DHS to Miss Deadline for Screening 100% of In-Bound Ship Cargo

Speaking before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee on Wednesday, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano said that her department will miss the July 2012 deadline for screening all shipping containers bound for U.S. ports for radiation. Napolitano, as allowed for by the law, will seek a two-year extension in order to reach the 100% scanning goal.
In relation to Secretary Napolitano's statement about missing the deadline, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released this report Wednesday detailing some of the problems Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has encountered in implementing the Secure Freight Initiative (SFI) at select foreign ports.

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Gunmen Kill Somali Judge Who Jailed Pirates and Militants

A Somali judge known for jailing pirates and militants was shot and killed by masked gunmen Wednesday night (11/11) in Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region.
Sheikh Mohamed Abdi Aware, who was gunned down after leaving his mosque in Bosasso, had most recently sentenced four al-Shabaab militants to prison.

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Russia Detains Five Georgian Fishermen

Russian forces detained five Georgian fishermen near the disputed Georgia/Abkhazia Black Sea border on Tuesday (11/10). The fishermen were then transferred to Abkhazian authorities in Sukhumi.

 

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Pirates Seize Greek Cargo Ship

Suspected Somali pirates hijacked the Greek-owned cargo ship, the MV Filitsa, Wednesday in the Indian Ocean, about 470 miles northeast of the Seychelles. The MV Filitsa has a crew of 22.

 

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Spain Considers Releasing 2 Pirates to Save Fishermen

The Spanish government apparently is considering giving in to the threats of Somali pirates by releasing two of their compatriots detained in Madrid.
The two pirates were part of a group that seized the Spanish fishing trawler Alakrana at the beginning of October. They were arrested by the Spanish navy two days after the hijacking. The criminals holding the Alakrana have threatened to kill her crew unless the demand is met. The pirates also want $4 million in ransom for the release of the ship and crew.

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India Wants Warships Back from Sri Lanka

It seems that as part of its final military offensive against the Tamil Tiger (LTTE), the government of Sri Lanka leased two coast guard ships from India. Now with the LTTE defeated, the Indian Coast Guard wants its vessels back and Sri Lanka's navy seems to be "clueless" about the demand, reports the Hindustan Times.

 

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Saudi Navy Blockades Yemen's Northern Red Sea Coast

It's being reported that Saudi Arabia's navy has imposed a maritime blockade on Yemen's northern Red Sea coast near the Saudi border in order to prevent weapons being smuggled to Shiite rebels in the area.
Saudi Arabia began taking military action against the rebels last week after they supposedly launched a cross border raid into Saudi territory.

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Hurricane Ida Moving North Through Gulf of Mexico

Hurricane Ida strengthened overnight as it neared Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. The storm is currently a category 1 hurricane, but is predicted to strengthen as it moves north through the Gulf of Mexico.
As of the 9:00 AM Sunday advisory from the National Hurricane Center, the storm is expected to near the northern U.S. Gulf Coast by early Tuesday morning. However, by then it may have weakened into a tropical cyclone.

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Navy Commissioning Newest Battleship Today

Today (11/7) in New York City, the U.S. Navy is commissioning its newest battleship, the USS New York. The bow of the ship is forged from steel from the World Trade Center.
New York is the fifth ship in the LPD 17 San Antonio class of amphibious transport dock ships.

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Somali Pirates Threaten to Kill Hostages

Somali pirates have threatened to kill three captive Spanish fishermen unless Spain releases 2 pirates captured early in October. The sailors are part of the 36 person crew from the Spanish tuna boat the Alakrana that was hijacked on October 2.
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Israel Wanted to Bomb Ship Smuggling Arms to Hezbollah

U.S. officials were able to dissuade Israel from bombing the weapons smuggling cargo ship that Israeli commandos intercepted earlier this week. A-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper was first to report this news, which was based on unnamed Israeli sources.
If it is true that Israel was going to blow the Francop out of the water, then it's good that the U.S. was able to stop the attack because the crew and owners of the ship apparently had no idea what type of cargo they were carrying in the sealed containers.
In other relevant news, Hezbollah, and the governments of Syria and Iran deny any involvement in the 500 tons of weapons and ammunition seized by Israel.

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Hurricane Ida Threatens Nicaragua

A tropical storm was upgraded to a category one hurricane this morning as it approached the Nicaraguan coast. According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center, as of 7:00 am EST this morning the government of Nicaragua has issued a hurricane warning for Hurricane Ida from the east coast from Bluefields northward to Puerto Cabezas.
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Magnitude 5.3 Earthquake Off Oregon Coast

Wednesday morning about 4:38 AM local time the U.S. Geological Survey recorded an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.3 off the coast of Oregon. The epicenter was located 124 miles due West of Barview.

The U.S. West Coast Tsunami Warning Center issued a statement that the magnitude was not great enough to generate a tsunami.

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Somali Pirates Attack French Naval Vessel

Somali pirates attacked the French warship La Somme in the Indian Ocean early Wednesday morning. The hijackers apparently thought the naval vessel was a cargo ship. When the French sailors fought back, the pirates fled in their two small boats. La Somme was able to overtake one of the pirate boats and captured five men.

Hopefully, the French government will have enough evidence against these pirates to prosecute them or at least turn them over to what exists of the Somali government for punishment.

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Spanish Fishing Boat Hijacked in Indian Ocean

Somalia — Last Friday (10/2), the Spanish fishing trawler Alakrana was hijacked by pirates in the Indian Ocean between Somalia and the Seychelles. The ship has an international crew of 36 men.

The ship is currently anchored near the Somali coast and is being monitored by a pair of warships - one Spanish and one French. On Sunday, the Spanish navy arrested two of the alleged pirates as they left the Alakrana on a small skiff.

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Owners Pay Ransom for Ship and Crew

Somalia — Somalia pirates have released the Turkish ship MV Horizon-1 and her crew of 23. The Turkish media reported Monday that the owners paid an undisclosed ransom for their ship, which was hijacked on July 8.

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Illegal Entrants Busted on California Coast

United States — Early last Friday (10/2) morning U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested 21 Mexican nationals who are suspected of illegally entering the country. Border agents witnessed the Mexicans arrive on the beach near Carlsbad, California in a smuggling boat, which then went back out to sea with two people aboard.

The Border Patrol was unable to find the smuggling boat.

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Coast Guard Looking for Hoax Caller in Great Lakes Region

United States — The U.S. Coast Guard announced last week that its "Investigative Service is requesting assistance from the public to identify a suspected hoax caller who contacted U.S. Coast Guard Sector Sault Ste Marie on VHF-FM Channel 16 [multiple times] between Sept. 12-27, 2009."

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Major Pacific Earthquake Triggers Tsunami Alerts

The U.S. Geological Survey recorded a 7.9 magnitude earthquake in the region of the Samoa Islands at about 6:14 am local time today (9/29). The quake struck about 110 miles ENE of Hihifo, Tonga at a depth of about 21.7 miles.
Parts of the southern Pacific have been warned of the potential for a tsunami, including Hawaii which is under a tsunami watch.

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U.S. and Canadian Coast Guards Hold Oil Spill Response Drill

U.S. Coast Guard is participating with the Canadian coast guard, oil response organizations and federal agencies from both countries in a training exercise Tuesday (9/29) to Thursday (10/1) in Prince Rupert, British Columbia.
According to this USCG statement, "[this is] an opportunity for Coast Guard personnel to interface with international partners and practice response procedures currently used throughout all of Southeast Alaska. One of the exercise objectives is to demonstrate the ability of agencies to mobilize using the Incident Command Structure from the National Incident Management System."

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