Securing Your Ship
Secure Your Ship
There are various options available to the ship owner to secure his ship
- Secure-Ship
This is an effective innovation in the fight against piracy. It is a non-lethal, electrifying fence surrounding the whole ship, which has been specially adapted for maritime use. The fence uses 9,000-volt pulse to deter boarding attempts. An intruder coming in contact with the fence will receive an unpleasant non-lethal shock that will result in the intruder abandoning the attempted boarding. At the same time an alarm will go off, activating floodlights and a very loud siren The owner has the option of a message being relayed directly to the IMB – PRC. The IMB strongly recommends ship owners to install this device on board their ships. Further details can be obtained at www.secure-marine.com
- ShipLoc
There are a number of reliable ship tracking devices available on the market today based upon Inmarsat and other satellite systems.
The IMB endorses ShipLoc, an inexpensive satellite tracking system, which allows shipping companies, armed only with a personal computer with Internet access, to monitor the exact location of their vessels. In addition to anti-hijacking role, ShipLoc facilitates independent and precise location of ships at regular intervals. ShipLoc is fully compliant with the IMO Regulation SOLAS XI-2/6 adopted during the diplomatic conference in December 2002, concerning a Ship Security Alert System. The ship security alert system regulation requires ships of over 500 GT to be equipped with an alarm system in order to reinforce ship security. The system allows the crew, in case of danger, to activate an alarm button that automatically sends a message to the ship owner and to competent authorities. The message is sent without being able to be detected by someone on-board or by other ships in the vicinity. ShipLoc is contained in a small, discrete waterproof unit, which includes: an Argos transmitter, a GPS receiver, a battery pack in case of main power failure, and a flat antenna. ShipLoc is one of the most reliable systems available today. For more information, please visit www.shiploc.com
- Other Procedures
Keeping in mind ship speed, freeboard, amount of time vessel will spend in the high risk area the company / master may consider a structured and layered defense to ensure the pirates cannot get access into the accommodation, engine room, bridg areas.
Some thought should be given to the layered defense structure and the strengths of the ship should be used as the most effective tool in hardening the ship. These could include but by no means are limited to
- Proper and efficient lookouts to get early warning of threat.
- Increasing speed and manoeuvring the vessels
- Communicate and broadcast the attack to the appropriate organisations which will be able to effectively alert authorities and law enforcement for assistance
- With crew safety in mind - the use of razor wires around the accessible parts of the ship e.g. stern, parallel body, companion ways and other vulnerable parts of the ship
- Temporary extension on the width of the gunwale / fishplate
- Trailing mooring ropes / cargo nets which could foul approaching small boat propellers
- Dunnage, empty 200 ltr oil drums, wooden pallets have been used by masters in the past to aid in preventing successful boardings.
- Locking down all access points into the accommodation, bridge and engine room.