Access the latest Maritime Security Threat Advisory for the week commencing 12th June 2023.

👉 Within the last reporting period Russia continues to express dissatisfaction over the implementation of a grain deal following a return to talks. Russia continues to threaten to abandon the deal by July 17 unless its demands to improve its own food and fertiliser exports are met.

👉 In a separate incident, the Russian Defence Ministry reported an alleged attempt by Ukraine to attack a Russian merchant ship near crucial gas pipelines in the Black Sea. According to the Ministry, Ukrainian forces fired two missiles near the Kerch Strait, narrowly missing the Russian vessel and potentially causing a significant environmental disaster by disrupting maritime traffic. In addition, the Kremlin expressed concern that the explosion on the Togliatti-Odesa ammonia pipeline, a crucial conduit for exporting Russian ammonia via Ukraine, could negatively affect the stability of a Black Sea grain agreement. The pipeline suffered damage on either June 5th or 6th, with both Ukraine and Russia accusing each of involvement. The Kremlin underscored that the pipeline's resumption is crucial to the success of the Black Sea grain deal, and that the recent explosion could jeopardise efforts to prolong the agreement.

👉 Within West Africa, rates of officially recorded piracy continue to fall. In apparent reaction to the wider decline in piracy, Gabon has reduced the ISPS level to level 1. Despite the reduction, Gabon remains the only area within West Africa to experience a kidnapping within its territorial waters in the last 18 months.