Updated: November 6, 2011 (Originally published November 2, 2011)
Who sends a ship to the waters off east Africa with a one-man, unarmed security force?
Apparently the Greek owners of the Chemical Tanker Liquid Velvet aren’t big fans of armed security teams on board their vessels. In their infinite wisdom, they assumed that the unarmed Australian “advisor” they hired could defend the ship against pirates with his bare hands.
The plan failed, and now the vessel’s Filipino crew and the Australian are in the hands of Somali terrorists.
I realize that quite a few shipping companies, and countries, out there have taken a hard line approach to this issue, one that is clearly working, but seriously, when is the rest of global shipping community going to realize that you can’t defend against AK-47s and RPGs with firehoses, loud horns, evasive maneuvers, and unarmed security teams? Comment in the Forum
***UPDATE*** The Security Advisor was Greek, however unconfirmed sources indicate he was working for an Australian security firm.
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