Coast Guard, industry team on anti-piracy

Coast Guard, industry team on anti-piracy    U.S. Coast Guard officials met Monday with security officers from more than a dozen U.S.-flag ocean carriers to discuss implementing the sea service's May 12 security directive requiring vessels operating around the Horn of Africa and other high-risk areas to take extra measures to defend against pirates.
   The new instructions to the maritime industry, developed after the hostage-situation involving the Maersk Alabama off the coast of Somalia last month, mandate the maritime industry to conduct risk-assessments of their vessels, develop anti-piracy plans, establish communications with military forces in the area and supplement the crew with armed or unarmed security personnel.
   The security directive has only been distributed to ship operators on a need-to-know basis because the Coast Guard is concerned that some sensitive material could aid pirates in understanding how commercial vessels will protect themselves.
   Coast Guard recommended precautions include additional piracy watches, installing long-range identification and tracking systems ahead of the January 2010 compliance date, use of non-lethal weapons such as acoustic noise devices, barbed wire on the rails, applying slippery substances to the deck and fire hoses, or simply pulling up the Jacob's ladder on the side of a ship, said Capt. Eric Christensen, chief of vessel activities, in a briefing for reporters.
   The directive also urges vessel operators to travel through the Gulf of Aden in transit lanes established by international forces in the area, utilize erratic course changes and travel at the highest possible speeds — all steps that most carriers have already undertaken.
   Piracy is a crime of opportunity, and criminals at sea look for the easiest targets just as burglars do in a city, Christensen said.
   'If your car door is locked the thief is likely to go to the next car,' he said.
   The U.S. government, which has naval forces participating in an international coalition patrolling the region, significantly increased its focus on dealing with Somali pirate attacks on commercial shipping after the Maersk Alabama incident — in which Capt. Richard Phillips was rescued when Navy Seals shot dead his three abductors in a lifeboat — and the subsequent strafing of the Liberty Sun. Piracy had previously been a lower tier priority because of the limited amount of U.S. ships that transit the waters around the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean.
   In the first five months of 2009, pirate activity in the Gulf of Aden and off the East Coast of Somalia has dramatically increased. To date there have been 114 known actual and attempted attacks on commercial or cruise vessels resulting in 29 successful hijackings compared to 111 such attacks and 42 captured vessels in all of 2008, according to the International Maritime Bureau. Somali pirates have increasingly shifted attacks to the Indian Ocean after many ocean carriers rerouted vessels away from the Gulf. There have been 43 attacks off the Somali Coast this year versus 19 in 2008.
   Increased naval forces from the European Union, NATO, the United States and other countries has decreased the success rate of pirate attacks, according to the bureau. In January, one in every six vessels known to have been attacked by Somali pirates was successfully hijacked. The ratio of successful attacks decreased to one in eight in February and to one in 13 in March. By comparison, the rate was one in three during the last quarter of 2008.
   The Congressional Research Service has estimated that given the size of the area in which pirates operate, more than 60 naval ships might be needed to suppress piracy in the Gulf of Aden alone. There are roughly one-third that many naval vessels operating within the region today.
   Christensen noted that there are only two or three U.S.-flag vessels operating in the area at any given time, typically hauling U.S. food aid to countries such as Kenya, or carrying U.S. military cargo under contract with Military Sealift Command. The U.S. Navy places armed marines onboard vessels carrying cargo for the military.
   'Our best guess is that last year only there were only about 60 to 70 vessels that transited through there,' Christensen said.
   U.S.-flag carriers known to operate in the area include Maersk Line Ltd., Liberty Maritime Corp., and Waterman Steamship Co.
   Christensen said the Coast Guard has been working closely with the Maritime Administration to help U.S. ocean carriers deal with the piracy threat. MarAd's primary contribution has been sending piracy assessment teams to U.S. merchant marine vessels to search for vulnerabilities and recommend ways a company can comply with Coast Guard directives to harden the ship.
   He stressed that the Coast Guard is not mandating that ship owners place armed security onboard their vessels. Some international shipping companies have hired private security contractors to provide protective services while transiting the Gulf of Aden, but most carriers are still reluctant to put armed guards onboard their vessels because of concerns over liability, firearms laws in various countries they call and a potential increase in violence by pirates to counteract the firepower.
   Dry bulk carrier Genco Shipping & Trading Ltd. doesn't have many ships transiting the Gulf of Aden, but those that do join naval convoys and use armed private security forces for protection, Chief Financial Officer John Wobensmith said on CNBC's 'Squawk Box' show on May 11.
   Christensen said the biggest concern expressed by the commercial security officers was submitting security plans by the two-week deadline and getting quick approval for changes to their vessel security plans. He said operators are at liberty to take necessary measures ahead of formal approval if they are operating in high-threat areas. ' Eric Kulisch