Seed NewsvinePetraeus suggests ships have armed guards
Apr 26, 2009 Industry News, Piracy, Somalia
WASHINGTON - The global shipping industry should consider placing armed guards on its boats to ward off pirates who have become increasingly violent, the U.S. military commander who oversees the African coastline said Friday.
Gen. David Petraeus told a House committee that just trying to outrun or block pirates from boarding cargo ships isn’t enough to deter sea bandits off Somalia who are becoming more aggressive.
The shipping industry has resisted arming their boats, which would deny them port in some nations.
Petraeus said defensive preparations short of armed guards “can work. You can have water hoses and others that can make it more difficult,” he said. But he added, “It’s tough to be on the end of a water hose if the other guy is on the end of an RPG [a rocket-propelled grenade launcher]. So you’ve got to think your way through that calculation as well.”
April 27th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
NOT TAKEN LONG TO COME TO THIS CONCLUSION HAS IT
April 27th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
Certainly should not take a military genius of Petaeus’s stature to make the connection.
April 27th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
Yeah it took a while to state the obvious…!
April 27th, 2009 at 3:20 pm
There are several reasons for “denying the obvious”…chief among them is the fractious nature of the shipping industry itself, an observation not first declared here by any means. It is extremely difficult to get consensus on what strategies should be or could be employed if your financial perspective is equally weighted and you have, in essence, a veto vote. An insurance carrier, a ship’s owner, an operator, a crew member, the cargo owner all have a different perspective. Add to the environment of international waters, disputed borders, and several nation’s navies and what you have is a situation akin to “herding cats”.
That said, it does seem to be stating the obvious that if you offer NO alternative or resistance, the cost benefit analysis can be calculated by a starving Somalia teenager with no prospects, an ever so slight cost of entry into the business and nearly zero risk with millions as a reward.
Arrrr…it’s a perfect pirate storm!
Now, flip the coin.
There are several ships passing under your watch and you see one that is professionally armed and secured and several that are not. The same starving, Somalia teenager has several choices to target. Even without an MBA from Harvard, I think it’s safe to say that the kid will take door number 2…the portal to untold riches without any risk of injury or death.
The first step in the use of force is presence.
And it’s presence which will carry the day 99% of the time.
The last 1% can be effectively employed by the remaining alternatives in the continuum of force…and it’s a long way to the actual use of deadly force.
April 27th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
Great points David. It is a complex mess of stakeholders all with their own perspectives. Somehow though I sense the tide turning (pardon the pun) and we will see more use of armed guards. What will be interesting is to see how professional these guards are and the decisions they make in terms of engagement and use of force. If we see an incident of stupidity early on in this process that results in loss of innocent life or major damage to property this is likely to sour the market for everyone. Alternatively, if we see mature an professional security work that is effective in deterring successful attacks the market will adjust to this new reality and there will be plenty of work for a lot of guys. As always, we control our own destiny.
Jake