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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Chinese bulk carrier Yi Peng 3 remains stopped in the Danish Straits with a Navy patrol ship in close proximity. The vessel is suspected of being involved in the damage...
A day after the C-Lion1 and BCS subsea data cables in the Baltic Sea, connecting Finland and Germany as well as Sweden and Lithuania, were damaged, specifics of the incident remain unconfirmed.
The damaging of two undersea telecoms cables in the Baltic Sea should be presumed to be sabotage, Germany said on Tuesday, while Lithuania's armed forces boosted surveillance of its waters in response.
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