Feral Jundi

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Maritime Security: ICS Changes Policy, Backs Private Armed Guards To Beat Pirates

Filed under: Maritime Security,Somalia — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — Matt @ 2:03 AM

     Polemis said the decision had been made during a meeting in London last week because “many shipping companies have concluded that arming ships is a necessary alternative to avoiding the Indian Ocean completely, which would have a hugely damaging impact on the movement of world trade.” 

     This is big folks.  News like this can invigorate the demand for armed private security on boats and really fire up this aspect of the industry.  Which is good, because there are a ton of capable veterans/security specialists out there ready to jump on this stuff.

    Hell, with most of these maritime contracts being very short in duration, I could see guys actually planning to do a contract here or there just for a change of pace from Iraq or Afghanistan.  But on the down side, these short term contracts are what turns off some folks.  Meaning sometimes guys like stability within their contract, and they like to hang their hat on a good gig for awhile.

     And for the guys that are truly experienced and qualified to do this stuff, they will require a price to match or exceed what they would be earning for their efforts in Iraq or Afghanistan. The quotes I am hearing for pay for these types of gigs is kind of low if you ask me. Like I said, if the industry expands and there is a high demand for qualified individuals, the companies/clients will have to pay the price.  Because in this industry, you get what you pay for.

    What will really be exciting is to see what companies rise to the top as the best private naval companies? It will really be interesting to see how this private navy backed by JLT turns out?  Perhaps these talks are connected to the efforts of this insurance company and we will get some more scoop on their operations in the near future?

     Either way, I am glad to hear that the ICS (which represents around 80 percent of the world’s merchant fleet) has changed their minds and listened to reason in regards to armed guards on boats. It is the right thing to do and this industry will certainly do what it can to meet their needs. Plus, the economics of continuing to pay ransoms and fueling a piracy industry or the amount of time and money lost by re-routing ships in order to avoid this piracy scourge is also a huge factor in making this decision. –Matt

The Voice of International Shipping

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and the International Shipping Federation (ISF) are the principal international trade association and employers’ organisation for merchant ship operators, representing all sectors and trades and about 80% of the world merchant fleet.

15 February 2011 – Shipping Industry Changes Stance on Armed Guards

ICS – whose Executive Committee comprising representatives of national shipowners’ associations from over 30 countries met in London last week – has decided to clarify its stance on the use of private armed security guards to defend merchant ships against attacks by Somali pirates. ICS members have also identified a vital need for the military to disable the hijacked ‘motherships’…

Best Management Practices to Deter Piracy in the Gulf of Aden and off the Coast of Somalia

Website for ICS/ISF here.

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Shippers back private armed guards to beat pirates

Feb 15, 2011

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has changed its policy on private armed guards, and now accepts operators must be able to defend their ships against rising pirate attacks, the chamber said on Tuesday.

The ICS, which represents around 80 percent of the world’s merchant fleet, has so far discouraged its members from the use of private armed guards on its vessels.

“ICS has had to acknowledge that the decision to engage armed guards, whether military or private, is a decision to be made by the ship operator after due consideration of all of the risks, and subject to the approval of the vessel’s flag state and insurers,” the Chairman of the London-based ICS, Spyros M Polemis said in a statement.

Polemis said the decision had been made during a meeting in London last week because “many shipping companies have concluded that arming ships is a necessary alternative to avoiding the Indian Ocean completely, which would have a hugely damaging impact on the movement of world trade.”

(more…)

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Letter Of Marque: War Of 1812 Privateers Website

Filed under: Cool Stuff,History,Letter Of Marque,Maritime Security — Tags: , , , , , , , , — Matt @ 7:35 PM

     Now this is a cool resource for those of you out there that are researching the LoM and it’s possible uses for modern times.  The War of 1812 provides many examples of how this concept was used by all sides, and how involved private industry really was during that war. The legal references mentioned in the Prize Court section are very good as well.

     What is interesting here is the culmination of hundreds of years of admiralty courts and privateering present in the conduct of all sides. The legal mechanisms, the regulations, the codes of conduct for privateers, the tactics–all of it evolved over time and presented itself in this war.  I often wonder how modern technology and legal processes could have contributed to this type of naval warfare? Or better yet, what would privateering and the LoM look like if it never went out of style? Check it out and let me know what you think. –Matt

War of 1812: Privateers

The War of 1812 saw the apogee of privateering; with the activities of American privateers greatly adding to the offensive capability of the United States.The information available on the privateers and letters of marque is far greater than generally realized, with much material held in the uk at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

This site aims to make this information, particularly on American POWs, more widely available.

This sites aim is to provide research sources for the study of privateering during the War of 1812.

Much of the data was gathered as part of a project for the, late, Institute of Maritime Studies , University of St. Andrews with most of the material coming from the National Archives at Kew, London.

May 2010…update:

Two works are currently in progress:

The indexing of Lloyd’s List for the period 1812-1814; as yet 1812 completed that has generated 26,000 entries.

Indexing of the Registers of letters of marque against France 1793-1815:

The period 1803-1815, Adm 7/649, is now available.

this will give every British armed merchant ship which operated during this period and the name of the master.

Further as a new Letter of marque had to be issued with each change of master, it will give an indication of a master’s career over this period to which voyage information can be found through Lloyd’s List.

Link to website here.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Books: Maritime Sniper Manual–Precision Fire From Seaborne Platforms, By Fredrik Jonsson

Filed under: Books,Maritime Security,Weapons Stuff — Tags: , , , , , , , — Matt @ 12:37 PM

     This looks like an awesome resource for those of you out there that are looking for some reading material on the subject of precision fire from boats. I have not read this book but I definitely perked up after seeing the endorsements on the thing.  Mr. Plaster was one of them, and his books have been mentioned before on this blog.  I will take his word that this book is a good resource. –Matt

Facebook Page for book here.

Buy the book via Amazon at Jundi Gear Store here.

Buy the book from Paladin Press here.

Maritime Sniper Manual

Precision Fire from Seaborne Platforms

by Fredrik C. Jonsson; foreword by Maj. John L. Plaster, USA (Ret.)

Click here to read a FREE supplement to this book written by Fredrik C. Jonsson titled Modern Piracy and Maritime Terrorism.

“This manual is a necessity for any unit attempting to combat piracy or undertake any maritime operation.”

–Chief Chris Kyle, former Navy SEAL sniper/instructor

“I strongly recommend adding this book to your training resources.”

–Sgt. Major Mark Spicer, retired British Army sniper instructor

For the professional sniper, engaging a target on the high seas is one of the most challenging assignments of all. Erratic movement introduced by waves, vessel speeds, and engine vibrations; short, sudden windows of opportunity; and a host of unique environmental factors make the shot that much more demanding for even experienced marksmen.

Now, master sniper Fredrik Jonsson has written what is destined to become the classic manual on precision fire from seaborne platforms.

(more…)

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Maritime Security: Firearms An Odd Casualty Of Piracy

Filed under: Maritime Security,Somalia,Weapons Stuff — Tags: , , , , , , , , — Matt @ 2:47 PM

     Interesting little article. It kind of reminds me of how some German shipping companies are registering under flags of convenience in order to accomplish the goal of getting armed security on a boat. Desperate times require desperate measures.

     Still, I had no idea that guards on some of these boats were being instructed to throw their weapons overboard before coming into port.  It makes sense to a degree, but it still makes me wince that a weapon is being treated like a disposable razor. Perhaps a new market might emerge for renting guns out in international waters? That way these weapons could continue to be of good use to those that need them. (although maybe that is illegal–who knows?)

     Also, a few companies were listed in this article worth mentioning. They are the OrchidGroup, WhisperingBell, and ControlRisks. –Matt

Firearms an odd casualty of piracy

Bradley Hope

Feb 6, 2011

Thousands of guns are being dumped in the ocean by private security companies hired to protect ships against pirate attacks, top security executives say.

As Somali pirates grow bolder and launch attacks further into the Indian Ocean, shipping companies and yacht owners are increasingly using armed security to protect their vessels.

But there are varying laws and regulations about taking weapons into ports across the region, leading some security companies to cut costs and save time by getting rid of their guns before arriving in various countries’ territorial waters.

“This is happening on a daily basis,” said Richard Skinner, the Dubai director at the security company the Orchid Group. “I suspect there are literally thousands of semi-automatic and automatic weapons down there at the bottom of the Red Sea for fish to swim around.”

(more…)

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Maritime Security: German Shipowners Turn To Private Security For Protection Against Pirates

Filed under: Germany,Maritime Security — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — Matt @ 3:34 PM

      “Every economic sector bears the primary responsibility for the safety of its employees.” For Berlin, a proposal like Stolberg’s poses legal problems, partly because most German ships are registered in low-cost nations. But if the ship owners are now forced to hire private mercenaries, the shipowners’ association countered, it would be a “failure of the state and a return to the Middle Ages.”

     The Ernst Komrowski shipping company will now have its 20 ships protected by armed guards. When the German Interior Ministry told the Hamburg-based company that it could not deploy armed men on a container ship registered in Germany, the company registered the ship under a flag of convenience. Now the laws of Liberia apply on board.

     A ‘return to the middle ages’? lol We are talking about armed security guards on boats, and not hiring the German Landsknecht to take out the Swiss Guard.

     But where we are at right now, the state’s current methods of stopping this piracy scourge is not working.  Or better yet, the main states involved with implementing strategy have failed to eliminate the threat of piracy and have failed to protect ships.  That is unacceptable to me, as it was unacceptable to Pompey or Woodes Rogers.

     What is cool about this article is that it highlights what the German shipping industry has had to resort to in order to insure the safety of their crews.  They gave their government and other countries a chance to take care of the problem and this is the end result–turning to private industry.

     The quote up top also mentioned an interesting tactic that German shipowners are having to use in order to get armed security on their boats.  If their government won’t allow armed security, then register the vessels under a flag of convenience that will allow that kind of security. Liberia was mentioned and I am sure there are others out there that would work too.

     The article also mentioned a few maritime security companies involved with protecting all of these German owned ships (German ship owners control 3,500 ships, the world’s third-largest commercial fleet). Those companies are Hart Security and Templar Titan. I would expect more German security companies to come forward for providing protective services to meet the demands of these ship owners. So it was odd that they did not find any for this article.

     Finally, the article mentioned something that I forecasted here on the blog.  That the pirates would eventually use the tactic of boarding ships with blow torches so they can breach the ‘safety rooms’. The pirates are also entering the realm of torturing their captives, probably to put pressure on hostage negotiations and get that fat ransom.  All I know is that private armed guards on a boat is about your best option for protecting a vessel these days. It is a shame that it has taken this long, and with this many expensive and deadly lessons, for shipowners to come to this obvious conclusion. –Matt

Escalation off Somalia: German Shipowners Turn to Mercenaries to Protect against Pirates

02/01/2011

By Clemens Höges, Holger Stark and Andreas Ulrich

An attempt to rescue the pirated German freighter Beluga Nomination off the coast of Somalia ended in tragedy, with at least one crew member dead. Now shipowners are demanding that the German military protect their ships. Some have already resorted to hiring armed guards.

When he received the distress call on the afternoon of Saturday, Jan. 22, the officer on duty at the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) office in Dubai could hear immediately that someone was firing live ammunition. The ship, apparently in serious trouble, identified itself as the Beluga Nomination, a German freighter. When the pirates attacked, the Beluga Nomination was located in the middle of the Indian Ocean, more than 700 kilometers (435 miles) north of the Seychelles.

(more…)

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