A lot of news from the Gulf of Guinea this week, specifically Nigeria, of course. Confusion surrounds a report of an attack by pirates on a flow station in the Niger Delta in which three soldiers and one pirate were reportedly killed. Local media picked the story up and ran it and some local communities expressed concern that the military might 'invade' their region to flush out the attackers, only for the military to deny the incident ever happened. Everyone else seems convinced it did. Very confusing. 
The Nigerian Navy has asked the Department of State Security (DSS) to do more to locate the backers who support pirates operating in the Delta. They've handed over several suspects in recent weeks and hope for a breakthrough. 
To add to the country's maritime security woes, there are ongoing concerns about security around Nigeria's ports. Lax security issues put vessels and crew at risk. 
Talking of ports, Somalia and Ethiopia (yes, Ethiopia) have signed a deal to invest in four Red Sea ports. So far, we don't know which ones, but it's an interesting move by both nations. Staying in the region, the Iranian Navy is heading back out into the Gulf of Aden, so we should expect some epic tales of pirate battles in the coming weeks. We end with the news that the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) has made another large drugs seizure in the Indian Ocean, maintaining their string of successes this year.  

Regards,
David Rider                  
Editor