Ingo Maritime Watch

Maritime security from East African ports to Suez and Dubai

A dated public-source research window covering East Africa, the Horn, Gulf of Aden, Bab el-Mandeb, Red Sea, Suez and Dubai-linked maritime routes. Records distinguish source reporting from assessment and state confidence and limitations.

Africa-focused monitoring built on named public sources. Records collected automatically are labelled Source record; items carrying an INGO Advisory assessment are labelled Verified intelligence or Analyst assessment. We do not operate a continuous watch floor and do not claim real-time coverage. Source records refresh when public feeds are collected; analyst review is periodic and its status is shown on each item.

Red SeaGulf of AdenSomali CoastGulf of GuineaAfrican portsPiracyVessel securityShipping disruptionPort and corridor security

Items tracked

Critical

Severe

Analyst reviewed

Analyst primer

Africa's maritime risk picture in 2026

Three theatres drive almost all maritime risk around the continent: the southern Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb, the Gulf of Guinea, and the Somali Basin. Each behaves differently, and each demands a different mitigation posture.

In the southern Red Sea, the dominant threat is stand-off: drones, anti-ship missiles and small-boat approaches directed at vessels perceived to have Israeli, US or UK affiliation. Ownership and charter structure matter more than hull hardening. Many operators continue to route via the Cape of Good Hope, adding roughly ten to fourteen days and significant cost on Europe–Asia legs, with knock-on delays for humanitarian cargo into Djibouti, Port Sudan and Berbera.

The Gulf of Guinea threat is commercial and human: kidnap-for-ransom against crew, executed by pirate action groups operating 60–120 nautical miles off the Niger Delta. Nigerian naval patrols have pushed incidents further offshore rather than eliminating them, so offshore crew changes, seismic work and supply runs remain the exposure points.

Off Somalia the tempo is low but not zero. Pirate action groups retain the capability to hijack dhows and use them as motherships during favourable monsoon windows, which brings low-freeboard and unprotected vessels back into range. Coastal logistics into Bosaso, Mogadishu and Kismayo remain viable with hardened vessel selection and disciplined route planning.

Port-side risk is often underweighted. Congestion at Mombasa and Dar es Salaam concentrates high-value cargo in transit yards for longer, raising theft and diversion exposure on the Northern and Central corridors long after the vessel has sailed.

Plan for schedule, not just security
Build 10–14 day buffers on Red Sea-dependent procurement and 5–7 days for East African port clearance.
Profile before hardening
In the Red Sea, ownership, flag and charterer profile drive targeting more than physical measures do.
Night is the risk window
Gulf of Guinea boardings cluster after dark against drifting or slow-steaming vessels offshore.
Verify K&R before mobilising
Confirm crew kidnap response plans and cover are live before any Gulf of Guinea or Somali Basin tasking.

Risk categoryRegionCountrySeverityContent classRecencySort by

0 items

Loading the latest published items…

Sources & methodology

How this stream is built

Every published item is triaged from reputable, openly available feeds and reviewed by an INGO Advisory analyst before it appears here. Where a specific source underpins an item, it is cited on the card. This is founder-led, analyst-reviewed research — not continuous or real-time monitoring.

UKMTO
IMO
EU NAVFOR / MSCHOA
EU maritime security bulletins
MarineTraffic / AIS (where licensed)
Regional port authorities

Source names are cited under fair use for editorial commentary. INGO Advisory is not affiliated with these organisations and reproduces no proprietary content.

Live AIS · AISStream.io

Ships transmitting now: Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb, Gulf of Aden

Positions come from a free, volunteer-run network of shore receivers. Coverage in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden is patchy, and many vessels switch AIS off in this area, so an empty map means no signal was received, not that no ships are present. Refreshes every two minutes.

Listening to the ship feed for 15 seconds…

Incident map · 2023–2025

Major publicly reported attacks on merchant shipping

13 significant incidents from the Red Sea to the Somali Basin and Hormuz, each linked to its public source. Positions are approximate and taken from public reporting. This is a curated record, not a complete list.

Red markers: ship sunk. Dashed rings: chokepoints.

1. Hellas Aphrodite — Piracy / boarding
6 Nov 2025 · Somali Basin
Tanker boarded by Somali pirates far offshore; crew in citadel until naval forces arrived.
Source: EU NAVFOR Atalanta
2. Minervagracht — Missile / drone
29 Sept 2025 · Gulf of Aden
Dutch cargo ship hit and set on fire; one crew member later died.
Source: EU NAVFOR Aspides
3. Eternity C — Sinking
7 Jul 2025 · Southern Red Sea
Bulk carrier sunk; several crew killed and others reported taken by Houthi forces.
Source: Reuters
4. Magic Seas — Sinking
6 Jul 2025 · Southern Red Sea
Bulk carrier sunk by Houthi attack, ending a months-long lull.
Source: UKMTO
5. Sounion — Missile / drone
21 Aug 2024 · Southern Red Sea
Loaded tanker attacked and set alight, creating a major oil-spill risk.
Source: EU NAVFOR Aspides
6. Tutor — Sinking
12 Jun 2024 · Southern Red Sea
Bulk carrier struck by an explosive boat; one crew member killed; ship later sank.
Source: UKMTO
7. MSC Aries — Seizure
13 Apr 2024 · Strait of Hormuz
Container ship seized by Iran's IRGC by helicopter.
Source: Reuters
8. MV Abdullah — Hijack
12 Mar 2024 · Somali Basin
Bangladeshi bulk carrier hijacked by Somali pirates; released after ransom in April.
Source: IMB Piracy Reporting Centre
9. True Confidence — Missile / drone
6 Mar 2024 · Gulf of Aden off Aden
Three crew killed — the first deaths from the Houthi campaign.
Source: UKMTO
10. Rubymar — Sinking
2 Mar 2024 · Bab el-Mandeb
Fertiliser carrier sank after a February missile strike — the first ship lost in the campaign.
Source: Reuters
11. Marlin Luanda — Missile / drone
26 Jan 2024 · Gulf of Aden
Tanker set on fire by a Houthi anti-ship missile.
Source: UKMTO
12. MV Ruen — Hijack
14 Dec 2023 · Arabian Sea
First successful Somali hijack of a merchant ship since 2017; freed by the Indian Navy in March 2024.
Source: EU NAVFOR Atalanta
13. Galaxy Leader — Hijack
19 Nov 2023 · Southern Red Sea
Houthi forces seized the car carrier by helicopter; crew held until January 2025.
Source: Reuters

Data source status

Live maritime sources and their health

Each public source is checked on page load and every ten minutes. Where UKMTO or other official sites refuse automated access, the gap is filled by UN, EU naval and open news reporting, all labelled as reported and unverified.

Source	Status	Latest item	Checked	Detail
Checking sources…
AISStream.io live ship positions Ship tracking · live stream	Working · nothing new	—	—	Listening…

Recent maritime reports from open sources

Newest first, last seven days. Status: Reported — single-source and not yet verified by INGO ADVISORY.

Ports & Maritime Watch

Illustrative dashboard — example data only

East Africa, Horn & Red Sea port intelligence board

Reference coverage of 96 ports across 44 countries and territories, linking East African and Horn gateways to the Red Sea, Suez and Dubai maritime network. Status indicators are illustrative, not live vessel or port data.

96 / 96 ports

African port activity and maritime security board.
Port	Country	Corridor	Vessel traffic	Port security	Piracy / approaches
Tanger Med	Morocco	Strait of Gibraltar	Elevated	Normal	Normal
Casablanca	Morocco	Atlantic Morocco	Normal	Normal	Normal
Algiers	Algeria	Western Mediterranean	Normal	Normal	Normal
Radès (Tunis)	Tunisia	Central Mediterranean	Normal	Normal	Normal
Tripoli	Libya	Central Mediterranean	Normal	Disrupted	Elevated
Misrata	Libya	Central Mediterranean	Normal	Elevated	Elevated
Alexandria	Egypt	Eastern Mediterranean	Normal	Normal	Normal
El Dekheila	Egypt	Eastern Mediterranean	Normal	Normal	Normal
Damietta	Egypt	Eastern Mediterranean	Normal	Normal	Normal
Port Said	Egypt	Suez Canal	Elevated	Normal	Normal
East Port Said	Egypt	Suez Canal	Elevated	Normal	Normal
Nouakchott	Mauritania	West Atlantic	Normal	Normal	Normal
Port Sudan	Sudan	Red Sea	Elevated	Disrupted	Elevated
South Port Container Terminal	Sudan	Red Sea	Elevated	Disrupted	Elevated
Bashayer Oil Terminal	Sudan	Red Sea energy corridor	Elevated	Disrupted	Elevated
Al Khair Oil Terminal	Sudan	Red Sea energy corridor	Normal	Disrupted	Elevated
Suakin	Sudan	Red Sea	Normal	Elevated	Elevated
Oseif	Sudan	Northern Red Sea	Normal	Elevated	Elevated
Lagos (Apapa/Tin Can)	Nigeria	Gulf of Guinea	Disrupted	Elevated	Elevated
Lekki Deep Sea	Nigeria	Gulf of Guinea	Elevated	Normal	Elevated
Onne	Nigeria	Niger Delta	Normal	Elevated	Elevated
Tema	Ghana	Gulf of Guinea	Elevated	Normal	Elevated
Takoradi	Ghana	Gulf of Guinea	Normal	Normal	Elevated
Abidjan	Côte d'Ivoire	Gulf of Guinea	Elevated	Normal	Elevated
San Pédro	Côte d'Ivoire	Gulf of Guinea	Normal	Normal	Elevated
Dakar	Senegal	West Atlantic	Elevated	Normal	Normal
Lomé	Togo	Gulf of Guinea	Elevated	Normal	Elevated
Cotonou	Benin	Gulf of Guinea	Normal	Normal	Elevated
Conakry	Guinea	West Atlantic	Normal	Elevated	Normal
Freetown (Queen Elizabeth II)	Sierra Leone	West Atlantic	Normal	Normal	Normal
Monrovia (Freeport)	Liberia	West Atlantic	Normal	Normal	Normal
Banjul	Gambia	West Atlantic	Normal	Normal	Normal
Bissau	Guinea-Bissau	West Atlantic	Normal	Elevated	Normal
Praia / Mindelo	Cabo Verde	Mid-Atlantic	Normal	Normal	Normal
Douala	Cameroon	Gulf of Guinea	Elevated	Elevated	Elevated
Kribi	Cameroon	Gulf of Guinea	Normal	Normal	Elevated
Pointe-Noire	Republic of the Congo	Gulf of Guinea	Elevated	Normal	Elevated
Matadi / Banana	Democratic Republic of the Congo	Congo River	Normal	Elevated	Normal
Libreville / Owendo	Gabon	Gulf of Guinea	Normal	Normal	Elevated
Malabo / Bata	Equatorial Guinea	Gulf of Guinea	Normal	Normal	Elevated
São Tomé	São Tomé and Príncipe	Gulf of Guinea	Normal	Normal	Elevated
Mombasa	Kenya	Northern Corridor	Elevated	Normal	Elevated
Lamu	Kenya	LAPSSET	Normal	Elevated	Elevated
Malindi	Kenya	Kenyan coast	Normal	Normal	Elevated
Dar es Salaam	Tanzania	Central Corridor	Elevated	Normal	Normal
Tanga	Tanzania	Northern Tanzania corridor	Normal	Normal	Normal
Zanzibar	Tanzania	Central Corridor	Normal	Normal	Normal
Mkoani	Tanzania	Pemba Channel	Normal	Normal	Normal
Mtwara	Tanzania	Mtwara Corridor	Normal	Elevated	Elevated
Port of Djibouti	Djibouti	Ethiopia–Djibouti Corridor	Elevated	Normal	Disrupted
Doraleh Container Terminal	Djibouti	Bab el-Mandeb	Elevated	Normal	Disrupted
Doraleh Multipurpose Port	Djibouti	Ethiopia–Djibouti Corridor	Elevated	Normal	Disrupted
Ghoubet	Djibouti	Lake Assal export corridor	Normal	Normal	Elevated
Tadjourah	Djibouti	Northern Ethiopia corridor	Normal	Normal	Elevated
Berbera	Somaliland	Berbera Corridor	Elevated	Normal	Elevated
Mogadishu	Somalia	Somali Basin	Normal	Elevated	Elevated
Bosaso	Somalia	Gulf of Aden	Normal	Elevated	Disrupted
Kismayo	Somalia	Western Somali Basin	Normal	Elevated	Elevated
Marka	Somalia	Somali Basin	Normal	Disrupted	Elevated
Massawa	Eritrea	Red Sea	Normal	Elevated	Elevated
Assab	Eritrea	Southern Red Sea	Normal	Elevated	Disrupted
Suez / Port Tawfik	Egypt	Suez Canal	Elevated	Normal	Elevated
Ain Sokhna	Egypt	Gulf of Suez	Elevated	Normal	Elevated
Adabiya	Egypt	Gulf of Suez	Normal	Normal	Elevated
Safaga	Egypt	Central Red Sea	Normal	Normal	Elevated
Nuweiba	Egypt	Gulf of Aqaba	Normal	Normal	Normal
El Tor	Egypt	Gulf of Suez	Normal	Normal	Normal
Aqaba	Jordan	Gulf of Aqaba	Elevated	Normal	Normal
Eilat	Israel	Gulf of Aqaba	Normal	Elevated	Normal
Jeddah Islamic Port	Saudi Arabia	Central Red Sea	Elevated	Normal	Elevated
King Abdullah Port	Saudi Arabia	Central Red Sea	Elevated	Normal	Elevated
Yanbu Commercial Port	Saudi Arabia	Northern Red Sea	Normal	Normal	Elevated
King Fahad Industrial Port, Yanbu	Saudi Arabia	Red Sea energy corridor	Elevated	Normal	Elevated
Jizan	Saudi Arabia	Southern Red Sea	Normal	Elevated	Disrupted
Aden	Yemen	Gulf of Aden	Normal	Disrupted	Disrupted
Hodeidah	Yemen	Southern Red Sea	Normal	Disrupted	Disrupted
Saleef	Yemen	Southern Red Sea	Normal	Disrupted	Disrupted
Mokha	Yemen	Bab el-Mandeb	Normal	Disrupted	Disrupted
Mukalla	Yemen	Gulf of Aden	Normal	Elevated	Elevated
Jebel Ali	United Arab Emirates	Dubai–East Africa network	Elevated	Normal	Normal
Port Rashid	United Arab Emirates	Dubai maritime network	Normal	Normal	Normal
Dubai Harbour	United Arab Emirates	Dubai maritime network	Normal	Normal	Normal
Durban	South Africa	Indian Ocean	Elevated	Normal	Normal
Cape Town	South Africa	Cape Route	Elevated	Normal	Normal
Ngqura / Port Elizabeth	South Africa	Cape Route	Normal	Normal	Normal
Richards Bay	South Africa	Indian Ocean	Elevated	Normal	Normal
Walvis Bay	Namibia	Trans-Kalahari	Normal	Normal	Normal
Luanda / Lobito	Angola	Lobito Corridor	Elevated	Normal	Normal
Beira	Mozambique	Beira Corridor	Elevated	Normal	Normal
Nacala	Mozambique	Nacala Corridor	Normal	Normal	Elevated
Pemba	Mozambique	Cabo Delgado	Normal	Disrupted	Elevated
Maputo	Mozambique	Maputo Corridor	Elevated	Normal	Normal
Toamasina	Madagascar	Mozambique Channel	Normal	Normal	Normal
Port Louis	Mauritius	Indian Ocean	Normal	Normal	Normal
Victoria	Seychelles	Somali Basin	Normal	Normal	Elevated
Moroni	Comoros	Mozambique Channel	Normal	Normal	Normal

Ports in view

Countries covered

Ports with a disrupted indicator