Feral Jundi

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Maritime Security: Pirates Using Wolfpack Tactics–Attacked Bulk Carrier With 12 Skiffs!

Filed under: Maritime Security,Somalia,Strategy — Tags: , , , , , , — Matt @ 3:32 PM

That’s 12 skiffs with 5-8 armed pirates per vessel, and all equipped with boarding ladders!  First off, bravo to the armed security team that was able to hold off such an attack! I would give every security contractor on that boat a bonus and a medal.

This kind of swarming attack was discussed earlier on this blog when we were talking about the New Rules of War. It is an interesting evolution of tactics, but one that is not surprising. Wolfpack also comes from the famous U-boat naval tactic.

But this incident also brings up some serious questions about the state of armed security teams currently in operation out there. This particular company was able to repel the attack, probably because they had a sufficient defensive plan, an organized force and the proper weapons. But what about those companies out there that do not have their operations squared away or are poorly manned, equipped and armed? Right now, armed guards on boats have a pretty good track record, but with tactics like these, I could actually see pirates successfully defeating an armed team.

Now what is a sufficient plan and/or weapons?  That is a great question, and I believe companies would be wise to consult those who are specialists when it comes to defending vessels.  One individual in particular that I would recommend contacting, would be Fredrik C. Jonsson, the author of Maritime Sniper Manual. You can find him on Facebook, and he has set up a Maritime Sniper Manual Facebook page.

What is really cool about Fredrik is that he can advise companies on the most cost effective and accurate weapons they would need, in order to deal with threats like ’12 skiffs swarming a vessel’.  I would imagine that most of the Russian type weapons would be adequate because of cost and availability. But definitely pick Fredrik’s brain on this if you are looking for ideas.

All in all though, it will be each team on each boat that has to pool their resources and thought power together, and figure out the best way to defend their client. I certainly hope that the companies that employ these brave souls are doing all they can to support them and give them the tools they need to be successful. From weapons to NVG’s, to solid admin and pay.  All of this is important, if you want your teams to be successful out there. And what is really important, is to have solid leadership managing those teams.

Strategically speaking, I believe the defense has the advantage out there. They have the height, they have the fields of fire, and they have the size of the vessel to work with. Any pirate up against an aggressive defense coming from such a platform, will have a tough time.  But that is why pirates are experimenting with wolf pack tactics. They can apply strength or combat power to one point on a vessel, and get the breach. Especially if they can occupy the rest of the defense of the vessel with the swarm and harassing fires. So to me, this is why it is so important that everyone gets the word about this potential threat, and really takes an honest look at their strategies and tactics for dealing with such a thing.

It is the same song and dance that I promote with the suicide assaulter tactic that enemies are using on land. You must study these attacks, and be honest with yourself about the effectiveness of your security plan. If you have a good learning organization within your team/company, and you apply Kaizen to the whole thing, you should do well. And never underestimate the enemy–know yourself, know your enemy. –Matt

 

John Hamilton's painting of a wolf pack attack on merchant vessels.

IMB Piracy Report

Attack Number: 303-11

Date: Sat Aug 06 2011

Type of Vessel : Bulk Carrier

Location detail: Around 20nm ENE of Assab, Eritrea

Attack Type: Fired_Upon

Narrations: 06.08.2011: 1505 UTC: Posn: 13:07.2N – 043:04.9E, Around 20nm ENE of Assab, Eritrea, Red Sea.

Twelve skiffs with five to eight pirates in each skiff approached a bulk carrier underway. As the skiff closed guns and ladders were noticed. Warning flares were deployed by te onboard security team. the skiffs continued to approach the vessel at 17 knots. At a distance of around 300 meters, on th ecommand of the Master, the onboard security team fired warning shots resulting in most of the skiffs falling back and circling the vessel. Two skiffs continued to chase the vessel and returned fire. The skiffs and the security team exchanged fire and after 30minutes and numerous approaches the skiffs aborted and moved away.
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Attempted Pirate Attack in Red Sea Suggests Pirates Hunting in Packs?
Monday, August 8, 2011
According to a report filed Sunday August 7th by the IMB Live Piracy Reporting Centre*, pirates attacked a vessel approximately 20 nm off the coast of Eritrea in the Red Sea. What marks this attack out for special attention, and the reason it should be of particular concern to all shipping companies and members of the maritime community is that in this instance, it would appear the pirates attacked in large numbers, en masse.

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Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Letter Of Marque: ASF 2011–Gen. Michael Hayden Talks About LoM And ‘Digital Blackwater’

Filed under: Cyber Security,Letter Of Marque — Tags: , , , , , , — Matt @ 1:02 AM

Now this was a pleasant surprise. I am always on the lookout for any serious or interesting conversations about the Letter of Marque and Reprisal, and low and behold I stumbled on a good one at the Aspen Security Forum. General Michael Hayden, with his extensive intelligence background and experience, actually brought up the concept of the LoM (@ min. 30:04) when talking about private security in the cyber space realm. The ‘Digital Blackwater’ comment came up before the mention of the LoM. Pretty cool stuff, and it is great to see such important and highly influential folks have a conversation about the concept.

The other topic that came up that really grabbed my attention is the patent legislation that is coming up that is referred to as the ‘first to file’ law or the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act. Meaning, companies that ‘first’ file the patent, win the rights to it, as opposed to companies or individuals who actually thought it up and file for that patent. A law like this would make it very lucrative for digital pirates to steal valuable information and file it first–legally. Scary stuff, and this could ramp up the cyber piracy game big time. The Google Cloud security solution is what you can rely on to get help with securing your data.

The other statistic I was floored by was that the US businesses loses about a trillion dollars a year to cyber piracy and all of the money that companies have to spend on security. That is a stunning figure, and it kind of puts into perspective what is really being lost, and especially during such tough economic times. Something must be done to stop that, and you can see why concepts like digital PSC’s and LoM come up.  It’s like these criminals and attackers are just walking into Fort Knox and taking whatever gold they want. The vulnerable OT networks is what one should make sure to protect from cyber attacks.

Finally they ended the conversation with cloud computing, which will probably be pretty popular for companies to get into. Reduced cost and increased security do to economy of scale (everyone is sharing everyone’s stuff, to include security measures) Although I tend to think that cloud computing will be attacked and exploited, just like anything else. Interesting stuff, and this is a great LoM resource for future discussions. –Matt

 

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Legal News: Italy And Norway Produce National Regulations On The Use Of Armed Guards For Maritime Security

Filed under: Italy,Letter Of Marque,Maritime Security,Norway — Tags: , , , , , , , — Matt @ 2:04 PM

Right on, and this is great news that countries are now starting to wake up about this stuff. I also think that this move to put armed guards on boats and backing that up with legal authority to do so, is actually helping to fuel the opinio juris of the world body that armed security is a good idea on these boats. If Italy or Norway thinks it’s a good idea, then other countries might be more inclined to do the same thing. I have also seen this change in attitude with places like the UN, Germany and the UK.

Now will armed guards on boats, eventually lead to states granting Letters of Marque? Who knows, but as armed guards on boats present certain unavoidable situations (like taking prisoners after sinking a pirate boat, killing pirates, killing innocents, clashes with other navies or armed guards, etc.) then further legislation might lead countries to just go back to the tried and true license called the LoM. In other words, if the sum of all of the laws created over time add up to being just a basic LoM, then why not just implement the LoM?

The Declaration of Paris (DoP) is old and outdated, and as we put more private armed guards on boats and states continue to pass laws allowing for such things, then why hold to the DoP? Especially as pirates continue to flourish, and navies continue to fail at stopping this virus. Stuff to think about, and bravo to Italy and Norway for doing the right thing. –Matt

National regulations on the use of armed guards
July 22, 2011
Italy

The Italian Decree no. 107, dated 12 July 2011, (Italian only) states the general principles of the deployment of military forces or private security guards onboard Italian Ships.
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Norway

On 29 June 2011, the Norwegian Government announced a new framework on the use of armed guards by amendments to Regulation 972/2004 on ship security and amendments to Regulation 904/2009 relative to arms. The changes came into force on 1 July 2011.
The new framework follows the IMO guidelines, and allows Norwegian owners to have armed guards onboard in a certain geographical area within the legal limits laid down. An owner wanting to place armed guards onboard must apply for authorization with Norwegian Police Authorities and provide necessary documentation to the Norwegian Maritime Directory. However, the owner is required to conduct an independent risk evaluation to prove the need for armed guards. In addition the owner must be able to show the Security Company’s documentation on procedures for training, qualification and storage and use of weapon.
The simultaneously issued Provisional Guidelines the use of armed guards  offer practical guidance on the interpretation of the new framework.
The minister of Trade and Industry states in a press release (Norwegian only) that the amendments do not imply an encouragement to have armed guards onboard Norwegians ships. The purpose is to control the selection and use of security companies to ensure the safety of Norwegian ships and their crew. He emphasizes that all other efforts to protect the ship and its crew must first be fulfilled before armed guards are used.
Link to post here.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Maritime Security: The Gulf Of Guinea And Piracy

Filed under: Gulf Of Guinea,Maritime Security — Tags: , , — Matt @ 9:53 PM

Washington estimates the Gulf of Guinea will supply about a quarter of U.S. oil by 2015 and has sent military trainers to the region to help local navies secure shipping.

That quote up top is all you really need to know, when looking at how serious of a problem piracy could be for the world and for the US in the Gulf of Guinea. For that reason, I will start to focus more on that region, just because I have a hunch that we will see an increase in piracy there.

The thing is that these guys are learning from other successful models of piracy operation, and soon they too will achieve the same kind of success as the Somali pirates. Hell, I could imagine some Somali’s attempting to make an entry into that hunting territory. Although I am sure they will be edged out by equally aggressive criminals and investors. –Matt

Edit: I just came across this latest post by Tracking Energy Attacks.  This is a great website and they are using Ushahidi to map all of these energy related attacks around the world. The author also expressed concern about this region, and here is a clip from the post:

I’m a little more interested in the developments in the Gulf of Guinea where based on my count there have been 24 reported successful attacks with the bulk of them coming off of the coast of Benin. Less than 10 attempted but unsuccessful attacks were reported. Piracy is also apparently a growing concern for Southern Africa with numerous attempted attacks occuring off the coast of Tanzania and north of Madagascar. Such trends have global energy supply implications given that “six million tons of oil are transported around South Africa’s western coastline every month” as well as regional energy production implications.

Italian tanker Anema e Core seized by pirates off Benin
24 July 2011
Pirates have hijacked an Italian diesel tanker off Benin in western Africa in an attack of the kind more usually associated with Somalia.
Assailants boarded the RBD Anema e Core early on Sunday in the Gulf of Guinea, officials in Benin and Italy confirmed.
Two of the 23 crew are Italians, the others Filipinos and a Romanian.
Benin’s navy said it was following the hijacked ship while Italy’s foreign ministry liaised with its owner in Naples.
Three pirates managed to board the ship 23 nautical miles (43km) south of Cotonou, the economic capital of Benin, Italian media said.
“Everything is being done to trace the pirates as quickly as possible,” Maxime Ahoyo, commander of Benin’s navy, told reporters in Cotonou.
The Gulf of Guinea has become increasingly important for its potential energy reserves which have attracted international interests, BBC West Africa correspondent Thomas Fessy reports from Dakar.
The US, for example, hopes to import about a quarter of its oil supplies from the region by 2015.
West African coast guards have been receiving US training to combat growing maritime insecurity.
Most recent attacks on shipping around Africa have been off its east coast, where Somali pirates have ranged deep into the Indian Ocean, but the danger in the west was already identified several years ago.
Story here.
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FACTBOX-Key political risks in the Gulf of Guinea
Tue Jul 5, 2011
By Richard Valdmanis
A stretch of West Africa’s coast spanning more than a dozen countries, the Gulf of Guinea is a growing source of oil, cocoa and metals to world markets.
But rising rates of piracy, drug smuggling, and political uncertainty in an area ravaged by civil wars and coups have made it a challenging destination for investors seeking to benefit from the massive resources.
The Gulf of Guinea runs from Guinea on Africa’s northwestern tip to Angola in the south and includes Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Cameroon.

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Monday, July 18, 2011

Maritime Security: Anti-piracy Consultants In Search Of Asian Clients

Filed under: Hong Kong,Letter Of Marque,Maritime Security — Tags: , , , , , , — Matt @ 9:53 PM

The move reflected growing interest by Hong Kong and mainland shipping companies to use armed guards to protect their ships and crews while sailing through pirate-infested waters in the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and Gulf of Aden.
Gibbins said the firm had seen business grow 140 per cent so far this year compared with last year as the global shipping industry increasingly used armed personnel. “We’ve been working for two years and clocked up 1,000 transits. We’ve deterred 23 attacks, all of which avoided any lethal force,” he said.

Every once in awhile, an article comes up that is just full of interesting data. This article is short, but filled with some key points that have helped to identify a trend here. That the armed maritime security business is on the rise, and expanding.

The article mentioned a familiar company called PVI or Protection Vessels International. This company was identified as one of the top Maritime Security companies that guys wanted to work for in my last survey, and it is great to see a good company expanding and doing well.

What was also interesting is that the author identified a trade industry called the Security Association for the Maritime Industry or SAMI. This trade group is doing some good work, and namely trying to organize and hold it’s members to some standard. Which is great, because at this time, there is no one regulating the maritime security industry. A group like this can also help shipping companies to determine who the good companies are..kind of.

On the other hand, SAMI will run into the same problem that ISOA has when it comes to dealing with a member company that screwed up. Or how they deal with member companies when one of us contractors files a legitimate claim of abuse and violation of the code that the company signed on to follow. Will they truly punish one of their members when they do bad, or even take away their membership?  What kind of teeth does SAMI have to actually police their own is the question, and that will be the indicator of it’s true strength as a group.  Or is this just another club for companies to join, and say ‘look, we are members, so we must be good’.

Which this brings us to the road that I keep ending up on when we talk about this stuff. We can have associations and trade groups and clubs all day long, but unless we have legal authority or license to do what we are doing, then all of these self imposed regulations and policies are just kind of weak. A Letter of Marque is a license that comes directly from the highest authority of any country, and it is a license that is backed up by hundreds of years of use. If a country is willing to put it’s flag on a vessel, then why are they so afraid to put that same flag on an armed security team in the form of a comprehensive LoM that is backed by a bond?

I mean if I have to get the SSO, STCW 95, ENG1, TWIC, Yellow Fever and  Seaman’s Kit Book for a job, I guess I will do it. But the ultimate would be an LoM. And even with an LoM, you would probably run into issues when dealing with other countries out there, but at least you would have a license of true significance.

On another note, if you look at that list of member companies at SAMI, you will have quite the list of maritime security companies to submit resumes and CV’s too. You can do the same over at the ISOA, and that is a great way of identifying those companies who are players out there.

Finally, another point to make here is the market of armed maritime security work is expanding quickly. Lots of countries are getting on the band wagon of armed security, which is great. But what I would like to see, are more of the larger companies getting into the game.  Of course all of the government related contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan are the cash cows of these companies, but as the war winds down and there becomes less and less demand for armed security in the war zones, then it would make sense that some of these companies would look at maritime security as a potential market. I think there is room for a lot more entry into this market, and especially if companies like PVI have seen a ‘140 percent increase’ in business just in this year alone.

As more vessels get armed security, the vessels that do not have security will get an increase in attention by the pirates as well. So the market will be expanding quickly as the ratio of unprotected vessels decreases–less boats, yet the same amount of pirates, and probably an increase in attacks against unarmed vessels. Remember, the pirates are using scouts and hacking emails and doing whatever they can to find out who has security, and who does not. It is this environment that security companies should examine, and understand that now is the time to enter the market if you are looking for other business.-Matt

Anti-piracy consultants in search of Asian clients
By Keith Wallis
Jul 17, 2011
One of the largest companies providing armed guards for shipowners is to open an office in Hong Kong next month to help develop closer business links with Asian shipowners.
Commenting on the move, Paul Gibbins, director of communications for Protection Vessels International, said: “We are looking for further opportunities in that part of the world.”
Shipping industry insiders said on Friday that the company’s executives would visit Hong Kong this week to meet shipowners before opening an office in the city early next month.
Gibbins said most of the firm’s clients are owners and managers in northern Europe and the company was keen to broaden its customer base. Ian May, who will head the Hong Kong office, would look for opportunities throughout Asia and allow the company to have a closer physical presence in Asia’s shipping community.

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