consultants, security advisers, as well as the fixed overheads, and delivering the money to the pirates "can lead to doubling the ransom amount," says Simon Beale, a marine underwriter.
Last year Somali pirates pocketed an estimated $50m. Not all of this is going to British lawyers, negotiators and security teams but a fair chunk of it will be. It has led to some criticism, particularly in Spain, that London is profiting from crime.
"I don't think people are trying to exploit the situation," says maritime lawyer Mr Askins. "We are very much trying to do the job we have always done at the rates we would charge in any other case."
And what happens to the tens of millions of pounds that the pirates make?
All the kidnap specialists who deal with the Somali pirates say it's a purely criminal enterprise. But Bruno Schiemsky, a Kenyan arms analyst, believes there is an even darker link - between the pirates and the radical Islamist group al-Shabab.
He says the pirates will pay a percentage of the ransom to al-Shabab - as much as 50 per cent in areas where the group is in control.
"It's an alliance of convenience, which makes it fragile," says Mr Schiemsky, "but for the moment both parties - pirates and al-Shabab - see the value of working together since they have a common enemy, the international community, and this relationship is only getting stronger through time. "
Trying to verify this is difficult. When I ask the Serious Organised Crime Agency if it has any suspicions about where the money was going, I get a firm "no comment".
But the American diplomat chairing a new international group of 24 nations which is looking at tackling Somali piracy said US counter piracy officials wanted to find out more about how pirate operations were paid for and which "outside sources" were involved.
If a link was established between the pirates and terrorists it could create serious problems for all parties involved. As one underwriter summed it up, "we'd all be going to jail".
Source: BBC
http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=34178&Itemid=79
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Piracy & Security
Pirates use 'decoy' tactics to capture LPG tanker
David Osler - Thursday 29 January 2009
SOMALIAN pirates today captured a German-owned LPG tanker participating in a convoy through the Gulf of Aden Maritime Security Patrol Area, diverting Chinese and Indian warships with a decoy raid to enable colleagues to seize a small ship with low freeboard.
The pirates’ latest victim is the1990-built, 4,316 dwt Longchamp, operated by Hamburg-based Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, with 12 Filipinos and one Indonesian national onboard.
The attack took place in the early hours of this morning while the ship was within the MPSA under military protection, said Schulte quality and safety manager Frank Lesse.
“There were apparently three ships attacked, which diverted the attention of the warships, and unfortunately the ship that was taken hostage by the pirates was the Longchamp.”
“The Indian warship tried to repel the attack but was too late. [Longchamp] is a small LPG with a low freeboard, so she is easy to board. The pirates picked her, went on board, and the other pirates vacated the scene.
“The Indian warship kept a safe distance, so as not to aggravate the pirates. Then the ship turned hard to starboard and went straight for the Somali coast.”
The master was allowed to contact the company’s emergency centre to make a brief statement, and reported that seven pirates were on the ship. The assumption from this is that none of the crew were hurt.
Schulte was at the time of writing still able to track Longchamp, although there had been no further contact with the crew. The Bahamas-flag vessel is the third ship to be captured off Somalia this year.
http://www.lloydslist.com/ll/news/pirates-use-decoy-tactics-to-capture-lpg-tanker/20017613061.htm
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Nigeria - Isan Seeks Govt's Support for Shipping Line
Friday, 30 January 2009
Indigenous Ship Owners Association of Nigeria (ISAN) has called on the Federal Government to support its initiative of setting up a shipping company, by creating an enabling environment through provision of cargo for ISAN vessels. It also called on the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), major oil marketing companies in the downstream and international oil companies (IOCs) in the upstream of the country's economy to allow ISAN members provide them with shipping services. President of the association, Isaac Jolapamo, made this call at the Civic Centre in Lagos at the weekend, when the association held its 2009 New Year Party/Award Ceremony, where pioneers of ship owning business in Nigeria were honoured as well as others that have contributed to the growth of indigenous shipping in the country.
ISAN, which is the umbrella body for all indigenous ship owning and allied companies operating in the maritime sector of the economy, had recently formed a shipping company, which will be trading as ISAN Shipping Lines.
Apart from trading for commercial and employment generation purposes, the shipping lines will also showcase Nigeria in the international shipping community.
According to Jolapamo, the company was formed in line with ISAN's quest to see to the genuine participation of Nigerians in the country's maritime trade. The association's desire is for the country to be able to take advantage of its competitive edge to harness her maritime and shipping potentials for the benefit of Nigeria and Nigerians.
He said Nigerians would substantially gain from the capital flight in its shipping services and employment opportunities, if curbed.
Calling on the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to add value to its regulatory function by concentrating more on shipping development, the ISAN President said transparent disbursement of Cabotage Vessel Finance Fund (CVFF) and Vessel Maintenance Subsidy (VMS) during the first quarter of this year to qualified Nigerian ship owning companies should be one of the top priorities.
Meanwhile, Commissioner, Lagos State Ministry of Transportation, Prof. Bamidele Badejo, in a lecture entitled: 'Too Many Cooks: The Dilemma of Indigenous Shipping Development in Nigeria' identified 10 factors responsible for the decline of indigenous shipping.
These factors, he said, are policy summersault, political and legislative dimensions, economic dynamics and market size, international conspiracy and gang ups, human capacity relevance and technological changes and access to funds and finances.
Others include infrastructure and equipment failure, stiff competition from international shipping operators, general absence of coordination and integration and multilateral versus unilateral competition.
According to him, these factors occur either singly or collectively through various forms of interface to affect sustainability of the country's shipping industry.
The commissioner also said it could be justifiable to suggest that the current economic downturn and high level of unemployment, which the country is facing, may be traced to the deterioration and general decline in indigenous shipping sector.
According to him, development of indigenous shipping in Nigeria has been very slow and will continue to be so until deliberate and concerted efforts in a coordinated manner are put in place. He said it is predominantly uncoordinated, largely unsupported by government and faced with stiff competition emanating from other modes of transportation.
Source: Daily Independent
http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=34177&Itemid=79
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India: 'Investments in shipping, logistics need to be quadrupled'
Friday, 30 January 2009
Investment in ports, shipping and logistics sector needs to be quadrupled to bring them up to international standards, Minister of State for Industry Ashwani Kumar said. "Our shipping and logistics infrastructure is far below international standards. We need to improve on speed and cost of handling of cargo. Investment in shipping needs to be quadrupled," the minister said at a summit on ports, shipping and logistics here.
He said India's share in the global trade stood at only 1.4 per cent, which is around US$ 448 billion.
"Seventy-five per cent of this trade is through ports. If we make our port infrastructure world-class, it can lead to an increase of two per cent in the country's GDP year after year," Kumar said adding that ports also provide an immense employment opportunity for blue-collared workers.
Denying that foreign direct investment inflows in the country were petering out in the sector, the minister said Dubai Port, PSA of Singapore and a Spanish company have invested in India.
The Minister stressed the need for policy intervention in the construction/infrastructure sector, saying "there is a need to mitigate job losses. The construction sector employs 32 million people and it services 142 other industries."
On the manufacturing sector, Kumar said if a fillip was provided to the sector, it would lead to an increase in the country's GDP.
"Ideally, manufacturing should contribute 30 per cent to the country's GDP from the 17 per cent currently. We are giving all the impetus required to boost the manufacturing sector and push GDP from 9 per cent to 12 per cent through this," he said.
Source: PTI
http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=34176&Itemid=79
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Piracy off Nigeria delays oil projects
Friday, 30 January 2009
A wave of piracy off Nigeria's southern coast is delaying offshore energy projects in the world's eighth-biggest oil exporter, industry and security officials said. Piracy and kidnappings in the waterways of the Niger Delta, one of the most dangerous areas for shipping in the world, have spiked in recent weeks with at least 10 attacks on vessels reported this year. Security has long been a headache for foreign oil firms including Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron operating onshore in Nigeria, where militants frequently bomb pipelines and kidnap expatriate workers.
But the distance to facilities in the deepwaters of the Gulf of Guinea had meant offshore sites were considered much less at risk.
"Security (offshore) is a real issue now when it wasn't as much before. It's a wait-and-see," said an executive at an oil services firm that works mainly offshore in Nigeria.
"Our projects with Shell and Chevron have been pushed back a bit," he told Reuters at an offshore oil and gas conference in the Nigerian capital Abuja.
A militant attack last June on Shell's Bonga oilfield -- located more than 60 miles offshore -- provided a wake-up call, ending the sense of relative security surrounding offshore sites.
The attack on the facility, which lies a distance from the shore of more than three times the width of the Strait of Dover separating England and France, forced Shell to temporarily stop production, cutting Nigeria's oil output by a tenth.
"The whole world was surprised they could get there. We used to think Bonga was safe but we find out, no, that it's not true," said Dayo Odegoke, project engineer at Lagos-based oil and gas exploration services company Vigeo Limited.
The campaign of sabotage against the oil industry has locked the Niger Delta into a cycle of criminality in which armed gangs kidnap oil workers for ransom. Crew members on vessels supporting offshore sites are increasingly a target.
"Criminality has overtaken the militants. It is a concern because there is a lot of offshore piracy," said Dennis Amachree, country security manager for Addax Petroleum.
Industry executives estimate oil companies spend around $3.5 billion a year on security in Africa's most populous country.
Violence in the Niger Delta has cut a fifth of the OPEC member's oil output in the last three years. Addax's Amachree estimates about $3 billion of oil revenue has been lost due to shut-in production.
The industry has responded by heightening security measures at some of Nigeria's ports.
Oil loading onto shipping vessels at some terminals are now restricted to only daylight hours, delaying shipments.
Source: Reuters
http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=34157&Itemid=79
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Analysis: Intel UAVs are here to stay
by Richard Tomkins
Baquba, Iraq (UPI) Jan 29, 2009
The use of unmanned aerial surveillance vehicles is not likely to go away. Nor is the desire for "eyes in the sky" anything new. The French used a balloon for surveillance in 1794 to beat the Austrians in the Battle of Fleurus, and both sides in the U.S. Civil War made use of observation balloons. In both World Wars, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, small aircraft were used for surveillance and reconnaissance.
In Iraq, as in Afghanistan, where intelligence and situational awareness are vital to defeat a stealthy, mobile and hard-to-identify enemy, the revolutions in electronic and aerial technologies have proved invaluable. So much so that Lt. Col. Debra Lee, commander of the 46th Expeditionary Squadron of the U.S. Air Force, told United Press International that Predator unmanned aerial vehicles soon may be designated by the Air Force as a major weapons system.
"The demand for the Predator is so great now that pilots (who are on secondment) are already being extended beyond their three-year terms," Lee said. U.S. troops, under the Status of Forces Agreement between Washington and Baghdad (also called the Strategic Framework), are now playing supporting roles in operations in Iraq, which means their daily direct interaction with local citizens and their intelligence sources is diminishing.
By July the links will become even more tenuous. By then, American troops will have withdrawn from villages, towns and cities to more isolated bases, as stipulated by the agreement that went into effect Jan. 1.
That new isolation means Americans will need their "eyes in the sky," unmanned aerial vehicles, even more for "situational awareness."
Maj. Phillip Mann, commander of a Shadow-200 unit on Forward Operating Base War Horse, northeast of Baghdad in Diyala province, has four Shadow-200 unmanned aerial vehicles that currently fly two missions a day of six hours each. The maximum range for the aircraft is about 125 miles, but that can be extended if one of the unit's two control centers -- a container mounted on the back of a Humvee -- is moved downrange to take over control of the unmanned aerial vehicle.
With their gray paint and relatively quiet 38-hp engines, Shadow unmanned aerial vehicles are difficult to see or hear when at altitude. Mann likes to tell the story of a Shadow approaching FOB War Horse for landing while two Iraqi insurgents were firing mortars at the base. The Shadow shadowed them as they later made their way to a safe house. The men, from information gathered by the Shadow, were later arrested.
The actual flying of the Predator UAVs during their long missions is conducted by personnel at bases in the continental United States.
"Landing is the difficult bit," said Capt. Mike Grados, normally a KC-135 aerial tanker pilot who has been seconded to Predators. "As a pilot, you get to rely a lot on seat-of-the-pants feel. You don't have that when you sit in front of these screens, and you don't have any peripheral vision."
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Analysis_Intel_UAVs_are_here_to_stay_999.html
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Surface Forces - Designed And Built In India
January 29, 2009: The Indian Coast Guard has received the second of two Advanced Offshore Patrol Vessel class ships. The 2,200 ton ship was built in India and is 325 feet long and armed with a 30mm auto-cannon and several machine-guns. It can operate a small helicopter.
Top speed is 43 kilometers an hour, and the ship can stay at sea for 20 days at a time.
The crew of 126 is trained to operate the boat in patrol mode 24/7. There are two cranes for putting two fast (inflatable) boats in the water, so that ships can be boarded and inspected.
The ship is of Indian design and construction. India is developing a world class warship manufacturing capability, and is currently designing and building everything from patrol boats to aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines.
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htsurf/articles/20090129.aspx
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S. Korea Still No. 1 Shipbuilding Nation
Friday, 30 January 2009
South Korea retained its No. 1 ranking in the global shipbuilding industry in terms of new orders, order backlogs and volume of vessels built in 2008, according to a London-based market researcher Thursday. The nation's shipbuilders such as Hyundai Heavy Industries won a combined 17.5 million compensated gross tons (CGTs) in new orders last year, accounting for 41.1 percent of all global new orders, Yonhap News reported quoting Clarkson Plc.
Consequently, South Korea has maintained the top spot in terms of new orders since 2003.
Chinese shipbuilders took the second spot with orders totaling 14.9 million CGTs last year, outpacing Japanese rivals which won a combined 4.89 million CGTs.
Clarkson said South Korean shipbuilders' combined order backlogs totaled 67.7 million CGTs, making up nearly 35.8 percent of 189.2 million CGTs in global backlogs. China followed with 60.73 million CGTs.
South Korea, home to seven of the world's top 10 shipyards, has clinched record-high orders in the past few years because of strong demand for crude carriers and offshore exploration equipment amid lofty oil prices.
But new shipbuilding orders worldwide fell 52 percent last year, hit by a global economic crisis. The orders which South Korean shipbuilders won also fell 47 percent last year.
By shipbuilder, Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world's largest shipyard, had 12.93 million CGTs in order backlogs, trailed by Samsung Heavy Industries with 10.43 million CGTs and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering with 9.98 million CGTs.
Source: Korea Times
http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=34080&Itemid=79
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Venezuela likely to buy more weapons
Last year Venezuela "increased its defense budget once again," thanks to oil windfall, said the International Institute for Strategic Studies
Country
Venezuela may buy soon Su-30 jet-fighters, Iyushin Il-76 transport aircrafts, Il-78 tanker aircrafts, Kilo submarines and Mi-28 helicopters, and is also likely to purchase Chinese products to diversify military procurement, said the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) of Great Britain in its report titled The Military Balance, a comprehensive analysis of the military situation of some 170 countries. According to the document, military expenditures in Latin American and the Caribbean grew 91 percent between 2003 and 2008.
According to the text, which was reported by EFE, last year Venezuela "increased its defense budget once again," thanks to oil windfall. In 2008, the initial Venezuelan defense budget totaled USD 3.31 billion, but the British think-tank does not rule out the possibility that Venezuela revises upward its defense spending as in previous years.
The IISS added that the impact of Venezuela's military strengthening on the region is "well illustrated by the trend of defense spending in Brazil," which since 2005 has increased by nearly 10 percent annually, and in 2008 totaled USD 20.1 billion.
http://english.eluniversal.com/2009/01/28/en_pol_esp_venezuela-likely-to_28A2208865.shtml
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Arctic's thaw brings security risks for NATO
By DAVID STRINGER
The Associated Press
Thursday, January 29, 2009; 4:58 PM
REYKJAVIK, Iceland -- NATO will need a military presence in the Arctic as global warming melts frozen sea routes and major powers rush to lay claim to lucrative energy reserves, the military bloc's chief said Thursday.
NATO commanders and lawmakers meeting in Iceland's capital said the Arctic thaw is bringing the prospect of new standoffs between powerful nations.
"I would be the last one to expect military conflict _ but there will be a military presence," NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told reporters. "It should be a military presence that is not overdone, and there is a need for political cooperation and economic cooperation."
The opening up of Arctic sea routes once navigable only by icebreakers threatens to complicate delicate relations between countries with competing claims to Arctic territory _ particularly as exploration for oil and natural gas becomes possible in once inaccessible areas.
De Hoop Scheffer said negotiations involving Russia, NATO and other nations will be key to preventing a future conflict. The NATO chief is expected to meet Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov next week for talks.
The United States, Russia and Canada are among the countries attempting to claim jurisdiction over Arctic territory alongside Nordic nations. Analysts say China is also likely to join a rush to capture energy reserves.
"Several Arctic rim countries are strengthening their capabilities, and military activity in the High North region has been steadily increasing," de Hoop Scheffer told delegates.
Some scientists predict that Arctic waters could be ice-free in summers by 2013, decades earlier than previously thought. De Hoop Scheffer said trans-Arctic routes are likely to become an alternative to passage through the Suez or Panama canals for commercial shipping.
"Climate change is not a fanciful idea, it is already a reality, a reality that brings with it certain new challenges, including for NATO," de Hoop Scheffer said.
The NATO chief said an upsurge in energy exploration _ and the likelihood of more commercial ships needing emergency rescue _ would require a larger NATO presence in the Arctic.
"The end of the Cold War resulted in a marked reduction in military activity in the High North _ Iceland would like it to stay that way," Iceland's outgoing Prime Minister Geir Haarde told the conference.
Haarde tendered his resignation Monday amid the country's economic crisis and said the one-day conference was among his final duties before he steps down on Saturday.
Lee Willett, head of the maritime studies program at the Royal United Services Institute, a London-based military think tank, said that as routes open up, warships from nations seeking to defend claims on energy resources will follow.
"Having lots of warships, from lots of nations who have lots of competing claims on territory _ that may lend itself to a rather tense situation," Willett said. "We may see that flash points come to pass there more readily than elsewhere in the world."
Russia and Canada have already traded verbal shots over each other's intentions in the Arctic, and Canada has beefed up its military presence in the region, announcing plans to build a new army training center and a deep-water port in contested Arctic waters. Norway, the U.S. and Denmark also have claims in the vast region, while Russian President Dmitry Medvedev seeks to lay claim to Arctic territory the size of France.
Six people were arrested on Wednesday outside the Reykjavik conference venue _ two for burning a NATO flag. Many Icelanders oppose the volcanic island's membership in the military bloc, fearing it compromises the nation's independence.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/29/AR2009012901116.html
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Cairo bars Iran ship with arms for Gaza
Correspondents in Jerusalem | January 28, 2009
Article from: The Australian
AN Iranian freighter carrying weaponry for Hamas has been blocked by Egypt from entering the Suez Canal, amid concerns that Tehran is trying to supply the Palestinian militant group with missiles capable of striking Tel Aviv.
Reports yesterday said Israel was closely tracking the ship, which is docked in the Red Sea outside the Suez Canal after Cairo refused to permit it to cross the waterway to the Mediterranean.
The stand-off comes after a report to the Israeli Defence Ministry from the Pentagon said the US Navy had boarded another Iranian vessel and said it was carrying artillery shells and other weapons.
"This is a big test for the Egyptians," a senior Israeli defence official told The Jerusalem Post. "So far the Egyptians have prevented the ship from crossing the Suez and we hope it will stay that way."
Israeli defence officials told the paper Iran was trying to supply Hamas with new Grad-model Katyusha rockets and to replace high-grade explosives that were exhausted or destroyed by the Israeli Defence Force during this month's war in Gaza.
The IDF is concerned Iran will supply Hamas with long-range Fajr missiles capable of reaching Tel Aviv.
A US Navy task force fighting pirates in the Gulf of Aden has been instructed to track Iranian arms shipments to Gaza.
Reports last week said troops from the USS San Antonio boarded a former Russian cargo vessel that was flying a Cypriot flag and was reportedly carrying weaponry destined for Hamas.
The French have also dispatched a frigate to the Mediterranean to participate in the clampdown on the Gaza Strip and to prevent weapons shipments from reaching Hamas, the Post said.
Israeli defence officials told the paper that since the conclusion of Operation Cast Lead, large quantities of explosives, machine guns and other weaponry had arrived in the Sinai peninsula, but the Egyptians were taking measures to prevent them from being smuggled into Gaza.
The reports came as US President Barack Obama yesterday sent envoy George Mitchell to the Middle East with a brief to "engage vigorously" to achieve real progress.
Mr Mitchell is due to visit Israel, the Palestinian West Bank and Arab states. During his trip, which lasts until Tuesday, Mr Mitchell will also travel to Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Europe.
In the short run, the trip is aimed at bolstering a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip following the three-week Israeli military offensive, and tackling the humanitarian crisis there.
State Department spokesman Robert Wood said Mr Mitchell, who will report to Mr Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, would "not have contact with Hamas", which has been labelled a terrorist group since George W. Bush was in office.
Mr Mitchell, a Maronite Catholic whose mother was Lebanese, managed to bring together the leaders of Northern Ireland's religious communities with a mixture of compromise and talks to sign the historic Good Friday agreement in 1998.
But his efforts to help end the Israeli-Palestinian violence that erupted in 2000, after the collapse of the peace process brokered by former president Bill Clinton, proved fruitless.
He set off for the region as reports yesterday said Hamas had launched an internal probe into the failures of its military wing during the Gaza offensive.
Citing an unnamed top Hamas military commander, Jane's Defence Weekly magazine said a full report by the militant organisation would be critical of almost every decision taken by Hamas battlefield commanders during the 22-day assault, which ended last week.
The source quoted by Jane's said exiled Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal and his followers had effectively pushed for a conflict the military wing was not ready for. The report would highlight the losses of Hamas interior minister Said Siam and about 50 of Hamas's top explosives experts.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24971772-15084,00.html
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Another Russian warship may join anti-piracy mission off Somalia
17:25
28/ 01/ 2009
MURMANSK, January 28 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Admiral Levchenko destroyer will patrol the Somali coast after taking part in joint Russia-Indian naval drills in the Arabian Sea in early February, a Navy source said on Wednesday.
The destroyer is part of a Northern Fleet task force, currently on a tour-of-duty in the Mediterranean, led by the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier.
However, officials from the Northern Fleet have so far refused to confirm or deny the purpose of the ship's ultimate mission.
"We will not announce the goals and tasks set for the Admiral Levchenko in the near future," said Capt. 1st Rank Igor Babenko, a fleet spokesman.
"We can only confirm that Admiral Levchenko destroyer has passed through the Suez Canal and entered the Indian Ocean," he added.
The destroyer will join up with the Pyotr Veliky missile cruiser and a task force from Russia's Pacific Fleet, comprising the Admiral Vinogradov, an Udaloy class destroyer, a tugboat and two fuel tankers, which will also take part in the INDRA-2009 naval exercise with the Indian navy.
INDRA is a biennial Russian-Indian exercise aimed at practicing cooperation in enforcing maritime law and countering piracy, terrorism and drug smuggling. INDRA-2009 is the fourth such exercise since 2003 and will involve a number of live-fire drills.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20090128/119847560.html
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UN Threatens To Use The Starvation Weapon
January 29, 2009: The Somali pirates are driving up the price of Tuna. Indian ocean tuna fishing is a $6 billion a year industry, with hundreds of boats working off the east coast of Africa. Pirates will seize the fishing boats, even though they these vessels bring a smaller ransom than the larger merchant vessels. But ransoms as high as a million dollars have been paid for tuna fishing boats. This has driven up the coast of insurance, and many boats avoid the increase by staying away from the Somali coast. This has caused the catch to decline about 30 percent in the last two years. This has caused a major recession in the ports in the region that supply the fishing boats with fuel, other supplies and services. Many of the pirates feel it is their patriotic duty to go after the tuna fishing boats, which are destroying the tuna stocks off the coast by overfishing. Since there is no Somali government to regulate the fishing, the large boats (up to 6,000 tons) take all the tuna they can get. Populations of some fishing species have already collapsed, and will take a decade or more (if ever) to revive. The smaller Somali fishing boats can't compete with the larger fishing ships from Europe and East Asia.
January 25, 2009: Ethiopia has completed the withdrawal of its troops from Somalia. Already, other nations in the region are asking Ethiopia to send its troops back in. Ethiopia is the only one in the region (if not in Africa, with the possible exception of South Africa) who can handle the Somali gunmen. Somalis and Ethiopians have been neighbors, and at war with each other, for centuries. While the Ethiopians have learned how to deal with the Somalis, they would rather not. It's a nasty business, and these days you get accused of war crimes if you are too good at it for too long.
Several hundred heavily armed members of al Shebab, the al Qaeda sponsored Islamic radical group, seized control of Baidoa, long the headquarters for the Transitional National Government (TNG). For the TNG and al Shebab, control of anything is largely symbolic. The TNG represents an attempt by the traditional Somali power brokers to get along with each other and form a government. That didn't work. Al Shebab represents the efforts of one Islamic radical faction to take over the entire country and establish an Islamic dictatorship. That won't work either, if only because there are several other factions of Islamic radicals competing with al Shebab. And if the Islamic radicals are too successful, the Ethiopians (who have made no secret of this plan) will come back. And then there are the U.S. and NATO commandos up north in Djibouti, who are also up to something. But they are not holding any press conferences about it, unlike al Shebab, which loves to tell the world what it's doing, or thinks it's doing, or plans on doing.
The U.S. and Kenya have come to terms on a deal whereby Somali pirates captured by U.S. forces, will be jailed and prosecuted in Kenya. The U.S. will provide money, and other assistance, to reimburse Kenya for their efforts. Most other nations, with warships patrolling the Somali coast, do not have any arrangements to deal with captive pirates. Those ships have been told, in effect, that they can kill pirates, but not take them alive.
The anti-piracy patrol is working. While there were twelve ships taken last November, and two in December, none have been taken in January. The pirates currently hold ten ships, having received ransom for, and released six ships this month. The pirates are trying to come up with new tactics, to get around the constant presence of the foreign warships. But so far, the anti-piracy patrol has been able to counter new pirate tactics.
January 24, 2009: In Mogadishu, a suicide car bomber set off his explosives before reaching his target (the African Union headquarters), and killed 15 civilians and wounded over two dozen.
January 23, 2009: In Somaliland (one of two self-proclaimed statelets in the north, to the west of Puntland), police have arrested several dozen Islamic terrorists and seized ten shoulder fired anti-aircraft missiles. The men, and weapons, came from Eritrea (which, with Iran, is supporting Islamic terrorist groups in Somalia). There were three suicide bombings in Somaliland last October, which prompted the local government and tribal leaders to go after Islamic terrorists (who normally would be tolerated if they did no harm locally.) Al Quaeda has put more money and men into Somalia. The results have been disappointing, because the Somalis are difficult to control, and very dangerous if you anger them. It's like herding cats (if you can imagine cats armed with automatic weapons and nasty tempers.)
January 22, 2009: The UN has announced that it will halt food aid to Somalia unless the attacks on the aid effort stop. This includes the extortion of money from food aid trucks by hundreds of roadblocks. But the worst danger is the random attacks on food aid operations personnel, both transportation and distribution. The UN supervised program is currently distributing 57,000 tons of food to 2.5 million people in central and southern Somalia. The food reaches the country via ship, which, for the last few years, has been accompanied by a warship, to prevent seizure by pirates. But once ashore, the food is increasingly stolen by bandits and warlords, who then sell it in the markets, or even take it to neighboring countries (if the prices are sufficiently higher.) It's unknown if the UN would actually halt the food aid program, but it's unusual for them to even threaten to do so.
The UN is also trying to get Kenya to stop sending Somali refugees back to Somali. Kenya accepted 60,000 Somali refugees last year, and have had no end of problems with them. Somali gunmen try, and often succeed, in using the refugee camps as rest areas. Worse, the Somali gunmen sometimes do some looting in Kenya, instead of going back to Somali to steal. So Kenya has told the UN to stuff it, and is turning away most Somalis trying to flee into Kenya.
http://www.strategypage.com/qnd/somalia/articles/20090129.aspx
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Information Warfare - Inventing 21st Century Warfare
January 29, 2009: The next big thing in warfare is fusion. Put simply, it's all about taking real-time vidcam, radar and other sensor data (sensor fusion) and other information about the battlefield situation (all sorts of databases and reports), and combining it to provide commanders with a better understanding of the current operation. Basically, this is nothing new. Commanders have always employed data fusion and information fusion. Three thousand years ago, a commander created a battle situation (where armies agreed to stop moving around and form up for a fight) by taking information from scouts, spies in enemy territory and diplomats, and coming up with ways to move his army, and communicate with the enemy force, and others in the area, to convince the other force to stop and fight. The battle itself consisted of the commander, on a horse or in a chariot, and usually on a high piece of ground, looking at his force and the enemies. The commander had aides doing the same thing, and telling the boss anything they saw. Messengers brought information from subordinates. The commander took in all this, and ordered his contingents to advance, or re-position themselves. Data fusion and information fusion.
But throughout the 20th century, commanders had access to more information. A century ago, it became possible to get aerial photographs. Radio and telephone allowed information to move a lot faster, from a lot farther away. Battles were fought over a much larger area. It was no longer practical to sit on a horse and view the battlefield.
Now, early in the 21st century, there are a lot more sensors (vidcams on aircraft and UAVs, plus radars and electronic eavesdropping). Most importantly, there are cheap, powerful and plentiful computers. Finally, there are new techniques for quickly analyzing this flood of data (starting with Operations Research, invented in the 1930s and used successfully during World War II). American commanders are developing new ways to examine the "battle space" and quickly react to new opportunities, before the enemy can.
For over a decade, the U.S. Department of Defense has been trying to develop equipment that would allow the aircraft (including UAVs) of all three services to be able to communicate digitally (as in a battlefield Internet). Getting "battlefield broadband" to work has been a work in progress, just as it has been in the commercial sector (where progress has also been slow.) Four years ago, a test had an army UH-60A helicopter, a navy F-18 and an air force F-15E, sitting on the ground, sending and receiving digital data. A ground station was also tied into the network. The successful test demonstrated that all three services had successfully modified their communications gear to handle the same (USAF Link 16) data. This was followed by tests with the aircraft in the air, including an army UAV and an AH-64 helicopter gunship, followed by tests with aircraft firing weapons, using target data from another aircraft, or someone on the ground. By the end of the decade, the Department of Defense wants to have the capability for troops on the ground, to share targeting data (including live video), with aircraft, and vice versa. Sort of battlefield video conferencing, with weapons.
At this point, most of the effort is going into making the system reliable enough to withstand the rigors of combat situations. If the system isn't reliable enough, the troops won't use it. Simple as that. During World War II, the military first encountered high-tech gear that was simply ignored by the troops, because the stuff did not work, or work well enough to depend on in a life and death situation. Those attitudes have continued, and developers know that if their gear is not robust enough, it will be rejected (unofficially, of course) by the troops.
The Link 16 based battlefield Internet system would allow data fusion, with commanders and intelligence analysts seeing sensor data (basically high resolution video) from many aircraft (fighters, gunships, helicopters and UAVs) over a battlefield, and use all the information to best select targets and assign air and ground forces to attack most effectively. Currently, all the aircraft with high-res eyes on the battlefield require lots of radio chatter to share their data. This approach is slow, and subject to errors.
The data fusion can include date from other sensors. These include those collecting electronic transmissions (from radios, cell phones or even automobiles) and photo-reconnaissance pods (which use high rez, like 30 megapixel and up, digital cameras to take still pictures and immediately transmit them).
In Iraq, the U.S. Army developed new tools for constantly watching the battle zone, electronically noting minor differences, and combining this with other data on the enemy, and using math, and fast computers, to accurately predict who the enemy probably was, what they were capable of doing, and when they were likely to do it. This new weapon played a major role in breaking the back of the Iraqi terrorist organizations, and saving many American and Iraqi lives (by knowing where roadside bombs were, and the enemy fighters as well.) These techniques are now being applied in Afghanistan. The final step is linking all the services together, making everyone more effective.
A new generation of American commanders are also learning, on the battlefield, how powerful information fusion is as a weapon, or at least as a tool for determining where to point the weapons. This is just the beginning of high speed, multi-sensor information fusion on the battlefield, and the tool will only grow in power and effectiveness.
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htiw/articles/20090129.aspx
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Regards
Snooper
NNNN
Friday, January 30, 2009
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