Counter Piracy

The transition of Somalia from a single military dictatorship to fractional fiefdoms of military rule has contributed to the increased restiveness and deterioration in the security situation in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean.

Expatriates working on vessels that stray too close to land, or have a too relaxed routine onboard, have been illegally detained or kidnapped for ransom. Hijacking of vessels increased dramatically through 2008 and shows no signs of diminishing. Specifically, within the Gulf of Aden, there has been a dramatic rise in Piracy.

Until recently the main reason a vessel was selected by the pirate gangs was its location, and in particular, vessels running a track too close to the Northern and Eastern Somali coast and cutting inside Socotra. These incidents were mainly based around opportune theft of moveable objects, however recently these attacks are increasingly being carried out by armed gangs who are known to operate from a mother craft.

From August 29th 2008 the area of operations of the pirates has changed dramatically; they are no longer restricted in geography or profile, as they have successfully high-jacked for ransom vessels North West of the Maritime Security Patrol Area (MSPA), an area with no previous historical pirate activity, they have also high-jacked vessels from within the MSPA. The pirate gangs now view the crew, cargo and vessel as a single commodity and as such demand a single higher fee during the ransom negotiation.

To combat this Veritas provides experienced maritime Counter Piracy Teams for vessel protection. On arrival to the vessel, the Counter Piracy Team will establish a Security Plan applicable to the vessel; they will then construct physical vessel security measures and then train the crew in Counter Piracy Procedures. During the entire transit the Counter Piracy Team will provide 24hr security protection of the vessel; this can be armed or unarmed.

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