Tag: security 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 ...

Says Neda executive If the Philippines is to become the world's fourth-largest shipbuilding nation in five to 10 years, the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said safety and security in the maritime industry must be prioritized.In a statement, Neda Assistant Director General Ruperto Majuca said the movers of the Philippine maritime industry must continue upgrading their standards and implementing the sector's existing plans and strategies, including those outlined in the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2011-16. The plans and strategies include ensuring transport safety and security.Majuca noted that the maritime sector has been plagued with more than 160 accidents a year over the last decade."The maritime industry needs to update regularly their safety and security standards and strictly implement them, to keep up with international benchmarks and practices," Majuca said. "Ensuring the effectiveness of maritime policy should be complemented with advancements in transportation infrastructure, which are crucial in boosting infrastructure development and the services sector. The PDP 2011-16 endeavors to ensure an integrated and coordinated transport network, including improving the country's roll-on, roll-off terminal system, that will enhance our interisland logistics."Majuca also said the shipbuilding and, generally, the entire maritime industry, must be in compliance with international maritime security standards. ...

Ports and harbours have a number of plans to deal with emergencies Ports and harbours have a number of plans to deal with emergencies, but whether or not they come together to be effective is another issue entirely.There's the port security plan, the coastguard's rescue operations, there's the local police and possibly other agencies to deal with such as the fire crews. "In any one port city you will probably find geographic and functional dividing lines all over the place as to who does what in an emergency," explains Mark Woolley of VSTEP. "If established plans and protocols do not work then it can be very dangerous."So, according to Mr Woolley, there is a need to practice responses together. Further, there is, according to him, a need to check what is out of the ordinary and needs to trigger a response. He said, "You may do a lot of training on how to intercept and arrest, but how do you recognise what to look for?" His answer is that a multidisciplinary approach works best.Ideally, he explains, you want an inter-agency tool, one which means port authorities, coastguard, and law enforcement integration.The old problem is that while even pulling say, a ...

Focusing on maritime security issues Clarion Events announced the launch of its inaugural Maritime Security and Surveillance conference, which will address a variety of issues focusing on developing strategies to maximise coastal security, combatting piracy and other crimes at sea, enhancing Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) and improving harbor and port security by driving multilateral cooperation and capacity building based procurement.To be held at the Armed Forces Officers Club and Hotel in Abu Dhabi, UAE, the Maritime Security and Surveillance conference will take place from 29 - 31 January 2011.According to Dryad Maritime Intelligence, an estimated $150m was paid in ransoms for ships, cargoes and crews to pirate gangs in 2010 and a record of 1,181 seafarers were kidnapped.Efthimios E Mitropoulos, Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), stated that piracy costs the world economy between $7bn to $12bn annually.Joanna Edwards, Portfolio Director, Clarion Events Middle East, said: "The Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) is taking threats seriously and has invested significantly in defense and security. In 2010, Forecast International estimated that $68.3bn was invested by the GCC in defense and security technologies. The same report predicts this investment will grow to $82.5bn by 2015. The Maritime Security and Surveillance conference ...

However, the ministry is capable of carrying out such an operation Contrary to media reports, the Navy has no immediate plans to send a patrol fleet to the Indian Ocean to protect Taiwanese fishing boats in the pirate-infested area, a defence ministry official said Monday.However, although it is not on the cards at the moment, the ministry is capable of carrying out such an operation and is well prepared, Deputy Defence Minister Chao Shih-chang said. Chao was responding to recent reports that Taiwan planned to deploy a fleet to the Indian Ocean sometime this month to protect Taiwanese fishing vessels from attacks by Somali pirates.The action was being taken based on a directive from the National Security Council (NSC), the reports said. However, Chao said in a legislative session that the information was false. The military carries out NSC directives in line with government policies and in collaboration with relevant agencies, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on issues such as dispatching flotillas to protect deep-sea fishing vessels and crewmembers, he said.The issue of whether to send a Navy fleet to the Indian Ocean surfaced after incidents of Taiwanese fishing boats being hijacked by Somali pirates in the region ...

The new contract will require private security firms offering armed guards With the increasing use of armed guards on ships and the fear that second-rate security firms may take advantage of the piracy situation, BIMCO is forging ahead with the development of a standard contract for the employment of armed guards.The new contract, which will be drafted by a team of experts of shipowners, lawyers and underwriters, and with the assistance of the International Group of P&I Clubs, will require private security firms offering armed guards to follow the IMO Guidelines for owners on the used privately contracted armed security personnel on board ships (MSC Circular 1405).Of major importance is ensuring that security contractors have in place proper and sufficient public and employers' liability insurance - which is a concern recently raised by the International Group of P&I Clubs. While much of the new BIMCO contract will deal with operational aspects of employing armed security guards, issues of liability and responsibility will be of prime importance.New private maritime security firms are springing up almost daily to meet shipowners' growing demands for their services for vessels operating in high risk areas.It is very important that this new sector is regulated and ...

Indian Ocean in the spotlight The past week saw a number of discussions, in different forums, that turned the spotlight on the Indian Ocean and its strategic importance for countries in the region as well as outside. Coincidentally, it appears. Here in Sri Lanka there was the 'Galle Dialogue,' a two-day international conference on maritime security organised by the Ministry of Defence and the Sri Lanka Navy.A talk held in Colombo on Thursday at the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies as part of the India-Sri Lanka Foundation's inaugural lecture series, also dealt with related issues. On the topic of "India and Sri Lanka and the Asian resurgence," the speaker, former Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran drew attention to the shift in the centre of gravity in the global economy towards India and the Pacific.In his presentation at the Galle Dialog, the US delegate Robert M. Scher, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for South and Southeast Asian Affairs, remarked on the increased importance that US policymakers assigned to the Indian Ocean.He said it "now surpassed the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as the "world's busiest and most critical trade corridor." Parts of the speech seemed to reflect the influence of Robert D. ...

The industry can no longer rely on the speed and height of LNG tankers Gas shippers must tackle growing threats to trade as naval containment of piracy falters and surging global demand spurs traffic through high-risk waterways, the general manager of Yemen's liquefaction plant said."There have been incidents when pirates have boarded LNG carriers steaming at 20 knots with high freeboard," Yemen LNG's Francois Rafin told delegates at a conference in Rome."The industry can no longer rely on the speed and height of LNG tankers," he added.LNG tankers are faster and sit higher in the water, known as freeboard, than other tankers, discouraging hijack attempts because of the added difficulties in gaining access.Last year in the South China Sea six pirates armed with knives robbed the crew of a Qatari tanker carrying 216,000 cubic meters of fuel, without causing delays to delivery, according to the International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Report 2011.Rafin said some shippers had even imposed no-go areas in order to avoid trouble, adding that private armed guards are being used when naval escorts are not available.Shipowners have confirmed using private armed guards in the last year as they struggle to protect trade as piracy escalates, they said.Tanker traffic ...

Says Union Minister of Shipping G.K. Vasan Union Minister of Shipping G.K. Vasan said his ministry is closely monitoring incidents of piracy through the Director General of Shipping, in close coordination with the Navy, Defence and External Affairs ministries.Addressing the international seminar on "Towards Sustainable Shipping" organised by Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers here, Vasan said: "One of the main and most serious threats to shipping is in the form of piracy off the coast of Somalia. A large area of the Arabian Sea has been affected by this threat thereby pushing up the cost of freight carried through this critical shipping corridor." asan disclosed that the Government has also issued guidelines on providing of armed guards on board merchant ships to deter pirate attacks.Regarding Government's efforts towards handling shipping accidents he said: "While shipping is seen to be an eco-friendly mode of transport compared to road and rail, there is further scope of improvement in controlling noxious emissions while ships are at sea and in port.""The Government has put in place a legal framework to handle shipping accidents by acceding to two international conventions, that is, the Wreck Removal Convention and the Protocol to the Convention on Limited Liability for ...

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 ...