Tag: anti piracy measures

Securewest employs 150 guards in areas like the east African coast, says Devon firm Increasing numbers of former armed forces personnel are finding work protecting merchant ships from pirates, says a Devon firm.Securewest employs 150 guards in areas like the east African coast where pirates prey on ships.And it says there is rising demand for the recruits by shipowners.The International Chamber of Shipping, which represents merchant ship owners, said piracy had "spiralled out of control" since the start of 2011.Clare Williamson-Cary, CEO of Kingsbridge-based Securewest, said ship owners were becoming more confident about having security guards on their ships."There has been a great deal of nervousness among owners about armed guards," she said."But many crews are now reticent about getting on ships unless there is security."The European Union has a naval force, EUNAVFOR, in the Gulf of Aden which is tasked with preventing pirate attacks on merchant shipping.UK Prime Minister David Cameron said in October that he also wanted to see licensed armed guards on British merchant ships.Pirates are holding 11 vessels with 194 hostages around the world, according to the International Maritime Bureau.The International Chamber of Shipping said: "Arming ships is a necessary alternative to avoiding the Indian Ocean ...

Anti-Piracy Legislation shall be in place by May 18 Somalia will soon have a legislative framework in place that would help tackle the menace caused by pirates from that country, its ambassador said here today."An Anti-Piracy Legislation shall be in place by May 18, for an effective maritime security and counter piracy," Ambassador of Somalia Ebyan Mahamed Salah told newsmen on the sidelines of 'Global Maritime Security and Anti-Piracy Conference-2011' held here today.Last week, Somalia successfully adopted National Security and Stabilisation Plan (2011-2014). It will be implemented from January 2012 to prevent piracy, Salah said.The attacks by Somalian pirates over the years have turned into a major issue with shipping companies being forced to fork out huge amount to secure the release of their crew and ships.According to estimates, the average ransom asked by the pirates went up from USD 150,000 in 2005 to USD 3.4 million in 2009. There were in all 44 pirate attacks in 2010, leading to payout of USD 238 million and average ransom being USD 5.4 million.The regions of Somalia/Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Guinea, Southeast Asia, South and Central America and Caribbean have been found to be vulnerable to attacks by Somalian pirates.Salah said ...

Funding for five different projects dealing with the welfare of seafarers The latest donations made to the charity arm of the ITF, the Seafarers' Trust, have been revealed bringing the total for 2011 to 9 million.The most recent round of donations amount to 6.5 million, which will be used to provide funding for five different projects dealing with the welfare of seafarers.A sum of 5 million has been allocated to Seafarers' Rights International (SRI) for a five-year programme for continuing work on advancing the legal rights of seafarers.Amongst other projects to gain funding is the Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Programme (MPHRP), which was officially launched in London in September. MPHRP is set to receive 750,000 over three years as part of its 3.3 million programme to address the problems facing seafarers and their families affected by piracy.Tom Holmer, administrative officer of the Seafarers' Trust, said: "In spite of very difficult conditions within the maritime industry, the Trust sees the importance of supporting good projects for major expenditure when the opportunities are there to benefit seafarers."He added: "In response to our request for vehicle and communication-related applications early this year, we have a number of projects in the pipeline in these ...

MPHRP press release A programme launched in London in September today in Manila, Phlippines, released its first guides to shipping companies and manning agents on how to offer support to seafarers and families to help them cope with the physical and mental trauma caused by torture and abuse at the hands of pirates. Similarly dedicated guides for seafarers; chaplains and welfare workers; and trade unions will follow in early 2012.Today's first tranche of guides can be seen at www.mphrp.org/publication.php.Pirates are routinely using extreme brutality and the threat of death against seafarers and their relatives. The Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Programme (MPHRP) is intended to help those seafarers and their families cope with the resulting pain and anguish.Funded by the ITF (International Transport Workers' Federation) Seafarers' Trust charity and TK Foundation, and chaired by Peter Swift, formerly MD of industry body INTERTANKO, the programme speaks for an alliance of ship owners, trade unions, managers, manning agents, insurers and welfare associations representing the entire shipping industry, from crews to ownersIts mission is to aid seafarers who have been or may be subject to pirate attack. Somali-based pirates now regularly treat hostage seafarers with extreme violence in order to put pressure on their ...

Peter Swift talks about the human element of piracy Craig Eason speaks to Peter Swift at ICOPAS 2011 about the human element of piracy and the impact that being held hostage can have on seafarers

Budget cuts are limiting the ability to deploy military assets, the EU's top military officer says General Hakan Syren, chairman of the EU Military Committee, said the Atalanta operation requires a minimum of four to six warships to patrol the coast but that it would fall "below the red line" in December."It is really a problem," Syren said, adding that the mission would again have enough ships in March while the commander was "constantly working" on new ways to work around the issue."We have faced this before," he told a news conference after a meeting of military chiefs from the EU's 27 states, which focused on the Horn of Africa."I can imagine that there are many different reasons for this, but one is of course economy and the budget cuts," the Swedish general said.Defence budgets have not been spared as governments across Europe slash spending to contain a debt crisis threatening to plunge the continent into a new recession.The revolutions that swept across Europe's southern flank could have also affected their ability to contribute warships to the piracy mission, he said."When it comes to this kind of assets, I can imagine that member states have felt insecure about the situation ...

The countries have signed the historic Nineteen countries from three continents in the Indian Ocean region have announced strategic measures against the growing level of piracy off the Horn of Africa, which poses a threat to international and regional navigation, maritime commerce and the safety of sea farers.The countries stretching from South Africa in the west to Australia in the east have signed in the historic "Bengaluru Communique" (Banagalore Declaration) made at the 11th Council of Ministers (CoM) meeting of Indo-Ocean RIM Association for Regional Co-operation (IOR-ARC), which concluded in India's IT hub on Tuesday.According to the Communique, the member countries will fully support the international efforts to at the UN and the several initiatives at the regional level, a swell as the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia, which is co-ordinating anti-piracy efforts.India has assumed the chair of IOR-ARC for the next two years, while Australia has succeeded India as the vice-chair of the association, members of which agreed for mutual understandings to share common interests, best practices and measures to preserve the peace and safeguard the future of the Indian Ocean region.Republic of Seychelles joined the Indian Ocean RIM family at this summit, in which ...

Says South Africa's Deputy Minister of International Relations, Ebrahim Ebrahim A common approach is needed among Indian Ocean Rim countries to combat challenges relating to maritime transport safety and security, says South Africa's Deputy Minister of International Relations, Ebrahim Ebrahim.Speaking at the 11th Council of Ministers meeting of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Co-operation (IOR-ARC) here Tuesday, he said Indian Ocean Rim countries should continue to provide impetus to develop such exchanges among member states to improve the situation.Ebrahim said South Africa was keen to work with India and Australia, as well as the other member states of the IOR-ARC, in their quest to take the association forward, with the view to consolidating and deepening exchanges among member states."Our government will work to ensure that South Africa continues to relate to the Indian Ocean Rim as well as traditional and new partners in a manner that best supports our future growth trajectory," he added."Our development process requires special policies and measures considering developmental challenges such as unemployment and income disparity both within South Africa and our region."Ebrahim mentioned that the South African Development community (SADC) region had already developed a Maritime Anti-Piracy Strategy which was aligned to United ...

Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Program

A three-year plan to train local forces and provide surveillance for anti-piracy operation France has launched a three-year plan to train local forces and provide surveillance for anti-piracy operations in Benin, Togo and Ghana as part of international efforts to curb insecurity from spreading in the oil-producing Gulf of Guinea.French aid comes after the United Nations Security Council last month pledged to look at ways of tackling the problem, which has long affected Nigeria's Niger Delta region but has spread, hurting Benin's shipping industry in particular."The increased number of kidnappings and the escalating costs for commercial shipping and extraction of resources are clearly a threat to the growth, development and therefore the stability of countries in the Gulf of Guinea," Jean-Paul Monchau, France's ambassador to Benin, said on Thursday.France has pledged to spend 5.2 billion CFA francs on training local forces and buying two surveillance aircraft from French firm LH Aviation, the ambassador said.The Gulf of Guinea, a stretch of West Africa's coast spanning more than a dozen countries, is a growing source of oil, cocoa and metals to world markets.While piracy has not touched the scale of the attacks off Somalia, it is on the increase and navies in ...