Marine Log - November 2008 - (Page 64)

MARITIMESECURITY crew during boarding. That being said the Somalia pirates understand the value of treating their hostages relatively well due to the fact that the crew is their main asset in the negotiations. They may harass the crews and even beat up hostages in rare cases, but their main aim is to keep the highjacked crew members alive.” A report from British think tank Chatham House (the Royal Institute of International Affairs) notes that pirates operate using small skiffs with powerful outboard engines and now regularly use “mother ships” to increase their range. ATTACKS ARE LIGHTNING FAST “It is generally thought that from sighting pirates to being boarded takes approximately 15 minutes,” says the “Shipping companies must invest in security aspects and not depend fully on the RMN to protect their ships.” VDMR Ahmad Kamarulzaman Ahmad Badaruddin, Royal Malaysian Navy Chatham House Report. “Such a short space of time helps to explain why even with international patrols in the area ships are still captured. To prevent an attack a naval vessel would need to be close and have a helicopter ready to go at moment’s notice. This is not to say that prevention is impossible: The USS Peleliu was able to scare pirates away from the Gem of Kilakari on August 8, 2008 after launching helicopters, but the Peleliu was only ten miles away and able to respond quickly.” In other circumstances, says Chatham House, captains must take whatever evasive action they can. In one instance a tugboat put itself into a high-speed spin and continued until the attackers gave up and left. “Other less nauseous ways of preventing boarding,” says Chatham House, include sonic cannons and water guns. Sonic cannons can only point in one direction, however, so an attack by more than one skiff renders them ineffective. The other serious complaint about using non-lethal weapons to deter pirates is the lack of protection they offer to crew members, who become sitting targets for pirates with automatic weapons and rocket launchers while operating the device. VULNERABILITIES According to Chatham House, the factors that make a ship more vulnerable are low sides, low speed, low crew numbers and lack of adequate watch-keeping. Pirates have consistently targeted ships with low sides as these are easier to board from their own low skiffs. At present, says Chatham House, it seems that scaling the high sides of large oil tankers is beyond their capabilities. This did not prevent them from taking speculative pot shots at the Japanese tanker MV Takayama with rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs). Low speeds also make a vessel more vulnerable, says Chatham House, warning that there is little that a shipowner with a slow, low-sided ship can do in 64 MARINE LOG NOVEMBER 2008 www.marinelog.com http://www.lufkin.com http://www.lufkin.com http://www.marinelog.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Marine Log - November 2008

Marine Log - November 2008 Contents Editorial Second Thoughts Update Inside Washington Looking Back at 130 Years Generation NeXt What's Ahead? Media Kit 2009 Defying the Naysayers Rampant Piracy Takes Shipping Hostage The Last Chapter of the New Carissa International Workboat Show Preview Newsmakers Tech News Contracts Events Website Directory ML Buyer's Guide ML Marketplace Marine Salvage

Marine Log - November 2008

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