November « 2010 « Feral Jundi

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Company Spotlight: Drum Cussac

Filed under: Company Spotlight,Industry Talk,Maritime Security,Somalia,United Kingdom — Tags: drum cussac, Iran, jeremy stampa orwin, Maritime Security, ross perot, security contractor, Somalia, SSO, United Kingdom, yacht lifeline — Matt @ 10:56 AM

Drum Cussac deserves a little attention here, and I would like to thank Marcel at the Feral Jundi Facebook Page for sending me some recent information about them. I have posted a job deal from Drum Cussac in the past, and interestingly enough, it was for some FCO work. I say this because in the article below, it is yet again the FCO wanting to work with Drum Cussac for a contract training the TFG coast guard in Somalia to battle pirates. I guess the FCO likes working with Drum Cussac, and that is why I wanted to do a company spotlight on them.

Oh, and the dorks at the Telegraph should really think before getting all pissed off about their government hiring ‘mercenaries’ and using tax payer’s money for contracting their services. What the article forgets to emphasize (yet still mentions) is that the money the FCO would use for contracting Drum Cussac’s services, would be the $25 million dollars in so-called ‘aid money’ given to them by the US. So I am not sure how this would be construed as taking from the British tax payer? Hell, if anything, US money for anti-piracy operations should go towards contracting the services of US companies.

But back to Drum Cussac. I found a few interesting things about the company worth noting, but there are also some areas that I am foggy about. For example, there is no history section on the company’s website that discusses where the name ‘Drum Cussac’ came from? There really isn’t any information about the leadership of the company on the website either, but I did find out who the CEO of Drum Cussac is via other means. He is former Scots Guards officer Jeremy Stampa Orwin.

As for the business that Drum has done, as of 2008 they had over 130 super-yachts as clients, with each boat worth more than £50 million. Not bad, and it sounds like recently they have done a lot to corner the super yacht market with their partnership with Yacht Lifeline. I am sure business has increased since that time, and their other shipping protection work, as well as the oil and gas stuff has made them a pretty penny. They also mentioned ‘500 transits’ in high risk waters over the last five years, so that is something.

I was really interested when they started promoting ‘armed security’ in a press release, and the Telegraph story took an interest as well. For a British company, promoting maritime armed security is a rarity it seems. lol But it is a sign of the times that armed security is what is probably being demanded now a days. Especially as each ransom paid continues to add to the lethality and size of the piracy problem. Perhaps shipping companies are starting to get the idea that something needs to be done, other than fueling the problem with more money.

The other area of interest was their Political Evacuation Insurance they offer. I am wondering if this insurance would cover a situation like what happened to Ross Perot’s company in Iran? I would be very curious to know how far a company like this would go to save a client?

Finally, I have posted a link to probably one of the best Maritime Security forums out there, located at Close Protection World’s family of forums. They have tons of information about the SSO certification for maritime security work, and they discuss Drum Cussac from time to time. Especially this current news story about them.

From what I gather, Drum offers a pretty good SSO course for a reasonable price. I have yet to hear any complaints and they sound comparable to other companies offering the same. No word on wether or not you could get on some database after getting this training, but I am sure they would offer some kind of networking potential or even recruitment offers via email every once in awhile.

Although it sounds like this current gig offering £1,500-a-day would only be reserved for their high-end guys. But you never know, and they do cover a lot of boats out there, so the work has to be there. Definitely check out all the stuff below and if anyone has anything else to add about the company, please feel free to chime in. –Matt

Armed Security Teams

October 2010

Drum Cussac, the market leader in anti-piracy and maritime security consultancy, can now supply a full range of armed services for the protection of vessels in transit through high risk waters and for static operations or survey work in areas of high threat.

Our armed option has been designed to provide fully legitimate, properly licensed and trained teams to deploy onboard vessels. Our teams are experienced UK Nationals and are equipped with new and modern weapon systems. We are able to operate from a number of ports in the Indian sub-continent, Africa, Gulf States and the Mediterranean.

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Saturday, November 20, 2010

Call To Action: Support The Release Of Security Contractor Nicholas Moody From UAE Detention

Filed under: Call To Action,Industry Talk,Iraq,Legal News,UAE — Tags: Call To Action, embassy, Iraq, Legal News, nicholas moody, private military, private security, security contractor, UAE — Matt @ 6:24 AM

This is another one of those deals where the legal system of another country has completely gone overboard with the application of their laws on foreign citizens. How many thousands of contractors have transited through their airport over the course of this war, all spending money in their shops or even staying at local hotels, and this is how you treat them? Last I checked, the UAE and the US were still friendly towards one another, and this is how they treat a citizen of the US?

Nicholas Moody served his country in the National Guard during the war, and he was serving his country again as a security contractor, and this is no way to treat a veteran like this. Especially imprisoning the guy over something as stupid as carrying a weapons cleaning kit and a forward grip, or whatever minor parts he needed to do his job. The US Embassy in the UAE should be all over this one.

Now if he had an RPG or AK 47 in his bag, I might see the logic with the UAE detaining him. But for something as petty and as stupid as this, and for over seven weeks? Shame on the UAE. Commonsense should dictate here, and I highly recommend everyone to friend request the Facebook Page for freeing Nicholas Moody and write the US Embassy in the UAE, and do what you can to support his release. –Matt

Security contractor from Nevada locked up in UAE for 7 weeks

By Greg Botelho

A security contractor from Nevada has been locked up for seven weeks in the United Arab Emirates, his mother said Thursday, as his family seeks answers about what landed him in prison and how long he’ll remain there.

Having served in Iraq and then Afghanistan as part of the California and then Nevada National Guards, Nicholas Moody, 23, was working for a private security contractor when he stopped over in Abu Dhabi, his mother Lorina Moody told CNN. He was arrested on September 29, during an 18-hour layover while heading back from Iraq, for carrying firearms accessories — parts that could accompany a gun, though no firearm itself — which is illegal in the United Arab Emirates, his mother said.

“Our son is the type of individual who would not have willingly broken the law,” said Moody, of Susanville, California. “Now, we’re caught in a situation where we don’t [know] where to turn to. We don’t really have any way of knowing what’s going to happen to him.”

The U.S. State Department confirmed that Nicholas Moody has been detained, saying that U.S. consular officers visited him on September 30, October 6 and November 10.

“During those visits, he conveyed he was being treated fairly,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement. “We will continue to monitor the case.”

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Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Maritime Security: More Information About Yemen’s ‘Rent-A-Navy’

Filed under: Letter Of Marque,Maritime Security,Yemen — Tags: Letter Of Marque, Maritime Security, navy, private security, privateers, security contractors, Somalia, Yemen — Matt @ 10:05 AM

Tariq said Yemen’s navy and coast guard agree to the escorts only if they already have patrols planned in the areas where shippers are asking for the guards. The navy and coast guard turn down “more than half” of the escort requests that his company forwards from shippers because the duties of Yemen’s national defense require them elsewhere, he said.

Government officials in Yemen ”will not risk jeopardizing their relationship with supporting countries just for this,” Tariq insisted, in a reference to any qualms the United States and other donor countries might have.

Well, this is not really a new story, but still pretty interesting to read about. I also have to critique the loose use of the word ‘privateer’ in the title below. There is nothing private about this venture and this is the government of Yemen selling the services of their navy to shipping companies. This is certainly not privateering by any definition.

Also, the Tanzanian Navy was contracted out to protect a Maersk ship, so the statement below about Yemen being the only country to do this is wrong. Here is the story I posted awhile back about the matter.

But that does bring up an interesting thought. If Yemen is so strapped for cash and they are willing to rent out their navy, then maybe they might actually contemplate granting Letters of Marque to private industry? It is a shame they have to turn down all of those requests by the shipping industry.

Yemen could stand to make some money off implementing a LoM system. They could take 10 percent (or whatever amount) of the fee paid to private companies by shipping or insurance companies, to do this kind of escort service. In turn, Yemen could grant a LoM to these companies and give them the legal backing to protect these vessels.

Or better yet, if Yemen set up a good ol’ fashion ‘Prize Court’, then companies could take captured vessels and hardware back to these courts and gain legal ownership of those goods.(with Yemen taking their cut of course)

Although like I have mentioned before, these thugs really don’t carry a lot of valuable things on them when they do these attacks. But you never know? With all of these multi-million dollar ransoms being paid out, it wouldn’t surprise me to see some of these pirates buzzing around in Cigarette Boats or Yachts and wearing gold chains around their necks.

These companies could even bring back captured pirates and have the legal system in Yemen deal with these guys–especially if there was incentive for Yemen to hold these pirates. The international community continues to look for countries that would be willing to prosecute and imprison pirates, and Yemen would work. It definitely sounds like we have an interest in doing business in Yemen for the war effort, and this could be one part of that.-Matt

The Privateers of Yemen

Starved for revenue and riddled with corruption, the Yemeni navy and coast guard have adopted a novel fundraising strategy: guns for hire.

By Ellen Knickmeyer

November 17, 2010

Yemen’s leaders are pushing the United States to increase its military aid roughly 40-fold for their country to fight al Qaeda — but Yemen isn’t just relying on aid to generate cash from the international security threats burgeoning on its lands and seas.

For more than a year, Yemen’s financially pragmatic civilian and military officials have been contracting with at least one maritime-security broker to hire out commissioned Yemeni warships and active-duty and armed Yemeni coast guard and navy sailors as private escorts for merchant ships and oil tankers crossing the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden. The cost for Yemen’s escort service: up to $55,000 per ship, per trip.

Guaranteeing “the ultimate protection for your vessel and crew,” the website of Gulf of Aden Group Transits, Yemen’s London-based broker, offers shippers “a dedicated escort by a heavily armored 37.5 meter Yemen Navy Austal patrol boat” and ”six serving Yemen military or coast guard personnel to embark and protect your vessel.”

The fee apparently also guarantees shippers a degree of immunity regarding any ensuing battles at sea: “Any action taken by the teams or vessels provided … is fully authorized by the Yemeni Government,” says the website of Lotus Maritime Security, the Yemeni company that claims to serve as a liaison between the London-based broker, the Yemeni government and military, and shippers.

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