Wow, so here comes Private Security to the rescue..maybe. I like this boat, but where is the massive bear paw Blackwater logo? LOL. But seriously, I think it is important to note that this escort ship has the ability to send up a helicopter for observation purposes, as well as send out counter assault ships(I am assuming) to interdict the bad guys. Will they outfit this thing with weaponry that could actually stop a small and fast moving ship? I hope so.
No word on the cost of such a thing to the shipping industry, but I am sure there is some deal where they would get a discount from the insurance companies if they use security that met their approval(and State Department approval). I am just guessing on that, but it sounds logical given what happened with Hart Security and their insurance gig.
So maybe this is a sign that the insurance companies are finding that it is more cost effective to actually protect these ships, as opposed to pay off pirates with millions of dollars worth of ransom? Oh say it isn’t so…… –Head Jundi
Blackwater is offering the MV MacArthur, a 183-foot vessel with a crew of 14 and a helicopter pad, as an escort for ships through the Gulf of Aden.
Blackwater offering to protect ships from pirates near Somalia
By Jeff Bliss
Bloomberg
Published: October 16, 2008
Blackwater Worldwide, whose security guards came under scrutiny after a 2007 fatal shootout in Iraq, is looking to the high seas to expand business, marketing its security services to shippers plagued by pirates.
Blackwater is in talks with several companies about protecting ships traveling through the Gulf of Aden between Yemen and Somalia, where piracy is increasing, said officials of the Moyock, North Carolina-based company.
“We have the capability to assist” shipping companies, said Bill Mathews, Blackwater executive vice president. He and other company leaders are former Navy SEALs. Ship security “is kind of what we did for a living” before joining Blackwater, he said.
Blackwater is offering the MV MacArthur, a 183-foot vessel with a crew of 14 and a helicopter pad, as an escort for ships through the Gulf of Aden. The helicopters and MacArthur won’t be armed, although workers will carry guns, Mathews said.
The company will need a State Department license to sell its services to a foreign government or business, said Anne Tyrrell, a Blackwater spokeswoman.
The company isn’t seeking new U.S. security contracts in Iraq, where a Blackwater team was involved in the killing of 17 Iraqi civilians while guarding a State Department convoy in September 2007. The deaths are being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The State Department paid Blackwater more than $832 million to provide security between 2004 and 2006, about half of the money under a no-bid contract awarded in June 2004.
Security in the Gulf of Aden, which ships traverse to go through the Suez Canal, has been a growing problem. The number of attacks off the coast of Somalia jumped to 44 in 2007 from 10 in 2004, according to the International Martime Bureau. Somali pirates are holding a Ukrainian ship they hijacked last month in a bid for ransom.
Without a secure route to the Suez canal, which 21,080 vessels used in the first half of this year, shippers can either pay more insurance to hedge against losses to pirates or take a longer, more costly route around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope.
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Blackwater showing off new training ship at Nauticus
September 18, 2007
By Bill Sizemore
The Virginian-Pilot
NORFOLK
As it tries to weather a worldwide storm of negative publicity, Blackwater USA is hoping to find a little love this week on the Norfolk waterfront.
The Moyock, N.C.-based private military company is hosting an invitation-only open house today and Thursday on board the McArthur, a training vessel recently acquired by its new maritime division.
The ship is docked adjacent to the decommissioned battleship Wisconsin at Nauticus, the city-owned maritime science museum.
The two-day event is not open to the public or media. It was planned well before the fatal shooting Sunday of at least 11 Iraqis by Blackwater security contractors in Baghdad, which triggered a flood of protests and calls for the company’s ouster from Iraq.
Whether or not the Iraqi government succeeds in expelling Blackwater, the event at Nauticus signals that the company is actively seeking out new markets.
According to a press release issued by Nauticus, Blackwater’s maritime division will operate vessels suitable for training, disaster response, law enforcement, surveillance and security, including anti-terrorism and anti-piracy activities.
“Nauticus is proud to showcase new maritime technology,” Richard Conti, executive director of Nauticus, was quoted as saying.
“Blackwater has a proven record of success in preparing Americans for entering hostile environments.”
The company has trained thousands of sailors and other U.S. military personnel at its 7,000-acre Moyock compound.
Asked about Blackwater’s presence at Nauticus, Mayor Paul Fraim said Tuesday it should not be construed as an endorsement by the city.
“We don’t endorse anyone in the context of how they do their business,” he said.
As far as he knows, Fraim said, Blackwater is paying the normal docking fees for use of the city pier.
According to the Nauticus press release, the McArthur is equipped with state-of-the-art navigation and communication systems, command and control labs, medical capabilities and a helicopter deck.
Blackwater did not respond Tuesday to inquiries about its maritime expansion plans.
But the company’s Web site says it will soon offer security training services “aboard fully operational maritime platforms.”
According to Coast Guard records, the McArthur was decommissioned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 2003 after nearly 40 years as a research vessel. Built in 1966 by Norfolk Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., now BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair, the 153-foot ship will be home-ported in Norfolk.
Blackwater also appears to be expanding its air operations.
Several aviation-related Web sites have reported that the company, which already owns more than 20 aircraft, is seeking to acquire a Super Tucano light combat plane from the Brazilian manufacturer Embraer.
The propeller-driven planes, which can be outfitted with up to 1-1/2 tons of machine guns, bombs and missiles, are used by Brazil and Colombia to battle insurgents and drug smugglers. Blackwater is buying a two-seat model to be used for pilot training, the Web reports said.
Meanwhile, Blackwater has developed a remotely piloted airship, equipped with state-of-the-art surveillance and communications gear, and is marketing it for use in combat, coastal patrol, and port and border security. It also has an armored personnel carrier in production.
Staff writer Harry Minium contributed to this report.
Bill Sizemore, (757) 446-2276, bill.sizemore@pilotonline.com