Maritime Security Report: 20–30 November 2025

Palaemon Maritime
8 hours ago
3 min read

Seven incidents across four regions: piracy, drone warfare, port theft, and escalating unrest

Seven notable maritime security incidents were recorded this reporting period across Southeast Asia, the Mozambique Channel, the Black Sea, and the Bay of Bengal. The incidents ranged from armed piracy and ship store theft to drone and USV attacks and growing labour unrest, underscoring a complex, multi-region threat environment for commercial shipping.

Executive Summary

This week saw a cross-regional rise in opportunistic piracy, port crime, and conflict-linked attacks.

Key trends highlighted in the report’s executive summary include:

Southeast Asia: Ongoing pirate boardings in the Singapore Strait, particularly in the eastbound lane of the TSS, targeting barges and bulk carriers.
Africa (Mozambique Channel): Continued theft at berth, with unauthorized individuals stealing stores from a container ship during cargo operations.
Europe (Black Sea): Ukrainian forces conducted UAV and USV attacks against Russian infrastructure and shadow-fleet tankers.
South Asia (Bay of Bengal): Escalating labour unrest affecting Chattogram Port operations, posing both operational and security risks.

Incident Breakdown

🇸🇬 Southeast Asia – Armed Robberies in the Singapore Strait

20–24 November 2025

Two piracy incidents occurred in the eastbound lane of the Singapore Strait TSS (pages 4 & 7):

Armed robbers boarded the Cyprus-flagged bulk carrier Fyla, carrying knives and fleeing after being spotted by crew. Nothing was stolen.
A group of three pirates approached barge LKH 7887 with four sampans, stole scrap metal, and escaped before detection.

These are consistent with ongoing patterns in the region — engine spaces and open-deck cargo remain primary targets.

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🌍 Mozambique Channel – Robbery at Berth

25 November 2025

The Liberia-flagged container vessel Merkur Horizon was boarded during cargo operations at Beira Port (page 6). Intruders escaped with stolen ship stores after alerting the duty crew.

This is one of several recent incidents highlighting vulnerabilities at African ports where security perimeter breaches remain frequent

🇺🇦 Black Sea – Drone & USV Attacks on Russian Targets

25 & 28 November 2025

The Black Sea remains highly active, with Ukraine conducting coordinated UAV and USV strikes (page 5):

Novorossiysk Port was hit by drones targeting oil terminal infrastructure and air defense systems.
Two shadow-fleet tankers — Kairos and Virat — previously involved in transporting sanctioned Russian crude, were struck by Sea Baby USVs.
- Kairos caught fire, forcing all 25 crew to evacuate.
- Virat suffered minor topside damage.

The strikes underline ongoing risks for vessels operating near Russia’s energy export hubs.

🇧🇩 Bay of Bengal – Escalating Labour Unrest at Chattogram Port

21 November 2025

Ambrey assessments warn of intensifying labour unrest over port tariff disputes and plans to introduce long-term foreign operators. Activities include: