New Domain! www.GlobalRiskInfo.com December 17, 2011
Posted by Chris Mark in Uncategorized.Tags: Chris Mark, GlobalRiskInfo, gulf of aden security, InfoSec, Maritime Security, Piracy & Maritime Security, risk management, security, somali pirates, Somalia
add a comment
Starting tomorrow (Sun, Dec 18th, 2011), the blog will have a new domain. You can find us at the current wordpress subdomain of https://maritimerisk.wordpress.com or you can simply type www.GlobalRiskInfo.com (not case sensitive). The blog will be expanding into other areas of risk including information assurance, physical security, and financial risk.
Attacks down 65% & Hijackings down 85% from November 2010 December 13, 2011
Posted by Chris Mark in Uncategorized.Tags: Chris Mark, Maritime Security, Piracy & Maritime Security, somali pirates, Somalia
add a comment
According to a story published by BBC News, attacks on vessels in November 2011 were down 65% from 35 in November 2010 to 12 in November 2011. Additionally, while 7 of the 35 attacks resulted in a hijacking in 2010, only 1 of the 12 attacks was considered ‘partially successful’. The decline in attacks and hijackings can be attributed to several factors. First, more ships are employing armed guards, second more ships are adhering to BMP4 and finally, the naval presence in the region is deterring attacks. It will be interesting to see if the trend continues or if the pirates simply become more bold, or more violent in their pursuit of ransom money.
Piracy Delaying Food Aid November 4, 2011
Posted by Chris Mark in Piracy & Maritime Security, Uncategorized.Tags: Chris Mark, InfoSec, maritime piracy, Piracy & Maritime Security, Somalia
add a comment
It is well known that some, if not many, Somali pirates, when hijacking vessels, have claimed to represent the “Somali Coast Guard” and other “Somali Interests”. At the recent Combating Piracy event in London the attendees were told numerous tales about Europeans, Asians, and other who illegally fished the Somali waters and were therefore the cause of the piracy (at least a major cause). While there is little debate that economic issues are the root cause of many Somalis joining the ranks of pirates, piracy is now beginning to adversely affect the very Somalis that many pirates claim to represent. According to an article on CNN, piracy is delaying needed food aid to the Horn of Africa. Over 12 million people in the Horn of Africa require some form of food aid. According to Professor Mthuli Ncube, who fulfills a dual role as the bank’s chief economist and vice president the African Development Bank:
“[Piracy] affects the transit of food quickly, where it’s needed by refugees. It also brings up the costs of transporting the food and it goes beyond that into tourism, into the exploitation of hydro-carbons … the issue around fishing and so forth. But more urgently it is about delivery of food that is being affected.”
Al Shabaab, Somali Piracy link Growing? October 26, 2011
Posted by Chris Mark in Piracy & Maritime Security, Uncategorized.Tags: Anti Piracy, Chris Mark, maritime piracy, Maritime Security, Somalia
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.
Tanzanian Army Arrests 7 in Attempted Pirate Attack October 6, 2011
Posted by Chris Mark in Uncategorized.Tags: Chris Mark, InfoSec, Maritime Security, Piracy & Maritime Security, somali pirates, Somalia
add a comment
An article on Oct. 5th, 2011 states that the Tanzanian army arrested 7 pirates after a failed hijacking of an oil exploration ship. The army arrested the 7 after an attempted hijacking of the 
oil exploration ship. The pirates reportedly had 16 rounds of sub-machine gun ammunition and pain killers. According to Tanzanian authorities: “Our navy men opened fire in the air as a warning but the pirates did not surrender and instead fired directly at the soldiers. There was exchange of fire, the pirates were overpowered, and decided to surrender by throwing their weapons in the sea and raised up their arms,” Col. Mgawe said.
The interesting aspect of this story is that the pirates did not flee and instead chose to exchange fire with the soldiers. This once again demonstrates the increasing violence of Somali pirates and their willingness to accept greater risk in their attempts to hijack ships.
Global Security, Privacy, & Risk Management 