It would be great to attend an event like this, just to meet some of the players and get a feel for where the industry is going. I would especially like to sit in on the lethal versus non-lethal discussion, and hear the various arguments. My guess is that you will have the same dorks promoting the same non-lethal drivel when it comes to dealing with the kind of piracy we are seeing these days. But you never know. There might be a few courageous souls in this conference who are willing to tell it like it is.
I really like the lessons learned aspect of a conference like this, and I really think that will pay big dividends. If any readers are able to attend and give a quick report about how it went, feel free to do so in the comments section. Follow the links below if you want to register for this thing. –Matt
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Date 26 Apr 2010 – 28 Apr 2010
Location Hamburg, Germany
Venue Crowne Plaza Hamburg
Organisation Hanson Wade
Type event Conference, Workshop
Category Defence / Security
“There is a great business out here. You go with friends, you seize a ship and weeks later you come back with big money,” said the 23-year-old, who gave his name only as Gure. “We prefer to do this piracy thing until change comes to this country.”
As each hijacked vessel is released, the ransoms are dramatically rising with a reported payment of over $7million in January 2010.
But what’s most concerning is that as more money is paid the more sophisticated the pirate groups are getting. They’re investing ransom money in equipment and each hijacking leads to an increase in pirate intelligence. They’re learning vulnerable pressure points so each time they can secure the highest possible ransoms are paid. And as the military perfect their act, so do the pirates, who venture hundreds of miles into the Indian Ocean, where naval forces are stretched too thinly to create an effective net.