THE PIRACY THREAT - IMPACT ON MARINE OPERATIONS

Transcription

1 THE PIRACY THREAT - IMPACT ON MARINE OPERATIONS Tom Qiu (S.B. Submarine Systems Co. Ltd), Graham Evans (EGS Survey Group), Gordon Lucas (Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks) tom.qiu@sbss.com.cn S.B. Submarine Systems Co. Ltd, Building 25, 1591 Hongqiao Road, Shanghai, China Abstract: Piracy on the high seas has existed since almost the beginning of navigation at sea. Historically, it has focused on appropriating cargos or the vessels themselves but more recently, not only has the frequency of attacks increased dramatically, but the focus has shifted to kidnap and ransom of both the cargo and the onboard personnel. The result of these two factors is that there is now an impact on marine operations conducted to construct submarine cables in areas where piracy exists. This paper discusses the important steps to consider when planning marine operations in such areas in order to mitigate any impact. 1 INTRODUCTION The threat of piracy, especially off the coast of Somalia, has recently hit the headlines with high profile kidnappings of oil tankers, and other vessels with high value cargos, coupled with equally dramatic rescue attempts and multi-million dollar ransom payments. However, this threat is not limited to commercial freight or operations in the oil and gas sector. It now has serious implications for the submarine cable business as has become evident during the recent construction of new cable systems in the Indian Ocean and off the coast of East Africa. Figure 1 shows the extent of piracy attacks during 2009, and the submarine cable systems that were impacted during the route survey or installation. Figure 1 : 2009 Piracy Attacks Survey vessels, with a low freeboard and slow speed, are particularly vulnerable to pirate attacks. Cable ships, although larger and faster, are of course tied to the cable and therefore have limited manoeuvrability during laying operations. This paper discusses the important steps to consider when planning marine operations in areas of piracy risk. 2 CUSTOMER DISCUSSION AND COMMERCIAL NEGOTIATION It is a standard commercial issue to discuss with the customer any known high level risks, or any risks where the level may have changed dramatically. For example, the piracy threat in the Gulf of Aden increased significantly between the time that a bid was submitted and when the contract was awarded some months later. The commercial negotiation with customers must be based on a full risk assessment, costing out each action for the safe operation of all marine operations, the ships and personnel, as well as the costs of additional insurance, armed security teams, extra allowances for the marine crew and technicians, and a lump sum cost for ship hardening and other modifications. It is incumbent on the ship operator to assess an acceptable risk level prior to negotiating with subcontractors to select Copyright 2010 SubOptic Page 1 of 5

2 sufficient protection, not just the best or most expensive. 3 THREAT RISK ASSESSMENT A thorough risk assessment is needed in order to determine what counter measures are appropriate and to identify any time and cost impacts. The location, the type of threat and not least the timing, will all have a bearing. The timing is important in that the weather may well change the threat. As an example, during the south-west monsoon, the Somalia based pirates tend to move their theatre of operations out of the Indian Ocean and into the calmer waters of the Gulf of Aden and even as far as the southern Red Sea. This resulted in security forces having to be deployed in an area previously considered free of pirates 4 APPROPRIATE THREAT RESPONSE Once the threat is understood, then an appropriate response can be considered. The range of responses may include: Unarmed private specialists Armed private specialists National military personnel Use of convoys protected by coalition forces Onboard security personnel Security personnel onboard an accompanying chase boat Vessel hardening Crew training in attack avoidance and lock-down procedures. The threat response must also take into account the nature of the operation; vessel speed, equipment deployed over the stern affecting manoeuvrability, ability to outrun a threat etc. 5 POTENTIAL IMPACT TO COST AND SCHEDULE As part of the commercial negotiations, any potential impact, in terms of additional cost and time, of taking measures to deal with the piracy threat must be identified. Without an agreement on these costs and schedule impacts, the risk of piracy could become a Force Majeure issue that will stall the project. In addition, schedule impacts may not be limited to the contract where the threat of piracy exists. Any delays arising out of anti-piracy measures will impact factory and cable ship schedules potentially affecting other systems under construction outside of the threat area. 6 LEGAL CONTEXT OF ARMED DEFENSIVE MEASURES The ship s flag state will need to issue a common permit for an armed security team to be deployed on board the ship. One other important point to consider when deploying either armed private security specialists or armed national military forces, is where they will be embarked and disembarked. Most authorities will not allow armed personnel to transit through their country without some kind of licence. Applying and obtaining such a licence can be a lengthy and potentially expensive process. It is likely that the normal project timescales will not allow sufficient time for this application process. Certainly, if national military forces are employed, the countries for embarkation and disembarkation will have to be friendly, in a military sense, to the country supplying the resource. 7 PROFESSIONAL SECURITY TRAINING OF MARINE CREW AND TECHNICIANS Where the threat analysis indicates that the appropriate response is to harden the vessel only, then it may be prudent to provide specific professional training so the crew members are well drilled when dealing with a threat or potential threat. Areas to be considered include: Vigilance and watch keeping Copyright 2010 SubOptic Page 2 of 5

3 How to distinguish between a potential threat and a vessel going about its bona fide business Vessel hardening Lock-down procedures Avoidance tactics Incident reporting procedures. 8 ADDITIONAL INSURANCES Compared with standard merchant ship insurance, a cable/survey ship often operates outside the normal shipping lanes and at slow speeds. For operations in regions with a high threat of piracy, additional insurance over and above the normal P&I and Hull and Machinery cover needs to be purchased to ensure the ship and crew are properly insured: Additional War Risk Insurance: the ship owner/operator has to inform the Insurer 48 hours before the ship enters a war zone. The premium for this risk can change right up to the time of entry and this adds further uncontrollable commercial risk to the contractor unless the customer can accept to cover this. Kidnap and Ransom (K&R) insurance: this includes the ransom payment, delivery of the ransom, negotiation of expenses, and legal liability. Loss of Hire: this covers the time that the ship is prevented from earning revenue as a result of a hijack being successful. Special Injury Insurance: for each individual who is on board in the high piracy threat area. This is to protect the crew s family and also the company in the event of injury and/or death to a crew member taking place. 9 VESSEL HARDENING AND LOCK-DOWN PROCEDURE The cable/survey ship requires physical protection measures to minimize any attempt of piracy attack. Such modifications including but not limit to: Razor wire to make any boarding difficult. Figure 2 : Razor Wire Cyclone netting surrounding the stations where crew has to remain to protect against attacks from rocket propelled grenades. This includes areas such areas as the bridge and the cable engines control room. Figure 3 : Cyclone Netting Surrounding Bridge Hardened gun positions to protect the security personnel from piracy attack. Blocking off of unnecessary access from outside entry. Installing a non-lethal weapon. Copyright 2010 SubOptic Page 3 of 5

4 Figure 4 : Long Range Audio Device Extra communication stations for the ability to communicate when the vessel is in lock-down. The lock-down procedure is when crew members not carrying out vital duties are mustered into a secure area. This must be detailed and practiced to ensure that all personnel aboard are fully familiarised with carrying it out. In addition to this, the procedures cover issues such as: Distance from threat for warning of piracy attack Distance from threat for reporting to relevant military authorities and Company head office Distance from threat for ceasing operations Distance from threat for cutting cable Distance from threat for lock-down Listing minimum personnel to remain at post Delegation of responsible person for each lock-down team Password for lock-down area entry. For the ship with armed or unarmed protection teams, the co-ordination between the protection team and the crew is imperative and procedures drawn up to ensure procedure cover: Security team aware of positions of crew members to prevent friendly fire Warning method using weapon waving to pirates Warning method using gunfire Engagement of pirates boarding First Aid Surrender. In addition to the emergency drills covering the lock-down procedure being carried out on board, the company office must carry out paper exercises to ensure that: Both the ship and office maintain the same procedure and do not confuse or mislead each other Communications, telephone numbers of crew families and relevant authorities are all correct Media/press contact is monitored and controlled. 10 ABILITY OF SHIP TO OUTRUN THREAT For normal merchant ships, the threat can be reduced by: Faster transit speed Joining an escorted convoy Maneuvering the vessel erratically Reducing access to accommodation. However, cable ships or survey ships may not be able to join an escorted convoy as these tend to sail at the faster speeds of commercial vessels not attainable even in transit. Furthermore, during operations, they may not be able to outrun pirates due to: Low operational speed, between 2 and 5 knots, dependant on type of installation or survey being undertaken Towed equipment over the stern of the vessel limiting speed Copyright 2010 SubOptic Page 4 of 5

5 Cable over the stern or even plough/rov operations limiting maneuverability. Bright lighting on deck and very low speed leads to cable ships becoming a more suitable target. Thus, cable ships and survey ships are not able to outrun the pirates without abandoning the work. 11 LIAISON WITH MILITARY AUTHORITIES Due to the piracy situation in some high risk areas, various nations have despatched warships to those regions, specifically in the Gulf of Aden. These forces are small and concentrate on supporting the convoys, thus the chance of these forces being available to assist during an attack on a cable ship or survey ship is minimal. However to obtain maximum support from these naval forces, early discussion and explanations of the cable ship operations, dates and positions will assist them in trying to provide as much support as practical. 12 SHIP MANNING REMUNERATION, THE RIGHT TO DECLINE TO SAIL, MORALE It is not uncommon that people may be reluctant to join a ship that will transit a high piracy risk area. On some occasions, the fear of a crew s family member may stop the crew member joining the operation. Manning issues need to be arranged well in advance to ensure that crew members, especially those with specific skills such as jointers and cable engineers are covered. Education of the crew and their families is important and this covers issues such as: Introduction to the anti-piracy measures that the ship will take Introduction of additional allowances Introduction of additional individual injury insurance Prepare for substitute crew for each critical position to ensure that the vessel can be manned Set up a contact in the office to support families who need advice. 13 REFERENCES [1] Evans, Graham S. Pirates, Permits & Programs ICPC Plenary, Delray Beach, Florida, USA, April 2009 [2] Burnett, Douglas R. Protecting Crews and Ships from Piracy by Arming Merchant Vessels for Self Defence Squire Saunders Maritime Alert, May 2009 Copyright 2010 SubOptic Page 5 of 5