Tag: anti piracy measures

German cabinet has agreed on new rights for the Bundeswehr in the fight against piracy The German cabinet has agreed on new rights for the Bundeswehr in the fight against piracy off the coast of Somalia. If parliament approves, the mission - previously restricted to the sea - will be taken inland.The German government agreed to expand an EU mandate on Wednesday to allow the Bundeswehr to target inland Somali pirate bases as part of the European Union anti-piracy Atalanta mission.The German military had previously been restricted to only carrying out missions at sea, but the cabinet has now advocated that airborne attacks be allowed up to two kilometers inland. In line with an EU amendment in March, pirates' weapons, ships or fuel depots can all be targeted.The mandate does not sanction the deployment of any military personal on the ground."It is a small, useful additional military option," German Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere said as he arrived at a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels on Wednesday. He added that Berlin should not stand in the way of passing the mandate, which now needs final approval in parliament. But with skepticism among the opposition, this may be problematic."The ...

To take part anti-piracy mission off the Somali coast The government is considering sending more Maltese soldiers to take part in an EU, anti-piracy mission off the Somali coast.Following a recent EU decision to extend Operation Atalanta by two years until the end of 2014, a government spokesman said that Malta would continue to take part in the mission, primarily through a fixed presence at the operation's headquarters in the UK. It was also possible more troops would be deployed to take part directly in action in the troubled area."Malta intends to maintain a presence in the operation's headquarters and is also considering the option of contributing further to this mission in the future with another vessel protection detachment (VPD)," the spokesman said.Since the beginning of the operation at the end of 2008, Malta has constantly deployed an Armed Forces of Malta officer to the UK headquarters of the operation. The deployment lasts for six-month.In 2010, a memorandum of understanding was signed with the Dutch Ministry of Defence that catered for a 12-person (two officers and 10 other ranks) Maltese VPD to serve on the Dutch naval vessel HNLMS Johan de Witt.Malta last year extended its support by deploying a ...

Auditing and verification service for companies providing armed guards International classification society Bureau Veritas has joined forces with French maritime security consultants Securymind to provide an auditing and verification service for companies providing armed guards to protect ships against piracy.Security companies offering services to shipping will be audited against the requirements set down by the "Scheme for Quality Management Systems of Private Maritime Security Companies" established by Bureau Veritas and Securymind. The scheme is based on IMO guidance set out in MSC1405 "Revised Interim Guidance To Shipowners, Ship Operators, and Shipmasters on the Use of Privately Contracted Armed Security Personnel on Board Ships in The High Risk Area".Security companies which meet these standards will be issued with an attestation by Bureau Veritas and will be listed in the BV Register of Private Maritime Security Companies.Roberto Nahon, Head of Systems Certification and Training Department, Bureau Veritas, says, "Shipowners have experienced that armed guards are an effective deterrent to pirate attack. However there are very many international security companies offering these guards, and not all of them can be relied on to meet the right internationally agreed standards. That is why Bureau Veritas has put its auditing and maritime experience together with ...

Preparing a naval standard operating procedure to jointly fight piracy With the Indian Ocean region infested by Somali pirates, India is spearheading an effort to create a naval standard operating procedure (SOP) for the 32 littoral nations of the region to jointly fight the menace.The effort at preparing the SOP is currently in progress at the India-initiated Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) that is in progress in South Africa since Wednesday, according to the Indian Navy here.IONS came into being in February 2008 when India invited the navy chiefs of the 32 littoral nations, including Pakistan, for the first session of the initiative in New Delhi.The 2012 edition of IONS is chaired by the South African Navy chief. Indian Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma is in Cape Town to attend the meet.The IONS meet was declared open by South African Minister for Defence and Military Veterans Lindiwe Sisulu Wednesday.The proposal for a common SOP for all Indian Ocean region's navies was made by Verma while addressing the IONS Thursday and the issue was discussed by the navy chiefs from the region Friday, and Indian Navy official said.Chairing a panel discussion, Verma highlighted the contributions of the Indian Navy in addressing ...

Stuck by paperwork Problems with paperwork are causing a delay in the repatriation of the remains of two Filipino seafarers who were killed when Iranian commandos tried to rescue them and their fellow crew members from pirates earlier this month.According to radio dzBB's Sam Nielsen, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) cannot give a timetable for the repatriation of the remains of Zeron Monzon and Stephen Barbaronabecause of problems with paperwork.However, OWWA advocacy and social marketing division head Rey Tayag said they hope to get the remains to the Philippines before the end of the month.He said OWWA does not have an office in Iran but its Philippine office has briefed the families of the two fatalities about the repatriation process.Monzon and Barbarona were killed in a rescue mission by Iranian navy commandos on the Bolivian-flagged MV Eglantine earlier this month.The two sailors were among 10 Filipino crew members working for the vessel. The 10 Filipino seamen were part of the 23-member crew of the Eglantine.The eight Filipino survivors returned to the Philippines last week.Monzon died after being shot in the head during the encounter between the pirates and the commandos.Barbarona, on the other hand, suffocated from the heavy smoke ...

Counter-piracy operations Last Saturday in Chennai, the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the 16th annual "Malabar" exercise started, as part of ongoing cooperation between U.S. and Indian military forces. These 10 days joint exercises will consist of both ashore and at-sea trainings, including seminars on air defence, carrier aviation operations, integrated anti-submarine warfare operations and counter-piracy operations, ending on April 16th.The U.S. naval budget has undergone cuts and the resizing of the naval fleet since 2006 has led to significant reductions in ships number, despite news of future increases.India recently increased military expenditure with the purchase of two Russian-built nuclear submarines and plans to further strengthen anti submarines capabilities. China's increased military and naval capabilities explain India's attractiveness as a partner for the U.S. in the region.Source: Neptune Maritime Security

There are over 11000 navy men in the Indian ocean to counter piracy attacks

Prospects for NATO-AU Cooperation One would be hard pressed to find an article analyzing Somali piracy-be it journalistic, academic, or militarily focused-that does not make the claim that this maritime problem can only be solved on land. In the four years that the international community has attempted to address this crisis, however, a coherent and coordinated onshore strategy has yet to emerge. The development of indigenous counter-piracy capacity in the affected states of the East African seaboard has, despite rhetoric to the contrary, received scant attention from donor states. Authorities in the epicentres of Somali piracy-the autonomous states of Puntland and Galmudug-have largely been left to fend for themselves. Mistakenly, the international response to Somali piracy remains blinded by a military-centric focus on naval shows of force.An American think-tank project, The Oceans Beyond Piracy report, calculated the total annual cost of counter-piracy military operations to be $1.27-billion USD. Using the same methodology, the annual operating cost of NATO's Operation Ocean Shield has been placed at $293-million, while a figure of $450-million has been given for the EU's Operation Atalanta. While both of these missions have been extended to the end of 2012, it is unlikely they will be able to ...

They will be able to distinguish small pirate boats at sea from other vessels The U.S. Navy says it will begin tests of airborne pilotless drones equipped with sensors that could distinguish small pirate boats at sea from other vessels.Airborne tests of the Multi-Mode Sensor Seeker will take place this summer, the Office of Naval Research reported Thursday.Placed on a robotic helicopter called Fire Scout and carrying advanced automatic target recognition software, the sensor will allow the helicopter to autonomously identify small boats on the water, reducing the workload of sailors operating it from control stations aboard Navy ships, researchers said."Sailors who control robotic systems can become overloaded with data, often sifting through hours of streaming video searching for a single ship," said Ken Heeke, program officer in ONR's Naval Air Warfare and Weapons Department."The automatic target recognition software gives Fire Scout the ability to distinguish target boats in congested coastal waters using LADAR, and it sends that information to human operators, who can then analyze those vessels in a 3-D picture."The target software compares the 3-D imagery to vessel templates or schematics stored in the system's memory, researchers said."The 3-D data gives you a leg up on target identification," ...

French Navy frigate ACONIT disrupted pirate action On the morning of April 7, French Navy frigate ACONIT was heading towards a position in the north of the Horn of Africa to join with Spanish frigate INFANTA ELENA, and take over the escort of a World Food Programme ship.Meanwhile, in Djibouti, Spain was about to hand over command of Task Force 465 to France. FS ACONIT spotted a whaler towing a skiff. The high distance to the shore, nearly 600 km, and the absence of fishing activity raised the suspicion of ACONIT's sailors. The commanding officer quickly gave the order to intercept the whaler.After the boarding team had been deployed, due to the short distance between ACONIT and the whaler, it required only a few minutes for the boarding team to intercept the whaler, with 8 suspected pirates on board and piracy-related equipment, although some of it had likely been thrown overboard before the interception.Under the supervision of new Force Commander Rear Admiral Jean-Baptiste Dupuis and his staff, embarked on board FS Marne, the suspected pirates were transferred on board ACONIT. The whaler and the piracy-related equipments were destroyed and the skiff was embarked on board the French frigate. After one ...