Feral Jundi

Friday, June 4, 2010

Mexico: Agents Feared Mexican Drug Cartel Attack On Border Dam

Filed under: Maritime Security,Mexico — Tags: , , , , , — Matt @ 11:30 AM

     First piracy, and now cartels are threatening to blow up dams?  This Falcon Lake sounds like quite the party zone. lol –Matt

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This 2001 photo shows Falcon Dam, a reservoir on the lower Rio Grande, that reportedly was threatened.

Agents feared Mexican drug cartel attack on border dam

By DANE SCHILLER and JAMES PINKERTON

June 2, 2010

An alleged plot by a Mexican drug cartel to blow up a dam along the Texas border — and unleash billions of gallons of water into a region with millions of civilians — sent American police, federal agents and disaster officials secretly scrambling last month to thwart such an attack, authorities confirmed Wednesday.

Whether or not the cartel, which is known to have stolen bulk quantities of gunpowder and dynamite, could have taken down the 5-mile-long Falcon Dam may never be known since the attack never came to pass.

It may have been derailed by a stepped-up presence by the Mexican military, which was acting in part on intelligence from the U.S. government, sources said.

The warning, which swung officials into action, was based on what the federal government contends were “serious and reliable sources” and prompted the Department of Homeland Security to sound the alarm to first responders along the South Texas-Mexico border.

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Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Letter Of Marque: Did The Puntland Government Issue A Letter Of Marque To A Somali Privateer?

Filed under: Books,Legal News,Letter Of Marque,Maritime Security,Somalia — Tags: , , , , , , , — Matt @ 11:14 AM

     If this is true, this would be a very interesting development that kind of slipped through the cracks last year.  I first read about this in John C. Payne’s book on piracy on page 104.  I was kind of surprised to find such information, and I decided to do a little snooping around on the web.  The only reference I could find for this was in the ECO Terra publication I posted below. That is it.  Nothing mentioned in the media and nothing mentioned on the Puntland Government website. I even scanned through the Puntland Government constitution to see if they had an Amendment that authorizes their government to issue a Letter of Marque.  It did not.(although they did come up with a new constitution later on that summer, so maybe their older one had it in there)

     That’s not to say they did not issue one. It is just surprising to me that there has been nothing mentioned in the media about such things.  So hopefully with this post, the Puntland Government can confirm or deny what Mr. Payne printed in his pretty extensive book about the subject of piracy.

     If this is true, I believe this would be the first modern use of the LoM in over a century.  (Or at least half a century if we can ever get a confirmation on the Airship Resolute LoM that was supposedly issued by the US during World War Two.)  –Matt

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From the ECO Terra publication.

MT SEA PRINCESS II and her crew of 15 seafarers (including 8 Indian and 2 Yemeni sailors) is free. The coastal fuel transporter, a 1,902 gross tonnage Oil Products Tanker built in 1977, was bound to deliver 2,000 tonnes of diesel fuel to the disputed Island of Socotra, when it was seized near Jabal Al Kalb off the Bir Ali coast by an armed gang on 3rd January 2009. The St Vincent & The Grenadines flagged ship is owned by Hodduia Shipping Comp. and managed by OSSCO from Hodeidah in Yemen.

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Monday, May 24, 2010

Maritime Security: The Greater Strategic Threat Of The Jihad Corsairs Of Somalia, By Dr. Walid Phares

Filed under: Al Qaeda,Letter Of Marque,Maritime Security,Somalia,Strategy — Tags: , , , , , , — Matt @ 9:16 AM

     I had actually linked to this article awhile back when I was discussing jihadist privateers, and Dr. Phares had actually written a similar article with a similar theme.  So I just wanted to get this article registered in the database here, for future research.

     The best part of this article to me, was the use of the arabic word for corsair or qursaan.  This is what the middle east press call the Somali pirates, and qursaan has it’s roots in the French word corsair.  So I thought that was kind of cool, but I am not sure if the ME press actually consider the Somali pirate a privateer or practitioner of legalized piracy?  Which leads me to my next point.

     It is difficult to determine if in fact piracy is becoming the tool of jihadists or not. I would think that most pirates at this point are just in it for the money, and would claim an islamist slant to their project if it would help them to get more money or support for their ventures.

     A couple weeks back, I posted some stuff about islamists falsely claiming to take over pirate towns to get rid of piracy. In fact they were just trying to gain control over ports so they can make money off of the secondary businesses related to piracy.  Someone has to tax these pirates, or feed them, or use them for arms and soldier shipments, or provide a place for the wary pirate to sleep.

    But it is hard to determine if these Jihadist are actually investing in piracy ventures, or directing attacks in a strategic sense.  It would not be that much of a stretch for them to do so, and that is why it is important to keep this kind of stuff in the back of our heads when looking at piracy in the modern age.

     The other thing I was thinking about the other day, is what is the Islamic version of the Letter of Marque?  Is it the Fatwa or would you call this Ghazawat? Interesting stuff. –Matt

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The Greater Strategic Threat of the Jihad Corsairs of Somalia

by Walid Phares, Ph.D.Published 21 Apr 09

Most of the media discussion about piracy in the Gulf of Aden has drifted understandably towards the sensational part of the story: how are the Pirates able to roam the Ocean? Is paying them ransom a better option than to engage them militarily? Last but not least, will a military intervention against the Pirates worsen the situation; will it lead to a massive escalation in Somalia and a Vietnam like quagmire for many years to come?

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Friday, May 21, 2010

Maritime Security: Zeta Cartel Pirates Attacking Boaters On Texas Lake Near Border

Filed under: Maritime Security,Texas — Tags: , , , — Matt @ 12:04 PM

Jobs: Ship Security Officers, OCONUS

Filed under: Jobs,Maritime Security,United Kingdom — Tags: , , , , , , , , — Matt @ 7:31 AM

   The thing to focus on with this gig is that you must be SSO trained, and medical/ SIA certified.  This is a UK company and unless you have these kinds of credentials, I wouldn’t even bother submitting a resume.  But, they do offer the courses for SSO, SIA, and probably medical as well. (go figure, lol)  Which is cool, and you could knock out a bunch of really necessary courses through this company, if you wanted to get into the maritime security industry. That is not to say that you will get a job with EOS, if you go to their courses, but it will definitely make you more marketable.

   I am not the point of contact or recruiter and go through EOS if you want to apply or learn more about their contracts (current and upcoming).  Also, I am not endorsing the company and I am only putting the information out there for those readers who qualify and are interested in this stuff.  Good luck and let me know how it goes. –Matt

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Opportunities

Maritime Security Trainer

Experienced trainer for delivery of Ship Security Officer, Company Security Officer and Port Facility Security Officer courses (approved by the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency and Transec – Dept of Transport)required for occassional short term training contracts in both the UK and Overseas.

Ship Security Officers – Medic Trained

Medic qualified Ship Security Officer (SSO) required for inclusion in 4 man counter piracy team. Must be SSO qualified and have demonstratable experience in maritime security.

Applying

If you believe you have the qualities required to work for Eos Risk Management Limited please email your CV to recruitment@eosrisk.com in a format which includes the following information:

• A brief personal profile

• Chronological career history – with most recent employment first

• Education, qualifications and languages

• Copy of SIA license (if relevant)

• Passport photograph (preferred)

By sending in your information you will allow Eos to maintain your details on a database, which shall be used by the Company for recruitment purposes. All information maintained shall be done in strict accordance to the Data Protection Act 1998. Please specify when you send your CV if you do not want your details kept on our database.

Link to website here.

*****

From Close Protection World Forum

Eos Risk Management Ltd is looking to compile a cadre of experienced maritime security team leaders, operatives & consultants for potential up coming contracts.

We anticipate a number of contracts to be completed in the near future. However, nothing is definite at this stage and we do not wish to mislead anyone into thinking you will be flying out tomorrow!

Please contact us ONLY if you fulfil the following criteria:

Essential:

1) SSO or CSO trained by Eos Risk Management

2) Operational experience within MARITIME security

3) CP SIA license

4) Previous military and/or law enforcement experience

5) Current or near future availability

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