Shipping Companies Risk Reputation by Ignoring PMSC Standards
March 14, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The shipping industry should adopt a unified international standard to judge and regulate security services provided by private contractors, says leading maritime security company GoAGT.
Fewer Pirates Different Risks: Africa Needs to Rethink its Approach to Maritime Security
March 13, 2014 by Leave a Comment
With incidents of maritime piracy declining and greater awareness of new maritime security threats, the shape and governance of various counter-piracy initiatives and institutions will come into question this year.
AIS Hack Can Vanish Ships
October 23, 2013 by 1 Comment
The Automatic Identification System (AIS) is used worldwide in order to track shipping vessels. Researchers from a computer security company Trend Micro found that the system can be hacked using cheap radio equipment, making fake vessels to appear, real ones to disappear, and to issue false emergency alerts.
World Bank Study on Somalia Piracy Identifies the Root Cause of the Problem
July 23, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The global fight against piracy in Somalia has centered on prosecuting pirates and mobilizing naval forces. But to get to the root cause of the problem, the international community must focus on helping the nation build a functional political system, according to a new World Bank study.
Economic Cost of Somali Piracy for 2012
June 13, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Oceans Beyond Piracy (OBP), a project of the One Earth Future foundation (OEF) has published a few months ago its third annual assessment of the Economic Cost of Somali Piracy for 2012 (ECoP 2012). This year’s assessment, like the one before it, considered nine separate, first order cost categories and found that maritime piracy cost the global economy between $5.7 and $6.1 billion in 2012. This estimate is the result of extensive research, supplemented by contributions from and an extensive audit by independent piracy experts. At between$5.7 and $6.1 billion, the cost of piracy to the global community fell by around $850 million, or 12.6% from 2011.
Risk Assessing the Implementation of the New STCW
November 21, 2012 by 1 Comment
During the 3rd annual SAFETY4SEA forum held in Athens in October 2012, Apostolos Belokas, Managing Editor of SAFETY4SEA and Principal Consultant & CEO, SQE Marine Group, gave a very interesting speech on the implications of the requirements of the new STCW. Despite the fact that the new STCW has been accepted by a diplomatic conference in Manila back in June 2010, unfortunately many industry stakeholders are not aware of the implications of the new requirements and as a result they have not addressed their safeguards properly.
Guidance for PMSC Agreed by IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee
May 27, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Interim guidance to private maritime security companies (PMSCs) was agreed by IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee (MSC), when it met at the Organization’s London Headquarters for its 90th session from 16 to 25 May 2012.
A special high-level segment of the MSC saw an intense debate, on how the international community should deal with issues related to the deployment of privately contracted armed security personnel (PCASP) on board ships and the carriage of arms on board.]
Officer of the Watch 