ARMED SECURITY ON MERCHANT SHIPS‐
CAN WE PUT THE GENIE BACK IN THE BOTTLE?
Capt. Mike Powell FNI
• Independent Marine Consultant
• Master Mariner and Solicitor
• Head of Operations in two multi‐national companies
• Now consulting to a maritime security project!
Some Facts
• Armed security teams have made a major contribution to the security of shipping.
• Putting weapons on merchant ships is a major change with significant risks.
• The costs associated with security have risen significantly in recent years.
Some Questions
• Have we put too much reliance on armed solutions?
• Have we put adequate risk controls in place to ensure the safety of ship, crew and corporation?
• Are we spending money in the right places?
Have we put too much reliance on armed solutions?
Risk Controls
Risk Controls
Risk Controls
• The PMSC market remains unregulated
• Most PMSC’s are small companies
• Most PMSC’s are focussed on security teams and do
not offer a comprehensive layered solution
• Most PMSC’s require up front payments to mobilise
i.e. they have no cash!
• Many PMSC’s would be unacceptable
shareholders, investors and media.
to
Costs
Costs
Costs‐Observations
• No ship capable of more than 18 knots has been
taken
• Oceans beyond Piracy estimates the industry
spent an additional $2.7 billion on fuel
maintaining high speeds (2011)
• No ship on risk based routing has been taken
• No ship with armed security embarked has been
taken
• Can we slow down, stay safe and save some
money?
Shopping list
Coordination of all Open Ocean Elements
OO1 Intelligence
&
Operational Planning:
Insightful & Predictive Intelligence
Routing
OO2 OO5
Full Transit Management
Insurance Premiums reflecting OO’s Risk Reduction
Auditing & Hardening
24hr Ops Room
OO4
OO3 Insurance Services
Security
Teams
Assessing & Treating your vulnerability
Coordination & Quality Assurance of Physical Security Guards
24/7/365 Operations
Chenega Customer Base
Department
of Defense
U.S. Air Force
U.S. Navy
Bureau of Reclamation
U.S. Army
Bureau of
Indian Affairs
Defense Information
Systems Agency
U.S. Marine Corps
Federal Emergency
Management Agency
National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration
A fully integrated, intelligence‐led, maritime risk management and security service headed up by a substantial defence corporation
WWW.OPENOCEANMARITIME.COM