Drones Sent Towards Israeli Gas Rig

Earlier this month, Lebanon’s Hezbollah sent three unarmed drones toward an Israeli Mediterranean gas rig in contested waters claimed by both countries.

That’s according to Dryad Global’s latest Maritime Security Threat Advisory (MSTA), which stated that the Israel Defence Force said the UAVs had not posed any immediate threat.

“There have been tensions over the location of the Israeli gas rig within the contested waters,” the MSTA said.

“Israel and Lebanon continue talks on where they should draw the maritime border with the U.S. … working to support discussions,” the MSTA added.

Looking elsewhere, the MSTA noted that, in Libya, amidst the continuation of port protests, the Libyan National Oil Corporation has declared a state of force majeure on the As Sidra and Ras Lanuf oil terminals, with the continuation of the state of force majeure on the terminals of Brega and Zeuitina.

“Meanwhile there have been protests against deteriorating living conditions and the delay of the 21 December federal elections across nine Libyan cities including Tripoli, Tobruk, Benghazi and Misratah,” the MSTA said.

The MSTA also noted that, in Nigeria, stakeholders in the maritime industry have warned that over 70 per cent of Nigerian seafarers are unemployed “which could lead to a spike in piracy incidents in Nigerian waters”.

“Professional seafarers who are trained and subsequently unable to obtain employment are able to use their knowledge and capabilities to execute sophisticated maritime attacks for income,” the MSTA said.

“Whilst there have been five months without a reported piracy attack in Nigerian waters, conditions of insecurity remain, with a prevalence of incidents within the Southern Niger Delta,” the MSTA added.

Dryad’s previous MSTA, released on June 27, outlined that protests and discontent throughout Libya continued and highlighted that output and continuity have been significant issues throughout Libya throughout 2022 “as the political crisis continues to worsen”.

The previous MSTA also revealed that overall maritime security volumes remained “significantly” below the previous year’s reporting throughout the wider Gulf of Guinea. Despite this, incidents of maritime criminality including the kidnap and ransom of citizens continue throughout the waterways of the southern Niger Delta, the MSTA warned.

Dryad’s MSTA published on 20 June noted that, within the Gulf of Guinea, incidents of kidnap and maritime crime continued within the creeks and rivers of the southern Niger Delta region.

“Such incidents are in contrast to the significant downturn of reporting within the offshore domain,” the MSTA stated.

“There is an established trend of passenger boat attacks within the creeks and waterways of the Niger Delta, incidents often involve the targeting of small, unprotected vessels resulting in the kidnap of the local population who are then ransomed for return to communities. Such activity is not commensurate with the offshore risk,” the MSTA added.

•By Andreas Exarheas
andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com