O’Keefe said Nexus hires former U.S. military operatives such as Navy Seals who could disable a pirate skiff before it comes within range to launch a rocket-propelled grenade, the preferred weapon of pirates.
Having a proven deterrent aboard “is actually lowering the cost of kidnap and ransom insurance by as much as 40 percent” for the shipping lines who hire them, she said. -Elizabeth R. O’Keefe, a lawyer in Woburn, Mass., who represents Nexus and Murphy.
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I salute Shane Murphy and Nexus Consulting Group for not beating around the bush, and calling it like it is. Mr. Murphy has witnessed first hand how these pirates operate, and the conclusions that he and his company have come to as to how to deal with these pirates and protect boats is spot on. You must have weapons that give the boat standoff distance, so that these clowns can’t get in close and use their RPG’s. Worse yet, the PKM can reach a boat at an even further distance, and the DShK can reach even further. All of these weapons are floating around in Somalia, and I guarantee that these pirates are investing in even better stuff with all of that money they have been making off of ransoms. You get the picture with this kind of arms race, and as these pirates become more desperate and more ruthless, the boats must have the kind of weapons and skills that will give the boat overwhelming fire superiority and the crews and security must have sound naval warfare strategies to deal with this stuff.
By the way, they are looking for guys to put in their database, and just go through the link for their company here. –Matt
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Somali group puts out call to Seekonk’s Murphy
November 19, 2009
By Thomas J. Morgan and Donita Naylor
SEEKONK, Mass. — Attention Shane Murphy: The Somali Community Association of Ohio wants to take you out to dinner and ask for your help in protecting the Indian Ocean from pirates.
Murphy, of Seekonk, was chief officer of the Maersk Alabama in April when Somali-based pirates took over the ship. He no longer works for Maersk, but is still a merchant marine and consults for a private marine security company.
Bashir Haji, vice president of the Columbus, Ohio, Somali group, tried to reach Murphy on Wednesday after pirates attacking the Maersk Alabama were driven off by the ship’s crew armed with guns. Haji said the group wants to ask Murphy “to come to Columbus to give a speech about his ordeal with the pirates.”