What Works Against Piracy

While pirates boldly attack vessels of all types around the world, it seems that only Somali piracy has the world’s eye. In the period of time from April 14-27, according to the IMB Live Piracy Report, 25% of incidents reported occurred in areas other than the Gulf of Aden and Somalia.

Common Considerations

To determine effective defenses which can be used across the globe, we must understand the pirates’ common considerations. There are two; they are risk and profit. How much risk is there of injury or death for the potential profit to be gained? Today, there is virtually no risk. Although there are exceptions, pirates seldom need to be concerned about capture as evidenced by the recent capture of pirates by a Canadian warship; they were momentarily detained, disarmed, and released.

What Can Be Done to Protect Our Vessels?

Our concern is with large ships, workboats of all types, and private vessels as well. A response to piracy must sever at least one of the two legs it stands upon, the leg of profit and the leg of risk. The method to accomplish this is three-fold. The first is adequate training. The second is a layered approach to defense. The third is the equipping of vessels for defense and providing strong points within the vessel for crew protection.

So often, those who are responsible for training have never faced the problem and mandate training by conjecture. In much the same way, many of those who specify vessel security policies understand little about the subject outside of secondary or tertiary resources. Ship Security Plans typically call for the use of fire hoses as a defense against piracy. Too seldom are crew members taught how to use those hoses as a defense. When hoses are used by trained crew they are a defense, but when not trained, the crew becomes an easy target. Training must be meaningful and related to the threats as they may be encountered.

Navigation watches are required to “Keep a proper watch.” However, vigilance required by a proper watch in keeping with Collision Regulations is different than keeping a suitably vigilant anti-piracy watch. The anti-piracy watch must maintain constant observation and know how to use the available shipboard electronic tools. The US Navy teaches these skills as part of their Basic Training for a reason. The commercial industry should follow their lead but, as being the targets of attacks, to a greater skill level. Solution? We should assign certain crew members to shipboard security teams and train those team members professionally.

Countering the Risk/Profit Ratio

Once a threat is identified, a layered approach toward defense must begin. It cannot be stressed enough that early threat acquisition is most important. Defense begins with attempts at communication with the threat. If that threat maneuvers toward the vessel in any menacing way, a more active response using horns, whistles, spotlights, and flares is appropriate. Further approach requires immediate high speed irregular maneuvering away from the approaching attacker and all of its potential support vessels. The latter has been effective in numerous cases.

The goal of defense is to demonstrate to the attacker that the crew has the ability and willingness to defend itself. This in itself may counter the pirates’ risk/profit ratio. The observation by attacking pirates that the crew is alert to their presence and is willing to defend has been shown to deter the attack. It is much easier for an aggressor to go after easier prey.

In case of an attempted boarding, there are three options; escape maneuvering, locking the crew within the vessel, or defending the deck. Not all are correct in all cases. The crew must have options at its disposal.

Our vessels must be constructed to protect our crews. There are many changes which should be made to our vessels with security in mind and not merely to meet the verbiage of a regulation. For instance, many ships and workboats satisfactorily meet regulatory requirements by attaching locking pins on their exterior watertight doors. However, many of those doors also have windows or port-lights in them making this security measure useless. Vessels have many wooden-framed structures. Their doors, however, should be changed to locking fire doors and frames. Work decks are laid out to provide efficiency and not security; they should be arranged to provide for strong points. Vessels should be constructed or upgraded to allow for navigation and communication from the emergency control station, usually in the engineering spaces. A crew must have a strong point in which to retreat where it can be assured of security.

Our crews should be equipped with the items necessary to establish their ability to protect themselves. Depending upon the company, it may or may not include firearms. It should at least include such useful items as a good flare gun and an assortment of white flares. The intention is to dissuade pirates from their attacks by increasing their risk to a level which provides them with an unacceptable risk/profit ratio, using non-lethal means whenever possible. It may be wise to keep the armed defense an option if used by a well-trained shipboard security team.

About the author

Capt. Jeffrey Kuhlman, who currently works in Africa, is the originator of the Castle Shipboard Security Program in association with the Sig Sauer Academy. He has extensive military and maritime training and is the holder of three degrees: Business, History, and Education with graduate level work in Maritime History. Memberships include USSA, IASCP, SSCA, and NRA.