Articles by Fernando Ibáñez Gómez

The International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Information Center reported 132 incidents of piracy and armed robbery at sea against ships in 2021, the lowest figure recorded since 1994. And crew kidnapping fell by 55% in 2021. The reduction can be attributed to a notable decrease in piracy incidents in the Gulf of Guinea region (from 82 in 2020 to 34 in 2021). Where have all the Nigerian pirates gone? What are the reasons behind these figures? Is it Nigeria's passage of the 'Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Crimes Act'? Has hacking capability been significantly reduced by deployed units with the recent launch of Project Deep Blue? (Continue…) Dear reader, this article is exclusively for paying users. If you want to access the full text, you can subscribe to Ejercitos Magazine taking advantage of [Keep reading…]

For the first time in almost 50 years we have witnessed the blockage of the Suez Canal... due to the running aground of a giant container ship. After six days blocking this vital trade route, the container ship was finally freed. Global trade, our economies are very dependent on shipping. In recent days this dependence has been more evident than ever. In this article we are going to analyze the reasons for the blockage of the Suez Canal and try to answer some key questions that we will answer throughout this article: Are we facing an isolated incident or a sign of what is to come? Has the Suez Canal become outdated? Will the Suez Canal blockade be the end for big ships? Despite the presence of pirates, should we consider alternative routes such as the Cape of Good Hope? Will it ever be [Keep reading…]

Saturday, November 9. It is 7:30 a.m. local time, about 116 miles south of Cotonou, Benin's largest city. We are in the middle of the Gulf of Guinea. From the bridge of a fishing patrol vessel (civilian, not military) you can see a skiff approaching with 7 or 8 people on board, some of them armed. The anti-piracy protocol is activated and all non-essential personnel are locked in the ship's citadel. When the attackers are just over a kilometer from the ship, Beninese navy personnel embarked to protect the ship fire several warning shots. 10 minutes later, the assailants leave the area. The incident seems like one more of those that have been affecting the waters of West Africa in recent months. But it is not because of its protagonist: the Bob Barker ship of the Sea Shepherd organization. (Continue…) Dear [Keep reading…]

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Making predictions in the field of security is always risky. Just a year ago, few could imagine that a pandemic was going to so seriously affect the societies and economies of a large part of the planet. Commercial shipping, on which 90% of world trade depends, has also been implicated. [Keep reading…]

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that each year about 26 million tons of fish are caught illegally, which represents 20% of the sector's total production. [Keep reading…]