No Second Chance
Press article: 27th September 2005, The Yacht Report
Although the below is a fictitious scenario, an individual is known to the author who was taken hostage off the coast of Somalia and several elements of this following scenario are based on his experiences.
The yacht was cruising north-west off the coast of Somalia. The crew were busying themselves at the end of their daily routine and preparing for the night watch. Some of the guests were enjoying the last hazy red hours of the day while drinking to the future voyage, and the skipper was briefing the owner on the latest dive sights that were planned at the destination. As the last of the daylight vanished into dusk the crew were preparing for the evening meal. The guests were in their cabins deciding on what to wear. There was a controlled urgency on the yacht with everyone concentrating on their immediate tasks. The radar was showing no contacts for twelve miles, navigation lights on.
Three miles to the stern and on the same heading, four men excitedly prepared themselves. For three days they had been patiently waiting for and tracking potential targets. Now at last they were confident they had found their target. Their small, wooden and nimble vessel would make easy work of the distance between the two vessels; they estimated it would take 45 minutes to close up.
The crew were happy. All of the guests were easy to serve and none were impolite; the odd mistake in serving etiquette was never mentioned. The guests busied themselves with talk and fine wine; the chilled lobster starter had gone down well. When it happened everyone was surprised. No one saw the boat approach the stern. No one saw three men climb aboard. Nobody was expecting three men armed only with two knives and a pistol to burst into the middle of a dinner party. The 10 crew were quickly rounded up with the guests, and the vessel stopped. The cabins were ransacked for any high value items, the ship’s safe was emptied. All jewellery was taken. Everyone’s passport and bank cards were collected. It was decided to split the women from the men and lock them up in groups.
Sticking to their plan, the group tied off their vessel at the stern and made a course for the superyacht back from where they had come. By early morning they were in position to anchor the yacht. Two pirates remained on board; the others took two men ashore with bank cards and passports and headed to the nearest town with an ATM.
The two guests were aware that to attempt anything other than compliance would put their partners and crew in mortal danger. Several thousand US dollars were obtained. The guests were then taken to a secluded local homestead and chained together. One pirate remained the other returned to the yacht.
The skipper was informed of the gang’s demands. To make the transaction quick and easy only the small amount of US$500,000 was needed to secure the release of the hostages, all paid in new, low denomination notes. The skipper was given four days.
TO the seasoned hand there are obvious omissions in the security plan on the above yacht. It is equally fair to say that a majority of vessels are aware of the correct procedures but become so embroiled in the charter that their best laid plans go to waste. To deliberately miss-quote, “no plan survives contact with a charter”.
Kidnap and Ransom (K&R) used to be restricted to South America, Russia and former Soviet Union states and certain African countries. Now it is much more widespread: in 2004, 86 crew members were kidnapped and held to ransom, 148 crew and passengers were taken hostage and 30 went missing. K&R is now firmly established as a maritime industry. What should the owner and/or management company do to mitigate this risk?
What Is Required?
As in all walks of life in the modern world insurance is essential for the occurrence of major problems. General K&R policies are easy to come across and are available from larger insurers. Unfortunately there are very few companies offering a product covering the superyacht sector as this is, in insurance terms, a new market. However, I am actually in the final stages of consultation with a leading established underwriter to rectify this situation.
Along with a recognised K&R policy, a link-up with a risk management company that specialises in maritime security would be highly recommended and is likely to be a pre-requisite of insurance. With insurance and security covered and linked in a formal operating agreement, the owner and/or management company would be safe in the knowledge that if there was to be an incident they would be covered and would have help at hand and that, more importantly, the very best provision had been made for guests and owners alike.
What Can You Expect?
Depending on the circumstances, the first people to find out about the incident could be the owner/management company or the risk management company. If the yacht has activated its alarm and the maritime risk management company has a 24-hour monitored operations room then in this circumstance the risk managers will be the first to find out. Following the planned call cascade the owner/management company will be alerted shortly after.
Presuming the owner/management company has linked up with a reputable risk management company there would be an immediate reaction plan involving representatives from insurance, law, media, security and ownership. There would also be a system that authorises a liaison team to deploy to the incident area to assist the relevant authorities and provide ‘ground truth’ for the owner/management company.
If the alarm has not been activated but a member of the yacht has been forced to make contact, then the owner/management company may be the first to find out.
Again in this circumstance the maritime risk management company would have a similar immediate reaction plan to the one outlined above.
Prevention Or Reaction?
The prevention of a potentially lethal situation from developing must surely be a much safer prime policy than reacting to it. This can be achieved through regular training of yachts and their crew as well as providing dedicated security teams on board for higher risk areas. The maritime risk manager must also offer out of area exercises to test the trained crew.
It must be stressed that a well trained crew with a dedicated security team will not guarantee avoidance of an incident but it will reduce the risk significantly.
So What Does The Future Hold?
With an ever increasing number of yachts with further and further-a-field destinations than ever, there is no doubt that the number of incidents is set to increase. This escalation will produce demands for even greater payouts from the insurance companies. Insurance companies will in reaction to this impose more safeguards and one will probably be compulsory K&R cover for both the crew and guests. Insurance companies will then attach caveats to this policy insisting the use of dedicated security teams.
With the relentless rise in international organised crime and terrorism it will not be long before a major vessel is used for lethal ends. Surely the time has come for everyone on yachts of all sizes to consider the threat of K&R for themselves and the implications for the rest of us should the vessel be used for more sinister reasons. As I have argued previously, “We are now all in the security business.”
Simon Rowland
Veritas International
