Feral Jundi

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Job Tips: Finding Maritime Security Jobs by Reading News Stories

Filed under: Job Tips,Jobs,Maritime Security,Somalia — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 12:00 PM

   This is pretty cool, because this journalist just found three maritime companies that are providing armed security services in the Gulf of Aden. I also thought it would be cool to attach the career sections of those companies below this story.

    I have no clue if these companies are currently hiring, but by referencing this article, you can deduct that they would probably be interested in guys with strong maritime security backgrounds.  Or you just might get lucky and catch them when they need bodies. By the way, please do not send me a resume, because I am not recruiting for these folks or acting as a POC.  I am just finding and sharing the information out there. –Matt

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Companies hire “shipriders” against Somali pirates

By KATHARINE HOURELD

June 5, 2009

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — There’s not a warship for miles, a small pirate skiff is speeding toward you and there’s no way the creaking tub you’re on can outrun the bandits. How long do you wait before you shoot?

It’s just one of many possible dilemmas facing an increasing number of private security companies who offer armed escorts — known in the industry as “shipriders” — from Somali pirates.

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Thursday, June 4, 2009

Maritime Security: Inside Story of Somali Pirate Attack

Filed under: Maritime Security,Somalia — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 9:23 PM

The most skilled pirates, the ones who prove themselves by being the first to board a hijacked ship, are paid more, and are more in demand.

“That guy doing the jumping, he gets $5,000 (£3,050) extra because he’s taken the risk of getting hit by anything coming from the crew. And it’s something good for his CV, to show to other investors.” 

   Excellent article about the methods used by these modern day pirates and the business dealings of the investors. I had to laugh at this quote up top as well.  I guess the next step is for these veteran ‘ship jumpers’ to put on some certification courses for other pirate wannabes so they can put it on their CV and make the big money. Or how about the RPG  and Speed Boat rental business? (throw in a jet ski from the movie Water World and now we are talking) Maybe Jihadi Tactical will be offering their latest line up of piracy vests, complete with re-sealable Khat freshness pouch and kydex machete sheath? lol –Matt

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Waterworld Jet Ski 

A jet ski from the movie Water World. 

By Rob Walker 

BBC, Hargeisa 

Thursday, 4 June 2009

As he looked at the radar screen Captain Andrey Nozhkin immediately feared the worst. A small vessel was closing fast from the stern.

“It was like a firecracker had gone off inside my head,” he recalled.

“ There was total chaos ” 

Capt Andrey Nozhkin CEC Future

The Danish-owned merchant ship, the CEC Future, had been on high alert since it entered the Gulf of Aden, the narrow strip of water between Somalia and Yemen. Fire hoses had been made ready to help repel a possible attack by pirates who infest the area.

The crew were maintaining constant contact with coalition naval forces.

Then within minutes the suspicious vessel was visible: a speedboat, crammed with armed men trailing a wake of white foam.

“We knew it was pirates. They were coming towards us at an angle so we accelerated, and changed direction to make it harder for them to catch up,” said Capt Nozhkin.

But then a rocket-propelled grenade zipped across the CEC Future’s bows. Capt Nozhkin looked down and saw the pirates re-loading.

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Saturday, May 30, 2009

Film: Captain Richard Phillip’s Story Will Be Produced by Kevin Spacey and Company

Filed under: Film,Somalia — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 5:07 PM

   This is the latest thing I guess, and we will see if they actually produce a good film about Captain Richard Phillip’s ordeal off the coast of Somalia. –Matt

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Heavy hitters are on board for piracy drama

Rescued freighter captain’s story will be produced by Scott Rudin, Michael DeLuca and Kevin Spacey.

By PATRICK GOLDSTEIN

May 30, 2009

Earlier this week, Sony announced that it had acquired the rights to the story of Richard Phillips, the captain of the Maersk Alabama freighter that was captured by Somali pirates, prompting a tense showdown that resulted in Phillips’ rescue by Navy SEALs on the high seas. The studio also purchased the film rights to Phillips’ upcoming memoirs.

The interesting angle, for those of us who follow the inside workings of Hollywood, is the lineup of producers attached to the project. It’s quite a murderer’s row of talent, notably Scott Rudin, Michael DeLuca and Kevin Spacey, along with his producing partner Dana Brunetti.

How did that formidable team manage to converge? Mark Roybal, who heads Rudin’s production company, had approached Sony about doing a movie about Phillips while events were still unfolding. Meanwhile, Spacey and Brunetti, who had shared producer chores on the film “21” with DeLuca, made contact with Phillips’ family shortly after he was rescued. “Kevin went to Vermont to meet Phillips and his family, who agreed to work with us on a film project,” DeLuca told me during a recent conversation. “We developed a take on the framework of the picture, went to Sony and they put in an offer to lock up the material.”

Since Rudin had already approached the studio as well, the Spacey-Brunetti-DeLuca group agreed to link up with him. As it turns out, the producers were already in business together, having teamed up to make a film at Sony about the creation of Facebook, with a script by Aaron Sorkin. “We’ve had such a good time working together on the Facebook project that it was an easy call to team up again,” DeLuca said. “No one has access to top of the line A-list talent the way Scott does, so his involvement will really be a big benefit for the project.”

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Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Maritime Security: U.S. Ships Must Post Guards if Sailing Off Somalia

Filed under: Maritime Security,Somalia — Tags: , , , — Matt @ 9:09 AM

“We expect to see additional security on U.S.-flagged vessels that transit these waters,” said Watson, the Coast Guard’s director of prevention policy.

“It can involve the use of firearms,” he said, but added, “We are looking for things that work but that don’t make the situation worse.” 

   Thanks to Matt for sending me this one, and this is certainly significant.  I have one issue here, that I hope is looked at from a very common sense point of view.  If the Coast Guard is going to suggest that firearms are ok, then things are going to get ‘worse’.  That is what happens in an exchange of gunfire–things get worse, and then hopefully they get better because your force is more violent and accurate and the will of the enemy is stomped. It is about the rule of force and cost benefit analysis, and that is all a pirate will really understand.  

   So if we know that the pirates use AK 47’s, PKM’s, and RPG’s, then I certainly hope that the Coast Guard will be recommending weaponry and tactics that will trump this lethal combination of weapons.  Allowing just pistols, is not acceptable, and you want to give the security forces on these boats the best shot at survival, and for the defense of the boat.  Please….. please….. pretty please, keep that in mind when reviewing the security plans of these ships.  Anything else, and you are setting up these security forces and ships for failure.  We have drawn blood with the last incident, the pirates have made their intentions known about American vessels, and now is not the time to get soft or play around.  The pirates are probably going to default to more extreme violence if they come across a American vessel, or not.  Either way, any meeting between the pirates and these ships must end with the pirates saying, this is not worth the risk.

   Also, this will initiate what I believe to be a ripple effect within the rest of the shipping industry and their view on security.  Once American ships become too problematic to attack, the pirates will simply go after the unarmed ships.  They will start picking out flags that they think are easy pickings, and they will really depend upon their intelligence networks at the ports and harbors to make that process more efficient.  In essence, once America goes towards the armed security realm, others should be wise to follow or become victims of these sea thugs.

   Finally, I want to go back to what I have talked about in the past about security on these boats.  The security contracting industry has a real opportunity to save the day here.  Now is the time to apply some Jundism to this thing called contract maritime security, and do good things out there. –Matt

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U.S. ships must post guards if sailing off Somalia

By Jane Sutton Jane Sutton 

Tue May 12, 2009

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida (Reuters) – The U.S. Coast Guard will require U.S.-flagged ships sailing around the Horn of Africa to post guards and ship owners to submit anti-piracy security plans for approval, a Coast Guard official said on Tuesday.

The new requirements, which respond to a surge of piracy off the coast of Somalia, allow ship owners to decide whether to use armed or unarmed guards, Coast Guard Rear Admiral James Watson told shipping industry representatives at a maritime security meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The revised Maritime Security Directive, highly anticipated by the shipping industry, was signed on Monday by Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen.

(more…)

Training: Private Security Forces Ltd.- Private Security Contractor Program

Filed under: Israel,Training — Tags: , , , , , , , — Matt @ 12:24 AM

After finishing our instruction program successfully, the most promising recruits will be selected and deployed in several international situations. The remaining recruits will find a position within weeks.-PSF Press Release 

   Ok gang, this is not an endorsement, nor do I know anyone with this company. But I just wanted to give a heads up on a company that is offering a lot.(please read the quote up top)  I am somewhat skeptical when companies offer employment after paying for training, because I have usually seen and experienced the exact opposite.  So with that said, if you take this course, hold them to their promise they have made in their company ad and read the fine print of the training agreement.  

   Also, these guys have been in the news, and I see this as just a way for them to capitalize on that free advertising and success.  I am sure they will get more contractor trainees, and I certainly wish them luck in obtaining more contracts for those job hungry folk.  Like I said though, buyer beware. 

   On the flip side, these training gigs with all of the big companies out there, are also a selection course of sorts.  I have seen companies take the best of the class and use them for projects, and then kind of string along the rest of the class graduates.  So do well in courses, and don’t just float through the thing.  Everyone is watching, to include your classmates.  And to me, the big advantage of courses is networking and making friends in the industry.  The more you expand your network, the higher the potential of getting information about jobs. 

   I recommend this type of thing, if you are just starting out or have reached a dry spell in contracts.  Mostly you want to get your training when you join up with a company.  But for further education for kaizen purposes, this is cool.  It’s just your goal as a contract at first is to just get the job, because experience is what guys really need to be marketable.  But if you are a guy with no military or law enforcement background, or no combat experience, seeking out excellent training to balance out that deficiency on your resume is a good tactic.  For me, my strategy was to get training, get my first gig, get some more training, get another gig, and constantly work both angles until my resume started getting full and substantial.  You want balance, so get those jobs and get the training to make you look like a well rounded contractor. 

   Finally, I will say that respected and ‘industry best practices’ training is a good thing to get and I fully endorse the concept of seeking out good training throughout the world. Of course you also have to be practical, and do the math for finances and proximity. In my career, I have met tons of contractors from other countries, paying for training in the US and elsewhere because they wanted respected schools on their resume.  It is an investment, and you should do a cost benefit analysis on the thing.  Can you do this, and how will it benefit you?  This is also Israeli-centric training, and it would be very cool to get trained in their methods for protective assignments.  And if these guys have a job for you after the course, then that is the cherry on top. –Matt

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Private Security Forces Ltd. (PSF) is hiring new security agents world-wide.

Conflicts in Afghanistan, pirates in Somalia, humanitarian convoys in war territories…The need for well-trained security agents has never been bigger. To meet the increasing demand, Private Security Forces Ltd. (PSF) recently announced that it will hire new recruits for its prominent, international Private Security Contractor instruction program.

The PSF instruction program is not meant for just anybody. We are looking for adventurous and enterprising candidates who are in good shape. In exchange, we offer them a promising future. If you finish our Private Security Contractor instruction program successfully, we will guarantee you a secure and well-paid job at home or abroad.

Salaries ranging from $200 to $1,000 per day are no exceptions.

Not your average instruction program

Of course, you will have to deserve your salary. The PSF instruction program can under no circumstances be compared to other training courses for security agents that are being organized in our country. Usually, security agents end up protecting factory gates, shopping malls or pop stars, whereas PSF recruits will be deployed in problem areas or war zones. They will fight kidnappers in Colombia and Venezuela, combat pirates in Somalia, enhance security in conflict areas such as Afghanistan and Iraq etc.

Israeli elite

PSF organizes two kinds of instruction programs, for which both men and women are able to enroll. The first one is being organized in Israel – the only country where it is allowed to train with live ammunition. Our instructors are all part of elite forces: they have been recruited from the Israeli army and are part of the IDF elite units

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