jump to navigation

Cyber Piracy- Clear and Present Danger (in Maritime Executive) November 2, 2011

Posted by Chris Mark in Piracy & Maritime Security, Uncategorized.
Tags: , , , ,
add a comment

Maritime Executive’s Jack O’Connell published a very good article on cybercrime and its impact on the shipping industry.  Recently, Lloyds list also published an article on the same topic. With the shipping industry taking steps to prevent piracy, pirates are turning to technology to gain advantage over the shipping companies.  Read the article here.

Somali Pirates Suspected Kidnapping Aid Workers October 26, 2011

Posted by Chris Mark in Uncategorized.
Tags: , , , , ,
add a comment

Somali pirates are suspected in the recent abduction of 3 aid workers who were working in Somali for a Danish aid group.  The group issued a statement that said:  “Today, at 3 pm (1200 GMT) in Somalia, three staff members from the Danish Demining Group have been kidnapped. One is a Somali man, two are international staff members, an American woman and a Danish man.”  Earlier this month  Somali gunmen kidnapped two Spanish staff working for Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) from the Dadaab refugee camp in northern Kenya on October 13 and took them across the border into the anarchic Horn of Africa nation.  A Somali pirate who gave his name as Abdi told Reuters from Galkayo that a group of pirates was behind the abduction and the captives were being taken to a coastal haven.Previously, three people had been kidnapped from Kenya by Somali pirates and one killed.  As more vessels employ BMP and armed guards it is clear that pirates will simply look for new avenues to replace he revenue they are losing.

Al Shabaab, Somali Piracy link Growing? October 26, 2011

Posted by Chris Mark in Piracy & Maritime Security, Uncategorized.
Tags: , , , ,
add a comment

According to a report in Reuters, the UN stated that the link between Al Shabaab and Somali pirates is growing.  This was stated by the UN’s head of counter piracy, Colonel John Steed at the Combating Piracy event in London, England last week.  “There is a growing link and growing cooperation between al Shabaab who are desperate for funding and resources with other criminal gangs and with pirates,” said Colonel John Steed.  Notice that the statement is less than definitive.  During the event last week Colonel Steed was questioned very pointedly about the UN”s position that Al Shabaab and pirates are working more closely together.  Additionally, numerous other speakers were definitive in their position that piracy was NOT associated with Shabaab and was a purely financial, and criminal effort.

While there is little doubt that Shabaab is looking for new funding sources, the prevailing opinion among those at the event appeared to be that the UN’s insistence on correlating piracy with terrorism was little more than an attempt gather international attention to the issue of piracy within Somalia and attract international efforts to combat piracy.

Combating Piracy Week London 2011 October 22, 2011

Posted by Chris Mark in Piracy & Maritime Security, Uncategorized.
Tags: , , , , ,
add a comment

I am currently flying back from London on Delta after returning from Piracy Week.  While we will provide a more in-depth update later I wanted to capture some comments.  Overall the event was well worth the investment and was a very well attended event.  Hanson Wade did a great job of managing the event and encouraging networking.  I have spoken at well over 100 events in the past 10 years and I would say this was in the top 5%.  Marie, James, Jethro, Sara, David, Miles and crew at HW did a great job.

The lineup of speakers was impressive as were the attendees.  All speakers showed and provided some very good information.  Some of the speakers included representatives from the Somali Government, as well as the UN, UKPTO, and IMO, among others.  Of course, I (Chris Mark) was a speaker at the event.  Even competitors such PVI, and Salama Fakira had speakers, as did other companies such as Rubicon advisors. Both Conrad and Dom provided very valuable information.

Attendees included numerous shipping companies and representatives.  The overall view was that armed security is an important component of the overall security strategy.  Numerous speakers confirmed that no armed vessels have been hijacked to date.

Overall, I would suggest that any ship owner or other stakeholder with a real interest in security may want to consider attending a Piracy Week event hosted by Hanson Wade.  The hosts are great, the speakers are good and the attendees are bright and committed.

Against The Gods. The Remarkable Story of Risk October 14, 2011

Posted by Chris Mark in Uncategorized.
Tags: , , , ,
add a comment

As I am preparing for my presentation next week I was reminded of a book that I recommend all risk managers and security professionals read.  It is a book by Peter Bernstein called Against the Gods. The Remarkable Story of Risk.  You can get it at Amazon.com here.  While the book sounds dry, it is really a very fascinating look at the history of risk in humanity.  One of the examples is that of the title.  Before people really understood the concept of probability they had no real way of making calculated decisions such as when to sail across the seas.  In essence, you would pray to the gods that you would make it across the north Atlantic and…if the Gods were on your side you made it…if not…you didn’t.  Then one day someone said: “Hey…it seems like the gods are against us more often during certain times of the year than others…”  This was the origin of probability theory.  As you can imaging probability theory really came into fashion when people were trying to win at ‘games of chance’ which, as we know now, we are not really random rather based upon probability.  Overall, it is a great read and I highly recommend for the library.