Foreign warships blocked a cargo vessel from entering Somalia's rebel-held Kismayu port on Friday in a new strategy to try and choke the militant insurgent group al Shabaab, the government said.

Ports and Sea Transport Minister Mohamed Ibrahim Habasade said the action was taken in line with resolutions by East African body IGAD and the African Union (AU) to try and stop supplies reaching the al Qaeda-linked movement.

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An Australian warship will join international efforts to combat pirates operating from Somalia, the government said in Friday.

Australia will send a frigate and maritime patrol aircraft currently on Persian Gulf security duties to join anti-piracy operations in and near the Gulf of Aden, Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon said in a statement.

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It is a known fact that the Philippines is the leading supplier of maritime manpower. Approximately 30% (or even more) of the world’s seafarers are Filipinos, who bravely take the assignments regardless of the dangers involved such as piracy and terrorism. As such, the world looks to Filipino seafarers to meet that maritime industry’s ever growing need for maritime officers and crewmen.

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The first pleasure boat to be built in the Subic Bay Freeport has passed its sea trial with impressive performance, setting another milestone for the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), which is building up this former US naval base as globally-competitive maritime hub.

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Global classification society and risk management consultant DNV is encouraging ship owners, managers and crewing agents to take action now on the imminent entry into force of the Maritime Labour Convention.

The convention stipulates common rights for seafarers with respect to conditions of employment, accommodation, recreational facilities, food, accident prevention, welfare and medical care.

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The blockade is in the rebel controlled center and south of the war-torn Horn of Africa nation. "Beginning today [May 25] sea ports and airports not under the government's control will be closed to any flights or shipments except for humanitarian purposes," Information Minister Farhan Ali Mohamud stated. The announcement comes on the heels of a proposal put forward by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) calling for the imposition of an embargo on south-central Somali airports and seaports run by extremist al-Shabaab militias. Speaking after a closed-door cabinet meeting in the capital Mogadishu, Mohamoud said the sanctions were aimed at curbing the flow of arms and foreign fighters into the country and would not extend to humanitarian flights or shipments. The minister further called on the United Nations to adopt a similar measure to the one taken by the six-nation regional bloc -- comprising of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Sudan and Somalia.

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The hijack of Maersk Alabama has made it almost certain that some US-flag ships will carry firearms. The head of the company that operates Biscaglia, the first US-owned ship hijacked off Somalia, sees this as a bad idea — and a bad omen.

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The transport industry is strongly segregated: mobile occupations (except for those within the aviation industry), technical jobs involving heavy physical workloads have traditionally been occupied by men. Women have historically occupied service-related and administrative positions.

Satu Silta, a colleague from the Finnish Seamen’s Union recently spoke to the ETF on her views of maritime women in the labor market.

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In an overly ambitious campaign, the Beijing authorities have put in place a new strategy to turn Shanghai's Yangshan Port into a global shipping centre by 2020 instead of a regional centre catering to North and East Asia traffic as previously planned.

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Piracy off the coast of Somalia has made many people very rich.

A new economy has developed both within Somalia and further afield, as security companies, lawyers and negotiators reap huge profits from their involvement.

But finding out what happens to the money delivered as ransom payments is doubly difficult, first because piracy is a transnational crime, and second because Somalia is a country without rules, regulations or a functioning government.

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