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SOCP Spring Meeting 2013

Piracy and Other Critical Incidents at Sea – How to Reduce Impact on Mariners? The Mariner’s Viewpoint. SOCP Spring Meeting 2013. Introduction. 1990 Graduate of SUNY Maritime College at Fort Schuyler

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SOCP Spring Meeting 2013

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  1. Piracy and Other Critical Incidents at Sea – How to Reduce Impact on Mariners? The Mariner’s Viewpoint SOCP Spring Meeting 2013

  2. Introduction • 1990 Graduate of SUNY Maritime College at Fort Schuyler • Sailed for Military Sealift Command as 3rd Mate, 2nd Mate and Cargo Officer for most of the 90s • Worked in tug and barge industry on East Coast and Hawaii • Chief Mate and Master on MSC-contracted survey vessels from 2006 – 2008 operating in Western Pacific, Southeast Asia and Indian Ocean • Past four years (2009 – 2013) have been Chief Mate onboard Maersk Alabama

  3. You are trying to prevent this…

  4. Maersk Alabama Area of Operation Jebel Ali, UAE Salalah, Oman Djibouti, Djibouti Pre-2009 Piracy Routing Mombasa, Kenya Post 2009 Piracy Routing Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

  5. Piracy Incidents • 6 incidents in past 4 years • April 2009 – Maersk Alabama pursued by 2 skiffs as it was leaving Gulf of Aden. Pursuit ended due to sea conditions. • April 2009 – Hijacked and retaken by crew. Master taken hostage in lifeboat (~0600) • November 2009 – Attacked by skiff in Indian Ocean (~0600) • September 2010 – Attacked by skiff in Indian Ocean (~0800) • March 2011 – Attacked by skiff west of Seychelles (~0700) • May 2011 – Attacked by skiff in Gulf of Aden while transiting IRTC (~0015) • Multiple incidents of avoiding suspicious vessels / probable mother ships

  6. Many components to piracy and vessel security….. • There are many aspects to anti-piracy preparations and operations ranging from the outfitting of vessels to tactics used. • Today, however, I will try to address only two of these components – risk management and the additional stress on the seafarer.

  7. The risk….. • Between 2009 and 2012, the mantra onboard was, “It’s not a matter of if, but a matter of when…..” • If there are skiffs in the water, you have between 6and 12 minutes. After that, they either have the ship or are going away. • ….is high, but is it is high as it once was?

  8. Current Piracy Risks in Gulf of Aden / Horn of Africa (GOA/HOA) AOR Risk = Probability X Consequence Consequence – Higher to Lower Probability Post 2009 Piracy : Probability (5) X Consequence (5) = 25 Post 2012 Scenario : Probability (3) X Consequence (5) = 15

  9. Applying the Bow-Tie Model to Piracy Have a well drilled plan / Brief crew Early detection / Hard target Pirates approach vessel Crew under stress Non-lethal or lethal means / Crew in citadel Only necessary crew / protective gear Piracy Or Armed Robbery Pirates fire at vessel Crew injured/killed due to weapons use Good comms / stores of food and water Lethal means / All entrances secure Pirates board vessel Crew in citadel Physical / mental stress Crew disables vessel & waits for military Planned response by shipping company / flag state Pirates seize vessel Crew held for ransom

  10.          Control measures in place to mitigate risk of piracy • BMP-4 (Best Management Practices, Version 4) from UKMTO Razor wire / fire hoses / dummies Establish citadel • Non-lethal means – LRAD, laser, searchlights • Armed Security • Have a robust security plan • Drill the plan frequently and realistically so that all crewmembers are familiar with it

  11. How has piracy changed us? • “I know I’m paranoid, but am I paranoid enough?” • “Chronic unease” is a term I first heard a couple of years ago which describes our situation pretty well, but probably applies to all mariners. It’s a form of ongoing risk analysis, but is a possible fatigue issue. • Watch in open ocean used to be a place to catch up on paperwork, correct charts, etc. Not anymore. This has caused the mates’ daily work hours to rise. • BMP-4 talks of keeping minimal people on deck in high risk waters. As we are always there, we must modify our behavior/workload to keep people safe.

  12. How has piracy changed us? (continued) • Areas that used to be safe havens aren’t anymore. • Explaining the vessel’s actions/reality of piracy situation to others in shipping industry is sometimes difficult.

  13. Reducing Stress • Have a robust anti-piracy/emergency plan. • Drill the plan! • Keep crew informed of situation. • Good communications. • Mariners need to discuss issues with family. If the mariner cannot reach family due to communications being disturbed - especially after a publicized event – the company should contact families. • Debrief crew after critical incident/piracy IAW IMP MSC.1/Circ. 1334 PIRACY AND ARMED ROBBERY AGAINST SHIPS - Guidance to ship owners and ship operators, shipmasters and crews on preventing and suppressing acts of piracy and armed robbery against ships

  14. Thank you! Questions and/or comments

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