THE GRIFT

Gaza Vanishing: Trump’s Board of Peace

by Binoy Kampmark / January 20th, 2026

Donald Trump’s Board of Peace overseeing the reconstruction of Gaza was always going to raise a host of niggling questions. From the outset, the US President made it clear he would be the helmsman of what was essentially an outfit of selected corporate overseers tilling the soil for The Donald’s posterity fund. These anointed sorts have been given the ostensible task of reviving and resuscitating a pulverised, rubble strewn enclave that has seen atrocities aplenty visited upon it. But to what end?

The envisaged structure of control over Gaza, seen as a vital part of fulfilling Trump’s 20-point plan for the territory, opens the second phase of the peace process. It’s already clear that the Board is a cheese platter of billionaires and pro-Israeli figures, with Bulgarian diplomat Nickolay Mladenov being named its “High Representative”. A Gaza Executive Board will work with the Office of the High Representative and an inconsequential Palestinian technocratic body, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG). In a statement, the White House notes that the NCAG will be led by technocrat Ali Sha’ath, formerly of the Palestinian Authority, who will be charged with the tasks of restoring core public services, the reconstruction of civil institutions, “and the stabilization of daily life in Gaza, while laying the foundation for a long-term, self-sustaining governance.”

We already have a sense of how the pantomime will unfold. There are the Trump feet washers such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio; men of money such as the Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff; the family angle with the President’s son-in-law Jared Kushner; and that paragon of insincerity and ill-judgment on Middle East affairs, former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The charter of the Board of Peace, a copy of which was circulated among dozens of heads of state with invitations to join, carries a fee of US$1 billion for countries seeking a permanent seat on it. Those not wishing to provide the fee will serve for three years. The document is further notable for what it does not say. Gaza does not make it into the text. Nor does the United Nations. It does, however, speak about the need for “a more nimble and effective international peace-building body”, which looks ominously like a subversive stab at the UN, a body whose alleged impotence Trump has done so much to encourage. To make peace durable, it was important to have “the courage to depart from… institutions that have too often failed.” The proposition as to why such institutions fail is never considered, much like the happy arsonist who starts fires in order to extinguish them.

Even before these bodies have taken shape, trouble is brewing. Despite the warm, favourable slant shown towards Israel in this venture, one designed to keep Palestinians in their downtrodden place, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not delighted to find out that Turkey and Qatar would also have a role to play on the Gaza Executive Board. They might spoil the platter and sour the offerings. “The announcement regarding the composition of the Gaza executive board, which is subordinate to the Board of Peace,” stated a note from the PM’s office, “was not co-ordinated with Israel and runs contrary to its policy.”

In remarks made during an agitated debate in the Knesset plenum on January 19, Netanyahu was adamant that involvement by Ankara and Doha would not be military in nature: “Turkish or Qatari soldiers will not be in the Strip.” These sentiments are seemingly misplaced, given that Qatar lacks a force suitable to make such a contribution. The Israeli PM also insisted that both countries would be denied any authoritative role or have any influence on the various bodies, despite Trump’s willingness to include Turkish and Qatari representatives on the Gaza Executive Board.

Despite being overlooked on the issue of consultation regarding Turkey and Qatar, Netanyahu was boisterous enough to insist that standing up to Washington was something he was rather good at. “When it comes to Israel’s essential interest, we can argue, we can sharpen our positions, and, by the way, we can come to agreements.”

This did not convince the opposition leader and chair of the Yesh Atid party, Yair Lapid. As with most Israeli politicians, the prospect that the Palestinians might even dare to behave in sovereign fashion in Gaza remains both inconceivable and abhorrent. Allies of Hamas, he complained, “have been invited to run Gaza”, while the “dominant factor” of the Palestinian technocratic committee was the Palestinian Authority. This suggested one of two possibilities: either Netanyahu had slyly “agreed behind our backs that Turkey, Qatar, and the Palestinian Authority would be in Gaza” or he had been ignorant of their inclusion, in which case “Trump doesn’t give a damn about you.” Israel was “returning to Gaza, not at the starting point, but to a point much worse than at the beginning.”

Those worried about this venture being one to displace or marginalise the UN (Julien Barnes-Dacey of the European Council on Foreign Relations is of this view) should think again. Chaos seems imminent, with the Board looking much like a waxwork effort by sketchy amateur artists, likely to melt when heat is applied. There will be much fractiousness and no longevity about a project that says nothing of institutions and everything about the moods of a person who, when he departs, will see it wither. Narcissism lies at its core and may well die with it. The concern here is whether aspirations for Palestinian sovereignty will do the same.

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Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He lectures at RMIT University, Melbourne. Email: bkampmark@gmail.com. Read other articles by Binoy.

 

A Picture that Shows What’s Wrong with Military Bases

by David Swanson / January 20th, 2026

https://worldbeyondwar.org/a-picture-that-shows-whats-wrong-with-military-bases/

Of course it would take millions of images to convey the full story of the harm done by military bases, foreign and domestic, but a key point is, I think, conveyed by the map above. The countries colored blue or purple have U.S. military bases in them. The countries colored red or purple have been threated with war by the United States or actually attacked or invaded by the U.S. military within the past year.

The blue countries tell a story of global empire, of a nation seeking to dominate the planet. Similar maps could be drawn up on a smaller scale for several other base empires. See them all and details about each base here. No other base empire map, however, would be remotely this extensive or include remotely this many places threatened or attacked. The U.S. government treats conflict between its military and others, anywhere on Earth, as “defensive,” because it believes it owns the world. It describes murdering people in boats near Venezuela, not as being near Venezuela but as being in the zone of the Southern Command. Every spot on the planet is categorized under one or another of the U.S. military’s “commands.” And so, Trump threatens at his whim.

In South America, where Ecuador’s public just voted to reject foreign bases, Ecuador stands out as a blank spot surrounded by blue. But Venezuela is closer to the United States, and Mexico even closer. They are red.

The red countries across the globe have had U.S. bases piled up near their borders. The United States has used its bases in Latin America and the Caribbean to attack Venezuela. Iran is bordered by seven nations with U.S. bases. The nations to the south and east of China are packed with U.S. bases, as is Europe, as is Israel.

The United States itself is colored purple because U.S. troops have been deployed on U.S. streets in the form of the so-called National Guard, as well as ICE, Border Patrol, and various other militarized agencies, plus the threat of the U.S. Army.

Cuba is purple because it is under threat of attack but also already has a U.S. base there, uniquely against the concerted will and efforts of the “host” government.

Greenland, meanwhile, is purple because it has long had a U.S. military base and a license for the U.S. to coat the rest of the island with bases, but Trump thinks he can get more than that (and wants to, for whatever combination of reasons, including vicinity to the United States, absence of too many of the wrong varieties of people, etc.).

Canada is in a similar situation and shading toward purple at the moment.

Somalia and Iraq have U.S. bases and have nonetheless been attacked by the United States for unique reasons related to the level of chaos and the U.S. desire to threaten neighboring states. Of course Israel has U.S. bases and the U.S. has supported attacks on Palestine which Trump hopes to ethnically cleanse and colonize.

There are other priorities beyond location. Of the top seven nations for reserves of oil, two are red, one purple, and the others all blue on the map above. The eighth is Russia, which some in the U.S. government would like to break apart and against which the United States is waging a proxy war in Ukraine. The ninth is the United States itself. It’s hard to steal oil without bases.

In short, bases heighten tensions, facilitate wars, and encourage militarism. They also provoke terrorism, endanger “host” countries, house nuclear weapons, prop up dictators and repressive, undemocratic regimes, cause irreparable environmental damage, severely impact the Earth’s climate, cost an exorbitant amount of money desperately needed for useful purposes, deny land to indigenous populations, cause economic problems for “host” countries, facilitate the commission of crimes by occupying troops granted immunity from local laws, and establish in many cases min-apartheid regimes of segregation.

A year ago, concerned people and groups held the first annual Global Day of Action to #CloseBases. This year, we’re combining the day of education, day of media, and day of action (which were spread out across last year as three different events) into one. So, people can do whatever sort of local real-world event they find most useful. We’ve got resources to make it easy for local groups to do panels, film screenings, press conferences, rallies, marches, banner-drops, protests, etc.

This year, events will be planned for anytime February 21-23, Saturday through Monday.

Here is more information,

• a place to endorse as an organization,
• a place to list your planned event on a map,
• a major toolkit with all kinds of resources to make it easy,
• a place to register for either of two planning zoom calls to be held on February 3,
• reports from last year’s events,
• and much more:

https://daytoclosebases.org

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David Swanson is an author, activist, journalist, and radio host. He is director of WorldBeyondWar.org and campaign coordinator for RootsAction.org. Swanson's books include War Is A Lie. He blogs at DavidSwanson.org and War Is a Crime.org. He hosts Talk Nation Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @davidcnswanson and FaceBook. Read other articles by David.

Maduro Redux

The Profanity of Life

by Dan Lieberman / January 20th, 2026

Trump’s behavior has triggered a recall of Mario Vargas Llosa’s novel, based partly on his life, Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter. In the novel, the protagonist’s employer hires an eccentric Bolivian scriptwriter to write soap opera serials. The novel chronicles the scriptwriter’s success and increasing popularity. The soap operas become more bizarre and reflect the scriptwriter’s descent into madness.

From start of his second ascendancy to king of the kingdom, Trump has exhibited a growing intensity of aggrandizement, internalized success that begs greater accomplishment, and escalations in daring episodes, violations of constitutional norms, and profanity of life. Each day, his disregarding the sanctity of life, permitting arbitrary killing, and indicating he will pardon anyone who commits a crime that has his approval, reflects his scriptwriting descent into madness.

Armed groups — National Guards, Homeland Security and its Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Secret Service — no longer defend the populace, operate in the benefit of the U.S. president, patrol our streets, commit aggressions, defy laws, and operate without constitutional control. There is no defense to the transgressions, except to take up arms against the armed, and no peace loving and country-loving citizen is prepared to do that. The trend is to increased trampling of national and international law, followed by national and international resistance, followed by national and international strife, and escalation of alarming national and international aggressions by a maddening president who holds the code to releasing nuclear-armed missiles.

Complementing a president descending into madness is a large portion of the population exhibiting symptoms of derangement. The lack of concern for the genocide of the Palestinian people, the inertia in protesting the unnecessary killings of unproven drug smugglers, and the slaughter of up to 100 Venezuelans and Cubans to apprehend a country’s leader and satisfy a U.S. court indictment in a case that will not be resolved for years, highlights the deranged thought. Reactions to the recent shooting of Renée Good by an ICE agent emphasize the derangement.

No normal person can consider the shooting of Renee Good as anything but homicide. From the start of the video of the crime scene to its ultimate tragic conclusion, the behavior of the ICE officers was provocation and use of force. Ms. Good was not entirely blocking traffic, drove the car away as the ICE agents wanted, did not steer the car to the agent who deliberately appeared in front of the car, did not hit the agent, and received bullets through the front and side windshields from ICE officer Jonathan Ross, who was never in danger.

The utterances from administration officials — President Trump initially claiming Ross was run over and was in the hospital; Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem saying, that the shooting occurred “because Ms. Good was allegedly using her Honda Pilot as ‘a deadly weapon;’” and Vice President JD Vance haranguing in a briefing that, “The reason this woman is dead is because she tried to ram somebody with her car, and that guy acted in self-defense. That is why she lost her life, and that is a tragedy,” are deliberate falsehoods that do not coincide with the facts.

Reading comments to the reports on the incident in Yahoo news, where a large assortment of the comments agree with the administration, is disturbing. Discussion of the shooting on PBS News Hour by political commentator, David Brooks, increased the disturbance. Brooks recited that, in his X account, followers responded to the shooting in accord with their agendas, splitting exactly as their feelings toward the present administration. He declined to voice his own opinion, willing to leave it to history.

Learning that the electorate is guided by agenda and not by reality and facts is disheartening. How can equality, justice, and freedom be achieved in that environment. Not a day of peace for Americans

Here is an interesting deliberation. Compare the murder of Ms. Good to the response by the Chinese military to the famous “Tank man,” who stopped Chinese tanks on the day after the Tiananmen incident and received no known rebuke, physical or otherwise. We also know that if Officer Ross is indicted and convicted, Trump will grant him a pardon, which is chilling. Dispose of anyone who gains the Trump wrath and don’t be concerned; similar to pardons granted other convicted criminals who were on good terms with Trump, you will not serve a day.

Each day brings another conflict between the U.S. populace and U.S. authorities. Trump has already said “he might use the Insurrection Act to deploy troops to Minneapolis.” With 33 Senate seats and all 435 congressional seats up for re-election, his popularity decreasing, and a possibility that a more heavily constituted Democratic congress might be successful in an impeachment vote and in a conviction, an out-of-control Trump might consider the anarchy he is creating as an excuse to control the mid-term congressional elections.

Will Minneapolis, Minnesota be the 21st century Fort Sumter?

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Dan Lieberman publishes commentaries on foreign policy, economics, and politics at substack.com.  He is author of the non-fiction books A Third Party Can Succeed in America, Not until They Were Gone, Think Tanks of DC, The Artistry of a Dog, and a novel: The Victory (under a pen name, David L. McWellan). Read other articles by Dan.

 

To My Comrades

by Mateo Pimentel / January 20th, 2026

I hear a song in you, comrades. I hear your voices in the streets. I hear you all across the country, your chants and instruments of disruption echoing from every corner. May your tune continue to carry, reverberate, and resonate, stirring and rousing others still. May your thunder continue to amplify and distort until the noise of fascism is drowned out completely. You are already proving that silence and injustice would never ring true of us.

What we do now, wherever we may be, matters more than ever. We know this. We know there is much organizing to be done, much protesting to be realized and effected. Let the world look upon our actions and know that we will not repeat the repressive histories of fascist regimes, much less suffer a kakistocracy to snuff us out in our resistance. Indeed, our light shines too brightly amid the darkness.

Know that no one is coming to save us, nor should we expect any other nation to come to our aid. We cannot put our trust in any state. Therefore, we must depend on ourselves despite our individual shortcomings and become something truly greater than the sum of our parts. Let us leverage our differences and our identities and our classes and our bodies. Let the lashes of inequity scar over our body politic as we become a tidal wave to wash away any wickedness that would divide or minimize us. Let us amass and assemble. Let us build.

Remember that we have more than one enemy in this fight, and our individual politics might only serve to divide us. So, we should look to the historical moments of peoples past who collectively soldered together to oppose tyranny and ensure radical democracy for themselves and their posterity. Let us also knit together in solidarity, bound by the fibers of subsidiarity. Indeed, do whatever you can right where you are. Count on your neighbor to do the same, or not, but lead with hope, always. For as long as I can hear you exercising your rights, I will know that there is hope and that that hope is real.

The world is ours to lose, but it is also ours to gain. This is it. This is the moment only we can seize. We are too many to be outstripped by the phantoms of some woefully broken institutions. They would dissolve us, metabolize us, and spit us out like seeds, scattered to die in the sun. But beneath the rotten fruit of the flesh that now envelops us, let us remember that we are seeds, and our stand now shall bear sweeter fruit for future generations who surely deserve it, for no other reason than they should one day exist and take up our mantle and remember the remarkable deeds we will have done, especially in the shadows of repression.

A revolution can hardly stand to count the cost. If there is a price to pay, so be it. Too many have toiled in pursuit of what we have and yet enjoy, which is worth preserving and even expanding. Let this be an inflection point, and let every opportunity be taken. May the poetry of change be written on our hearts in the process, and may we recite our poem together, as one. I look forward to this song and will rejoice with you once it is complete. Then, even its hum shall remind us of what we endured in the process of writing our most operatic piece: the liberation and prosperity of us all.

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Mateo Pimentel is coauthor of Capitalism and Critique: Unruly Democracy and Solidarity Economics. Read other articles by Mateo.

 

Chagos Islands Transfer Deal Hits US Opposition

A U.S. Navy destroyer calls at the naval base at Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory (USN file image)

Published Jan 20, 2026 10:39 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

The passage of the Chagos Islands bill through the British Houses of Parliament entered stormy waters on January 20, when amendments made to the bill by the House of Lords were considered in the House of Commons. The Chagos Islands legislation needs to be passed if the agreement already signed between Mauritius and the United Kingdom is to be ratified and brought into effect.

The legislation has provoked huge controversy in the United Kingdom. Opponents have argued that the former inhabitants of the Chagos Archipelago were not consulted in the process of transferring the sovereignty of their birthplace to Mauritius, a country to which they say they have no connection. It has been argued that because the Chagossian people are not of European stock, as are the inhabitants of Gibraltar and the Falklands Islands, they are being denied the right of self-determination.

The reliability of Mauritian undertakings made in the treaty, once sovereignty has been surrendered and there is no recourse, has also been questioned, particularly in the light of the close relationship Mauritius enjoys with China – which has welcomed the deal.  The cost of the arrangement – a charge on the UK defense budget – has also been questioned.

The Labour government has hitherto rejected these arguments, resting its case primarily on US backing for the deal, which it has said is vital underpinning for the future arrangements to maintain the US Naval Support Facility on Diego Garcia. That argument was apparently blown out of the water on January 20 when President Trump described the sovereignty transfer on his social media account as an act of "GREAT STUPIDITY being made for NO REASON WHATSOEVER."

When changes made to the legislation in the House of Lords were reviewed by the House of Commons yesterday, the government maintained that the deal still had US support, ignoring President Trump’s rejection of the agreement on social media. The amendments were rejected, and the bill was sent back to the House of Lords for them to reconsider.

The House of Lords appears in no mood to compromise, and as the bill was not a manifesto commitment, there is precedent for the Lords to reject it. Opposition to the bill has widened across the political spectrum in recent weeks, causing political defections. Three Labour members of parliament voted against the government in yesterday’s debate in the House of Commons, a most unusual occurrence and a harbinger of more opposition to come. The fate of the bill therefore hangs in the balance, dependent primarily on whether the Trump administration follows through with its new-found opposition to a deal which it had previously supported.

A primary motivation of Mauritius pressing for the deal has always been money, with Mauritius having demonstrated little interest in a far-distant area which they do not have the opportunity or resources to exploit. Within Mauritius, it has been welcomed as a unique chance to pay down the national debt and cancel income tax. This financial motivation opens up several alternative arrangements which might in future guarantee continued US/UK use of Diego Garcia, alongside the protection of the rights of the Chagossian people.

Meanwhile, on Diego Garcia itself, careful watch is being maintained on the apron of the airfield to see if strike aircraft are arriving from the United States, as they did during the run-up to American attacks on Iran last year. At present there are no additional aircraft to be seen, but there are first indications of air reinforcements being moved to bases in the Middle East. The USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) and its carrier support group are on track to arrive in the Gulf of Oman on about January 25.

 

DC Court Dismisses High-Profile Legal Challenge to the Jones Act

Pixabay / public domain

Published Jan 20, 2026 10:59 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

A high-profile legal challenge to the constitutionality of the Jones Act has been shot down in federal court, bringing a close to a rare challenge to the century-old cabotage law. 

On Tuesday, Chief Judge James Boasberg of the DC Circuit found against plaintiff Koloa Rum Company, which had filed suit last year in an attempt to overturn the Act. Koloa argued that U.S. cabotage law discriminates against seaports located in Hawaii, thereby violating the little-known Port Preference Clause of the constitution, which forbids Congress from enacting laws that favor one port over another.

To ship its product to the mainland and thence overseas via transshipment, Koloa has to book high-cost space on a Jones Act vessel, as the Act forbids the use of foreign tonnage for the Hawaii-to-mainland leg of the journey. Koloa's counsel - provided by the Pacific Legal Foundation - argued that this is an additional and discriminatory cost burden for non-contiguous U.S. states (Hawaii and Alaska). The contiguous lower 48 states can directly access road, rail, and (for foreign trade) inexpensive foreign-flag cargo transport. In Koloa's view, the Jones Act "strangles Hawaii’s economy by forbidding businesses like Koloa Rum Company from using more efficient, affordable shipping options," unfairly forcing Hawaiian firms to use American tonnage in order to "subsidize" the U.S. shipping industry. Using statistics from an anti-cabotage think tank, the firm estimated that the extra shipping cost for Hawaiian businesses and consumers comes to about $1.2 billion annually. 

The Trump administration successfully defended the Act, backed by Matson Navigation, the American Maritime Partnership and the AFL-CIO as intervenors. In a ruling released Tuesday, Judge Boasberg dismissed Koloa's case on statute of limitations grounds, and on the merits as well. 

The decision was not entirely flattering: Boasberg concluded that Koloa was probably correct about its expenses, finding it likely that "the Jones Act is a substantial factor behind Koloa Rum’s steep operational costs." However, the company should have filed the suit sooner, he found. The date of filing was more than 16 years after Koloa began operations. The statute of limitations for civil actions against the federal government limits the filing to no later than six years after the alleged harm begins. "The limitations period ran in 2015. [Koloa's] claim has already sailed," Boasberg wrote.

He also found against Koloa on the merits of the claim. Hawaii is non-contiguous and remote, and must therefore use shipping in ways that the lower 48 states do not; that does not mean that Congress discriminated against Hawaiian ports in particular by requiring Jones Act tonnage to move cargo between U.S. points, he ruled. 

"Plaintiff's grievance is, at bottom, a policy dispute of the sort that is best brought to Congress, not this Court. . . . the Jones Act is a facially neutral statute with a nondiscriminatory purpose: promoting the American merchant marine for commerce and national defense. It emerged from a centuries-old tradition of cabotage laws dating to the First Congress in 1789," he concluded. "Congress enacted the legislation to advance American shipbuilding, employment, and national security, not to discriminate against particular ports."

In a statement, the American Maritime Partnership celebrated the ruling and thanked the Justice Department for its role in the outcome.

"We commend the Trump Administration for vigorously defending the Jones Act in court and defending the men and women who serve America’s national security, homeland security and economic security,” said Jennifer Carpenter, President of the American Maritime Partnership. "This decision reaffirms not only the constitutionality but also the critical importance of the Jones Act to every American."

 

International Maritime Bureau Reports Increase in Piracy and Maritime Crime

Incidents were up in 2025 with more vessels boarded and robbed (Singapore IFC)

Published Jan 20, 2026 4:51 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

The ICC International Maritime Bureau, an international reporting center for piracy and maritime crimes, analyzed reporting for 2025, highlighting an increase in global maritime incidents. It warns of an increase in piracy and armed robbery, and while much of it was low-level crimes, the group emphasized the need for timely reporting to counter the spike in crimes.

Overall, during 2025, the group received information on 137 incidents against ships, up from 116 in 2024 and 120 in 2023. The reports breakdown with 121 vessels boarded, four hijacked, and two fired upon, with a further 10 failed attempts.

Another concern is the rise in the number of incidents in which the perpetrators were armed. IMB reports there were 42 incidents in which the boarders were carrying guns compared with 26 in the prior year. The use of knives, however, declined slightly with 33 incidents in 2025 versus 39 in 2024.

While most reported incidents in 2025 were categorized as low-level, violence against crew continues, with 46 crew members taken hostage in 2025 compared to 126 in 2024 and 73 in 2023. Twenty-five crewmembers were reported kidnapped, compared to 12 in 2024 and 14 in 2023. A further 10 crewmembers were threatened, four were injured, and three were assaulted in 2025.

The report highlights that the greatest number of incidents are with vessels that are underway (88 of the reported boardings in 2025). A vessel that was steaming was three times more likely (27) to be boarded than a ship at anchor. Also, bulkers remain the most vulnerable type (50), with containerships and product tankers each at approximately 20 incidents.

Geographically, Southeast Asia is the area of greatest concern, accounting for 95 of the incidents reported last year. As has been reported throughout the year and by the regional operation ReCAAP, the Singapore Strait accounted for nearly all the incidents. A total of 75 vessels were boarded in 2025, and there were five additional attempts, according to the reports filed with IMB. There were 11 reports of incidents in Indonesia, the second-highest area in Southeast Asia.

More than half of the global incidents in 2025 happened in the Singapore Straits. They noted there was a disproportionate increase in the use of guys (27 in 2025 versus just eight in 2024). IMB also highlights that 14 crewmembers were taken hostage in the Singapore Straits, while eight were threatened, three were injured, and one was assaulted. However, most of the crime in the Singapore Strait region is low-level, with the perpetrators attempting to steal equipment or spare parts and fleeing when discovered.

Both IMB and ReCAAP also highlighted a significant decline in the number of incidents in the region around the Singapore Straits and Indonesia in the second half of 2025. They credit the apprehension of two gangs in July 2025 by the Indonesian Marine Police with helping to reduce the crime spree in the region.

It also notes the success of the continuing efforts in the Gulf of Guinea, primarily by local authorities. The number of incidents was stable at 21 in 2025, versus 18 in 2024 and 22 in 2023.

While there was also a highly publicized re-emergency of incidents off Somalia, IMB highlights that the lack of a broader resurgence was due to the continuing deterrents of the naval presence in the region and vessels being on alert and hardening their defenses. Two of the incidents it notes were far from shore, showing that Somali pirate groups can still interfere with shipping. IMB highlights that 26 crewmembers were taken hostage off Somalia and Africa overall accounted for nearly all the hijackings, primarily off the West coast of the continent.

IMB also expressed concern about the late reporting of incidents. Quick reporting helps the authorities, and it also helps to protect other vessels in the area.

 

Iranian Cargo Ship Sailing Near USS Abraham Lincoln in Straits of Malacca

The IRISL bulk carrier Arvin (VesselFinder)

Published Jan 19, 2026 1:05 PM by The Maritime Executive

Data shows that an Iranian cargo ship is sailing in proximity to the U.S. carrier group led by USS Abraham Lincoln as the group makes its way west to the Persian Gulf region. Facebook poster Charlie B published the plot of a group of ships heading west in the Straits of Malacca off Singapore, three of which are US Navy ships making up the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) and its carrier support group (CSG). The fourth vessel is the Iranian bulk carrier Arvin (IMO 9193202).

The Arvin is a bulk carrier that left Shanghai on January 5 and is scheduled to arrive in Bandar Abbas on February 4. It had been travelling with its AIS system active, at a steady speed on an expected course for this routing and without deviations for several days prior to the USS Abraham Lincoln being ordered to head for the Middle East region. It appears likely, therefore, that the USS Abraham Lincoln has joined this course, rather than being followed and tracked by the Arvin – although the Arvin may now be taking advantage of its position to report on the movements of the CSG. Both the CSG and the Arvin appear to be heading in the same direction, and will be visible to each other at least on radar and AIS systems. 

 

A plot posted by @supbrow showing the Iranian cargo vessel Arvin sailing among the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group off Singapore (@supbrow)

 

The GT39424 Arvin is on the US Treasury OFAC sanctions list.  It is subject to secondary sanctions on the basis that it is linked to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL).  It was listed by OFAC on June 8, 2020. 

For the last three years, the Arvin has exclusively plied the route between China and Iran. This pattern of activity does not suggest that the Arvin has been employed full-time in an intelligence collection role, for example, as were the IRISL-associated ships MV Saviz (IMO 9167253) and MV Behshad (IMO 9167289) stationed in the Red Sea. Or the Aframax tanker Beta (IMO 9486910), which lurked off Fujairah between 2015 and 2019, looking out for commercial shipping targets. The Beta was later converted into the Iranian Navy logistic and base ship IRINS Makran (K441), and recently was in Cape Town for “Exercise Will for Peace 2026.”

But any IRISL-associated ship, such as the Arvin, could be conscripted into performing intelligence duties should the IRGC so require, and probably as a matter of routine would report its sighting of any US naval vessels back to its ship managers in Iran, for onward coordination with the IRGC.
 

Top photo of IRISL bulk carrier Arvin by Cengiz Tokgöz (courtesy of VesselFinder)