Following recent pirate attacks off Somalia, industry is a bit concerned about Somali piracy again after approximately five years since the latest reported incident. Cyber security is a new emerging industry that has attracted much of industry’s attention. James Wilkes, Managing Director, GRAY PAGE, says that, regardless the type of the risk, industry must be always alerted and concerned about securing seafarers from piracy or any form of violence by external criminal actors. Mr. Wilkes explains how his company’s new system is designed towards protecting seafarers from a piracy attack and concludes that industry’s priority should be to define more effective security measures onboard.
SAFETY4SEA: What is currently the biggest challenge in maritime security?
James Wilkes: Crime and violence against seafarers is an acute problem and so, in my view, protecting seafarers better is the big challenge.
S4S: Latest IMB piracy report said that GoG remained a kidnap hotspot in 2016. However, while we have seen a decline in piracy off Somalia, recently, Aris 13 vessel was successfully hijacked by Somali pirates since 2012. In your opinion, where should the industry shed its focus? What is your advice?
JW: Security, like safety, is something you do to prevent people coming to harm. The industry’s focus should be on ensuring, in so far as is possible, that seafarers are better protected from the criminals that would do them harm, wherever threats are present. We mustn’t focus on one region to the exclusivity of others. The waters off Nigeria are a kidnap hotspot, but so too is the Sulu Sea (Philippines). We might also be observing the beginning of a resurgence of Somalia-based piracy. However, there are plenty of places where violent robbery is an issue.
S4S: Tell us a few words about your new system, DFENCE. How could this system successfully avert possible piracy attacks?
JW: The DFENCE system is the first layer of physical security for a ship (or marine platform). It is designed to thwart unlawful access to a ship by denying attackers a means to hook a ladder, pole or other climbing apparatus to the perimeter safety rails and/or fishplate. Manufactured in “safety orange”, the system is also a highly visible statement that the ship is not an easy target; the intention being to deter and displace the threat.
S4S: Nowadays, it seems that cyber security issues have attracted much of industry’s attention. Do you think it is now time for the industry to worry less about the actual risk from piracy and be concerned with the new emerging threats?
JW: The industry must be alive to emerging risks, of course, but there is no reasonable justification for not continuing to concern ourselves with protecting seafarers from piracy, or any form of violence by external criminal actors. Like any other industry, shipping must address all the security risks that prevail. It would be an absurd situation where resources and time have gone in to ensuring a ship is cyber-protected, but its crew remain substantially vulnerable to being kidnapped because there are no physical security measures protecting them.
S4S: How happy are you with the level of maritime security in the industry? Are the current anti-piracy measures adequate or should we look forward to supplementary solutions to utterly improve the situation?
JW: I don’t think the industry has yet got its head around security and what effective security looks like. In my view, the key to getting it right is to build the security architecture around the people – the seafarers. We haven’t achieved that very well yet, or at least not consistently well. I believe that ‘Best Management Practice’ evolves and if the term is to have any meaning we should be ready to recognise solutions that raise the bar on what has gone before. If the industry is content with the status quo, then we should call it ‘minimum management practice’ and leave it at that.
S4S: What is you key message to the industry regarding maritime security? What do you think should be industry’s priority to move forward?
JW: Seafarers need to be better protected than they are currently, and that means the security measures employed on ships have to be better. The priority is to define and agree how we accomplish that.
The views presented hereabove are only those of the author and not necessarily those of SAFETY4SEA and are for information sharing and discussion purposes only.
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About James Wilkes
James Wilkes has spent twenty years advising clients on ways to counter the threat of piracy, as well as assisting those who continue to fall victim to acts of piracy. He has acted as an Expert for ship owners, cargo interests and insurance underwriters in numerous cases where piracy and matters of ship security have been central to the legal proceedings being brought. Most publicly, James appeared in the High Court as the Expert for Amlin Corporate Member Ltd, the defendant insurer, in what is commonly referred to as the “Bunga Melati Dua Case”; Masefield AG – v – Amlin Corporate Member Ltd [2010] EWHC 208 (comm.)
In 2003, James co-founded the specialist maritime advisory and consulting group Gray Page, and has headed it ever since. Gray Page has extensive experience investigating piracy around the world, including Somalia-based piracy, hijack for cargo theft in West Africa and piracy in South East Asia. In addition the group’s unparalleled investigation and intelligence services, Gray Page’s Asset Protection division provides crisis management and security consulting services to shipping and insurance market clients. Most recently Gray Page has unveiled its new vessel perimeter protection system, DFENCE. The modular barrier system is designed to prevent unlawful over-the-side access to ships, oil rigs and other marine platforms and installations. Gray Page has offices in the UK, Singapore and the USA.
