IN THE NEWS

West Africa:

• SENEGAL: There have been pockets of unrest in the port city of Saint Louis after the killing of fishermen, reportedly by the Mauritanian coastguard. (seneweb.com)
• NIGERIA: MWUN members in Lagos have threatened industrial action from 5 February, citing the government’s failure to address deteriorating local infrastructure. (punchng.com)
• NIGERIA: A coalition of five militant groups in Ondo State have reportedly targeted oil development commission offices in Oba-Ile, calling on authorities to honour a 2017 amnesty agreement. (dailypost.ng)

Indian Ocean Region:

• SAUDI ARABIA: On 26 January, a Saudi-led coalition unit reportedly destroyed another WBIED 13nm off the coast of Yemen’s northern port city of al-Hudaydah. (@MbKS15)
• YEMEN: Dozens of Somali and Ethiopian nationals are reported to have died after their boat was fired upon and capsized whilst on route from Aden to the port of Djibouti. (thenational.ae)
• SRI LANKA: The Sri Lankan government has said it is to petition the CGPCS to form a maritime operations secretariat to address piracy in the Indian Ocean. (colombopage.com)

South East Asia:

• MALAYSIA: ESSCOM commander Ghazali has announced further measures to enhance security off Sabah after several arrests in the port town of Tawau. (thestar.com.my)
• PHILIPPINES: The Philippine Coast Guard has said it will review security measures in several ports, including Batangas, Caticlan and Dumangas terminals. (inquirer.net)
• PHILIPPINES: WesMinCom has said that the number of people held captive by IS-aligned Abu Sayyaf now stands at nine; four Filipino nationals and five foreigners. (mindanaoexaminer.com)

Global Incident Map

Last 7 days

Analysis

There has been one suspected hijacking in West Africa over the past week. The Panama-flagged oil products tanker MARINE EXPRESS was reported missing from Cotonou Anchorage by her owners shortly after midnight on 1 February. At the time of writing, the vessel’s location and condition of the crew is still unknown. The incident comes just weeks after the Marshall Islands-flagged MT BARRETT was reportedly hijacked in a similar area and the cargo later stolen. It is highly likely that the criminal syndicate suspected of boarding MARINE EXPRESS would have disabled or damaged much of the ships equipment, changed any visible references to her name, and potentially removed key crew ashore before proceeding east towardsthe Nigerian coastline and relieving her of cargo.

Notwithstanding a lack of appropriate security arrangements in both cases, that a second incident should occur in close proximity to several naval vessels is highly questionable. Cotonou, home to the Multinational Maritime Coordination Centre [Zone E], will be under renewed pressure to deliver against the Yaoundé security framework.

Analysis

There has been one report of a WBIED attack off Yemen in the past week. The incident is the second failed attack of its type in as many months. It comes as Riyadh has suffered an offensive by the secessionist STC, backed by Emirati units, in the de facto capital Aden. While Emirati forces have since made it clear they remain committed to the wider Saudi endeavour, these developments lay bare the complex aims of the coalition and its inherent shortcomings. This period of weakness will likely result in efforts by their opponents to capitalise on the current impasse. In recent days, AQAP has gained some ground in Shabwa while the Houthi appear to have strengthened their resolve in Taiz.