Feral Jundi

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Jobs: Team Members-Maritime Security, South Africa

Filed under: Jobs,Maritime Security,South Africa — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 11:48 AM

This is cool. Control Risks is opening up shop in South Africa and flying some maritime security positions. This probably coincides with the latest news about South Africa’s view on foreign security companies and maritime security.

I am not the POC or recruiter for this and please follow the directions below if you would like to apply. Also, I have no idea about the weapons and equipment for this contract, or any of the other particulars. So definitely ask those questions when talking with the recruiter. Good luck and I will keep my eyes and ears open for any other companies that set up in South Africa for maritime security work. –Matt

 

Team Members – Maritime Security
Control Risks
Control Risks is a global risk consultancy specialising in helping organisations manage political, integrity and security risks in complex and hostile environments.
We are a medium sized, rapidly growing company. Since our inception in 1975, we have worked with more than 5,000 clients in over 135 countries worldwide. Our renowned expertise, the breadth of our services and the geographical reach of our organisation enables us to help our clients meet their challenges and realise new business opportunities across the world.
Employer Vision:
People should come to work with us because we provide real benefit to many of the world’s leading organisations. In doing so we give our people direct responsibility, career development and the opportunity to work on some fascinating projects in a rewarding, diverse and enjoyable environment.
Job Title:
Team members- Maritime Security
Location:
Mobile, but hub location will be South Africa
Type of Engagement:
Fixed Term Contract
Department:
Crisis Security Consulting (CSC) Middle East
Manager:
Operations Manager, Maritime
Job Purpose:
To provide security services and general guidance to the Master and crew of merchant vessels in transit.
Tasks and Responsibilities:
-Provide general guidance to the Crew and carry out drills, training and preparations for the Transit as agreed with the Master
-Advising and/or assisting with the hardening of the Vessel in accordance with Owners’ instructions and, where applicable, in accordance with the guidance of BMP
-Monitor suspicious vessels or craft during the Transit

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Friday, April 13, 2012

Maritime Security: South Africa Ponders Armed Guards Aboard Merchant Ships

Filed under: Africa,Maritime Security,South Africa — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 12:47 PM

Anyone that has followed the legal show in South Africa towards private security should take note of this one. I was sickened by SA’s treatment of the brave contractors that went to Iraq or Afghanistan. Men were killed and wounded in these wars, and the professionalism and dedication they presented was awesome. They should have been celebrated for their service, and not demonized.

With that said, I think this latest news about SA re-evaluating the value of such men is good news. These veterans in SA would do a fantastic job of defending merchant ships. Not only that, but SA is strategically situated on the continent to take advantage of this market.

From providing floating armories to providing training, SA is in a position to certainly be of value to the industry. So I hope they do work out the legalities and allow armed guards on boats. We will see…

Another point I wanted make with this post, is the Enrica Lexie incident, where Italian Marines posted on this merchant vessel shot and killed some innocent fishermen thinking they were pirates. It has caused quite the stir between India and Italy.

What I wanted to point out was that this was a military detail, and not a private security force. With military details, a ship’s captain really has no say so on what they do–they are military, following the orders of their command. With PSC’s, a ship’s captain calls the shots, and if that PSC doesn’t like it, the ship owners contract the services of another PSC.  That is one of the key advantages with private versus public.

Also, Admiral Nirmal Verma conveniently removes this distinction in his commentary about this incident. That he forgot to mention that this was a ‘military detail’ that did this, and not a PSC.

With that said, eventually a PSC will have an accident. It is bound to happen and when it does, you will certainly see the opposition to private security on vessels use this as a reason why we should not have armed guards on boats. It is the typical knee-jerk reaction of such incidents, and we need to get prepared for it.

This is the floating iceberg of maritime security, and I think it would be prudent for groups like SAMI or BIMCO to have a discussion about how this can be best mitigated. I think all ship owners are watching the Enrica Lexie incident and thinking, what would happen if my guards shot and killed some innocent fishermen in a similar horrible mistake? What is the plan? Or do you just operate on ‘hope and prayers’ that it won’t happen…..?

Of course everyone is working on ensuring this does not happen. Standards and codes of conduct are being produced and signed by folks all over the world. But what is important to note is that we are still humans. We make mistakes and things can go wrong, despite all of the training and all of the rules/laws.  So there should be consideration by all parties as to how best to deal with this reality. Talk with the lawyers, talk with those who have suffered such consequences, and learn from these nightmare scenarios on how best to navigate them. Be prepared as they say….-Matt

 

SA ponders armed guards aboard merchant ships
By Dean Wingrin
Thursday, 12 April 2012
South Africa has been asked to grapple with the question of how to deal with armed guards aboard civilian ships at sea.
In her keynote address at the opening of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium in Cape Town yesterday, Lindiwe Sisulu, Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, stated that a number of European countries had approached South Africa with the request that South Africa assist the armed guards that provide anti-piracy protection aboard merchant ships off the east coast of Africa.
“We would like to be advised by yourselves on the ethics and viability of this,” Sisulu asked the Symposium.
Speaking to reporters after her address, Sisulu said that the world was turning to providing onboard security to protect their vessels against piracy. As a result, South Africa was required to grapple with this issue and give it the go-ahead.
“But,” Sisulu continued, “there is a need for us in the South African context that we may be required to allow replenishment for those people who provide security onboard the ships. Now I do know that there is an ethical matter, on whether or not (civilian) ships (can) carry armed people.“

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Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Legal News: Philip Young To Be Released!

Filed under: Afghanistan,Legal News,South Africa — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 5:47 PM

This is fantastic news and I really hope this turns out to be true.  Philip Young is a South African security contractor that has been detained unlawfully, and has been a prisoner of Afghanistan’s legal system. His case was clearly a self defense shooting against an armed combatant. To imprison him was wrong, pure and simple. Here is a quote from the Justice 4 Philip Young page on Facebook.

Imminent release Confirmed. May be out of here as early as next week. Just waiting for the admin to get done.

So we will see and thanks to Debbie at Facebook for giving me the heads up on this. There are a lot of people out there that will be happy to hear this. As more information comes up, I will make the edit. –Matt

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Bounties: Koevoet Bounty System During The South African Bush Wars

Filed under: Africa,Bounties,South Africa,Training — Tags: , , , , , , — Matt @ 11:38 AM

     It was the 1978 brainchild of then Colonel Hans Dreyer (later a Major-General in the SAP) to develop and exploit intelligence and was based on the Portuguese Flechas and the Rhodesian Selous Scouts. Koevoet was based in Oshakati and suffered 153 killed in action and several hundred more wounded. They killed more than 3,681 SWAPO insurgentswhich resulted in a 1:25 or one to 25 kill ratio.

 

     What I wanted to point out here was a very interesting piece of history that I don’t think has really been discussed out there.  Maybe Peter Stiff talked about it in his Covert War book, but either way, I thought I would bring it up here and archive it.

     This to me is a prime example of incentivizing warfare, and providing a means of competition within a unit for the destruction of an enemy. To create an industry (competition) out of killing your enemy basically.  In this case, the Koevoet attached a value to the enemy(killed or captured) and their weapons/equipment, and established a bounty system that all of Koevoet could partake in and supplement their salaries with. The results were stunning.

     Koevoet also gets a big mention for it’s innovative war fighting methods, and the proof of concept for applying the Selous Scout model to a different war and in a different country (see below).  In other words, this unit would be an excellent study for how this type of counter-insurgency warfare could be taught, and even by a private company.  Look at the effectiveness of this stuff  in both Rhodesia and SWA and you can see exactly what I mean. –Matt

     Koevoet worked on a bounty policy where anything and everything that you brought in had a price on its head.  People somewhere around R2,000, large calibre mortars probably a bit more, land mines slightly less and so on, which was a great motivating factor for the combatants and the teams because you could earn double, triple your money.  It also meant that score boards were kept and that the teams competed against each other for the most number of kills in a given week in the bush. –Sean Mark Callahan, Page 30 of the TRC, 17th of June, 1997

——————————————————————

Koevoet From Wikipedia

     At the time, South Africa saw itself as the only country on the sub-continent that could stave off the onslaught of communism. As such, South-West Africa and its northern border with Angola was the one battleground that South Africa had to control if it was to weaken the Cuban-backed South-West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO).

Rising insurgency

     In many countries there is a formal separation of duties between law enforcement and the military. The former is generally responsible for domestic issues while the latter is deployed in defence of the nation. At first this philosophy was adopted in South-West Africa. Guerilla operations inside the country were dealt with by the police. Insurgents were seen as common criminals that should be processed by the criminal justice system. However, insurgents used military equipment which normal police officers were not equipped or trained to deal with. A better armed and better trained unit capable of facing such challenges was established within the South-West African Police (SWAPOL) force.

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Monday, December 20, 2010

Podcasts: Interview With Peter Stiff, Author Of The Covert War (Koevoet)

Filed under: Books,Podcasts,South Africa — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , — Matt @ 11:29 AM

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