Piracy and Other Critical Incidents at Sea How to Reduce Impact on Mariners?

Piracy and Other Critical Incidents at Sea How to Reduce Impact on Mariners?

The Mariners ViewpointSOCP Spring Meeting 2013Good Afternoon My name is Rich Madden and I am here to provide the mariners point of view on the stresses of piracy and critical incidents onboard. I would like to thank Ms. Dione Lee of QSE Solutions and SOCP for the invitation to take part in this panel. I would also like to thank Admiral Carpenter, President of SUNY Maritime College for attending and providing the keynote speech..

1Introduction1990 Graduate of SUNY Maritime College at Fort SchuylerSailed for Military Sealift Command as 3rd Mate, 2nd Mate and Cargo Officer for most of the 90sWorked in tug and barge industry on East Coast and HawaiiChief Mate and Master on MSC-contracted survey vessels from 2006 2008 operating in Western Pacific, Southeast Asia and Indian OceanPast four years (2009 2013) have been Chief Mate onboard Maersk Alabama

I am a 1990 graduate of SUNY Maritime and currently hold an unlimited masters license as well as a master of towing vessels license. Since graduation, I have sailed extensively for the Military Sealift Command, both as a civilian mariner on underway replenishment vessels and as a contract mariner on survey vessels. Along the way, I also spent a few years working in the tug and barge industry in Hawaii and on the East Coast. My most recent experience has been as master on survey vessels for MSC and, for the past 4 years, chief mate on Maersk Alabama, a small containership operating in the feeder trade between the Middle East and East Africa. It is my experiences onboard that vessel that bring me here today.2You are trying to prevent this

Salalah, OmanDjibouti, DjiboutiMombasa, KenyaDar es Salaam, TanzaniaJebel Ali, UAEMaersk Alabama Area of OperationPre-2009 Piracy RoutingPost 2009 Piracy RoutingNot only do we transit the high risk areas of the Horn of Africa, but we spend the vast majority of our time there. Our loading ports had primarily been Salalah, Oman and Djibouti, but Jebel Ali on the Persian Gulf being used pretty frequently now - our only break from the high risk area. Our discharge ports are normally Mombasa, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. We have also ranged as far as Mozambique, Sri Lanka, and Jordan. The routes shown here are general representations and not exact. Pre-2009 Piracy routing was about 300-350 miles off Somalia. Post 2009 piracy routing was actually a little further east along 061 East, which was so commonplace that it became known as Route 61 onboard. Our current routing is not as radical as the one shown, but still keeps us 600-1000 miles off Somalia while saving us time and fuel and offering more flexibility. Our current route into the Persian Gulf doesnt offer a lot of relief from the threat of piracy, as they were pushing North towards the Straits of Hormuz in 2012.4Piracy Incidents6 incidents in past 4 years

April 2009 Maersk Alabama pursued by 2 skiffs as it was leaving Gulf of Aden. Pursuit ended due to sea conditions.April 2009 Hijacked and retaken by crew. Master taken hostage in lifeboat (~0600)November 2009 Attacked by skiff in Indian Ocean (~0600)September 2010 Attacked by skiff in Indian Ocean (~0800)March 2011 Attacked by skiff west of Seychelles (~0700)May 2011 Attacked by skiff in Gulf of Aden while transiting IRTC (~0015)

Multiple incidents of avoiding suspicious vessels / probable mother shipsMaersk Alabama has been the victim of piracy or attempted piracy 6 times over the past four years. While most remember the hijacking and kidnapping of Captain Phillips in April 2009, the day prior, the vessel had been chased by two skiffs, which eventually gave up the chase due to sea conditions. Since then, we have had 4 separate attacks in November 2009, September 2010, March 2011 and May 2011. I was onboard for 3 of these.Without the armed security that is carried and the anti-piracy systems that have been added, I have no doubt that the pirates would have succeeded in most of those incidents. However, avoiding the situation is just as good as defeating approaching pirates. Two examples. One, Southbound along route 61, a single dhow was sighted right on 061 East, drifting along. There wasnt anything in particular about that dhow other than it was right on our courseline and not moving just a gut instinct. We altered course radically to the East to give it close to a 10 mile CPA and went on our happy way. The next day and each of the following three days there was an attack close to that position. On the fourth day after we passed this dhow, the bulker Montechristo was attacked and hijacked. Another night, while transiting North, again along route 61, I was hailed on VHF with our position, course and speed at a time when there were no contacts on radar or visual finally picked up a small contact 16 miles ahead, which we gave a wide berth. The unlit contact tried to intercept us, but it was pretty obvious that they didnt understand the theory of relative motion and we were able to evade them by 4-5 miles. These are only 2 examples out of many, many situations we have managed to avoid over the past 4 years.5Many components to piracy and vessel security..There are many aspects to anti-piracy preparations and operations ranging from the outfitting of vessels to tactics used.

Today, however, I will try to address only two of these components risk management and the additional stress on the seafarer.

There are so many aspects to anti-piracy tactics and preparations that Im not going to try to address most of them. The discussions over armed security, routing, safe rooms and other anti-piracy measures go on and on. Im rather passionate about security and anti-piracy issues and am willing to talk at length about them, but, I will try to keep the sea stories and details to minimum. We will take a look at the risk management involved with piracy in particular and the mitigation of some of the stresses.

6The risk..Between 2009 and 2012, the mantra onboard was, Its not a matter of if, but a matter of when..

If there are skiffs in the water, you have between 6 and 12 minutes. After that, they either have the ship or are going away.

.is high, but is it is high as it once was?

One of the questions asked as a lead up to this panel was, What is the risk of piracy from my point of view? Well, between 2009 and 2012, the mantra onboard was, Its not a matter of if, but a matter of when..Pirates are opportunistic. They are going to go after whatever comes over the horizon and gets close to them. If they think they have a chance, theyll go for it. The ships that operate exclusively or primarily in the high risk areas are going to have more frequent contact with pirates. Therefore, its not a matter of if, but when. The statistic of 6-12 minutes to respond is based on my own experiences. Things happen quickly and you must respond accordingly because the consequence of being taken by Somali pirates is nothing short of catastrophic whether it is a relatively short 3-4 months in captivity or over 2 years, the possibility of torture or death is always there. So..is the risk of piracy what it once was?7Current Piracy Risks in Gulf of Aden / Horn of Africa (GOA/HOA) AORCatastrophicSeriousMajorMinorMinimalExtremely Improbable54321Low Likelihood108642Likely1512963High Likelihood20161284Near Certainty252015105Consequence Higher to LowerProbabilityPost 2009 Piracy : Probability (5) X Consequence (5) = 25Post 2012 Scenario : Probability (3) X Consequence (5) = 15Risk = Probability X ConsequenceLooking at a risk analysis matrix, I already said that any hijacking by Somali pirates would be catastrophic, therefore, the consequence will remain a 5. The likelihood of the hijacking occurring has dropped significantly over the past year, but there are still skiffs out there. So, the likelihood has dropped from a 5 to a 3, resulting in a drop in the overall risk from 25 to 15 still significant. While the risk is still present and likely, we have not had an actual attack in close to two years.Once the risk is known, you can start to mitigate them.8Applying the Bow-Tie Model to PiracyPiracyOrArmed RobberyPirates approach vesselCrew under stressPirates fire at vesselCrew in citadelPhysical / mental stress Crew injured/killed due to weapons useCrew held for ransomPirates board vesselPirates seize vesselEarly detection / Hard targetNon-lethal or lethal means / Crew in citadelCrew disables vessel & waits for militaryLethal means / All entrances secureOnly necessary crew / protective gearGood comms / stores of food and waterPlanned response by shipping company / flag stateHave a well drilled plan / Brief crewTo mitigate the risks of piracy, well apply the events we are trying to prevent some of the possible consequences to a bow-tie model and see what can be done to mitigate them.Our hazardous event is in the middle and is piracy or armed robbery. On the left hand side are threats that we are trying to prevent, while on the right are potential consequences from which we are trying to recover.Threats Pirates approach vessel, fire on vessel, board vessel and hijack vessel.Consequences crew under stress due to pirates approaching, crew injured/killed due to weapons use, crew in citadel under physical/mental stress and crew held for ransom.Mitigating factors and I realize these are very general Pirates approach vessel early detection and appearing to be a hard target keyPirates fire at vessel non-lethal/lethal means as warranted crew in citadelPirates board vessel lethal means all exterior entrances locked no crew available for hostagePirates hijack vessel Crew disables vessel/hunkers down in safe roomCrew under stress Have a well drilled plan keep crew informedCrew injured/killed due to weapons use minimize crew on bridge/protective gearCrew in citadel under mental/physical stress supplies for prolonged stay/good communications with shoreside/naval personnelCrew held for ransom preplanned company/flag state response

9 Control measures in place to mitigate risk of piracyBMP-4 (Best Management Practices, Version 4) from UKMTORazor wire / fire hoses / dummiesEstablish citadelNon-lethal means LRAD, laser, searchlightsArmed SecurityHave a robust security planDrill the plan frequently and realistically so that all crewmembers are familiar with it

Control measures for mitigating risk of piracy Make yourself a hard target Best Management Practices 4th edition (BMP-4) is an excellent place to start. Razor wire/dummies/fire hoses/citadelNon-lethal measures searchlights, lasers, LRADsArmed security Many factors, which I will be happy to discussRobust and well drilled security plan

10How has piracy changed us?I know Im paranoid, but am I paranoid enough?Chronic unease is a term I first heard a couple of years ago which describes our situation pretty well, but probably applies to all mariners. Its a form of ongoing risk analysis, but is a possible fatigue issue.Watch in open ocean used to be a place to catch up on paperwork, correct charts, etc. Not anymore. This has caused the mates daily work hours to rise.BMP-4 talks of keeping minimal people on deck in high risk waters. As we are always there, we must modify our behavior/workload to keep people safe.

I know Im paranoid, but am I paranoid enough? is a phrase I use a lot in jest, but as with a lot of jokes, theres some truth there are we as concerned as we should be in different situations? Is there something that we are missing?Chronic unease is a term I first heard a couple of years ago which describes our situation pretty well, but probably applies to all mariners. Its a form of ongoing risk analysis, but is a possible fatigue issue.Going back to the 6-12 minutes you have to detect pirates approaching, we really try to have our heads on a swivel, to the extent that even when Im having a conversation on the bridge, I force myself to walk around and keep a 360 degree lookout. Unfortunately, Ive found myself at home at places such as my daughters swim meet, where while talking to other parents find myself looking around and realize that this habit is a carryover from bridge watches. Watch in open ocean used to be a place to catch up on paperwork, correct charts, etc. Not anymore. This has caused the mates daily work hours to rise. We are lucky on this run that we are able to adapt without too many problems.BMP-4 talks of keeping minimal people on deck in high risk waters. As we are always there, we must modify our behavior/workload to keep people safe.11How has piracy changed us? (continued)Areas that used to be safe havens arent anymore.Explaining the vessels actions/reality of piracy situation to others in shipping industry is sometimes difficult.

Areas that used to be safe havens arent anymore. Safe havens used to include the anchorage in Salalah, Djibouti, drifting off Mombasa or inport Mombasa. While we never really relaxed in any of these spots, the hijacking of a tanker out of the Salalah anchorage, attempted and successful hijackings off Mombasa and the kidnapping of tourists out of beach hotels in Kenya create a world where there are no safe havens.Explaining the vessels actions/reality of piracy situation to others in shipping industry is sometimes difficult.After the attempted boarding in November 2009, I was back in the States and talking to a rather senior guy in the shipping industry. One of the questions I was asked was, Why did you shoot them before they got onboard? Sometimes it felt as if they didnt understand the severity of the issue or how fast events unfolded. Talking with other mariners it was also obvious that I was much more piracy-centric than those that only occasionally transited the area.12Reducing StressHave a robust anti-piracy/emergency plan.Drill the plan!Keep crew informed of situation.Good communications. Mariners need to discuss issues with family. If the mariner cannot reach family due to communications being disturbed - especially after a publicized event the company should contact families.Debrief crew after critical incident/piracy IAW IMP MSC.1/Circ. 1334 PIRACY AND ARMED ROBBERY AGAINST SHIPS - Guidance to ship owners and ship operators, shipmasters and crews on preventing and suppressing acts of piracy and armed robbery against shipsHave a robust anti-piracy/emergency plan.Drill the plan!Drill like it was the real thing whether piracy, fire, emergency or abandon ship drills. If you do it during the drill, you are going to do it in real life. If you constantly gloss over areas during drills, they will not be taken care of during the real thing.Keep crew informed of situation. Making sure the crew - especially the top 4 understand the current threats/area you are operating in goes a long way towards keeping them engaged and reduces stress.Good communications. Mariners need to discuss issues with family. If the mariner cannot reach family due to communications being disturbed - especially after a publicized event the company should contact families.Debrief crew after critical incident/piracy IAW IMP MSC.1/Circ. 1334 PIRACY AND ARMED ROBBERY AGAINST SHIPS - Guidance to ship owners and ship operators, shipmasters and crews on preventing and suppressing acts of piracy and armed robbery against shipsCAVEAT : ALL OF THE STRESSES DISCUSSED AND MITIGATED REFER TO A SUCCESSFUL ANTI-PIRACY EVENT. THE RESOURCES NECESSARY FOR DEALING WITH FORMER HOSTAGES AFTER ANY KIND OF A HIJACKING/RANSON EVENT WILL BE SIGNIFICANT. 13Thank you!Questions and/or comments