Maritime Protection Services

We offer a full and comprehensive maritime security and risk consultancy service.

We have extensive knowledge and experience in providing commercial and private maritime vessel protection in both armed and un-armed anti-piracy solutions and also provide risk management and crew training services to the maritime industry.

Our operational task managers and employees have extensive commercial maritime and previous military experience in both operational and organisational capacity many are maritime specialists or ex Special Forces personnel , we select only suitable people with the right mix of skills, competences and aptitude for building trust and important professional working relationships with a ship’s captain and crew.

We generally provide a risk advisors armed or unarmed maritime security teams to commercial vessels , private yachts , ports and mariners predominantly in East Africa, the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. We operate in accordance with international and maritime law and adhere to strict rules of engagement when using firearms.

A typical maritime security operations team would consist of an advisor / team leader and either two or three maritime security officers, that provide bespoke security requirements for a vessel and its crew which often includes hardening the exterior and designated interior areas of a ship in accordance to the MCA ,BMP4 guidelines, training for the crew and undertaking anti-piracy drills in keeping with the latest advice from UKMTO and IMO.

All of our operational staff understand the specifics of ship security, the vessel structure and layout, ISPS code, have passed an MCA accredited Ship Security Officer course (SSO) along with formal anti-piracy training.

We operate in line and comply with these industry regulating bodies:

• Best Management Practices Four (BMP 4)
• Maritime Coastguard Agency (MCA) Notice to Mariners (NTM)
• United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
• Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS)
• International Flag and Port state regulations
• International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Guidelines
• International Code of Conduct (ICoC)

Our bespoke to your requirements on-board Protection teams essentially deploy to a port or marina of your choosing will give risk and vessel protective hardening measures advice , train the master and crew in anti-piracy drills and will sail with your ship through the High Risk Areas armed or un-armed giving real time protection and risk advice en-route. We routinely embark or disembark vessels out of the high-risk areas in the following countries:

Lat 18-20N
Oman (Salalah and Muscat)
Fujairah (25N)
Sri Lanka (Galle)
Djibouti (17N Redsea)
Maldives
Madagascar (Toliara, Mahajanga, Taolagnaro)
Mauritius (Port Louis)
South Africa (Durban and Richard’s Bay)
Comoros Islands
Tanzania
Kenya
Yemen
Port Sudan

ARMED SECURITY TEAMS

Once on board your vessel our armed security teams of usually three or four will use their experience and skills to train the ship’s crew and advise on the best upgrading of physical defences on the vessel after carrying out a comprehensive ship security survey to identify any vulnerable areas.

The team will provide a visible deterrent to pirates, bolster the confidence of crew and provide specialist armed vessel security cover , keeping a 24/7 anti-piracy watch to defend the vessel in the event of an attack, this dramatically reduces the risk of pirates successfully getting on board and removes the crew from the firing line.
Our teams are well equipped to defend a ship and it’s crew:

• kevlar body armour and helmet
• ISPO trained
• battle trauma trained
• 62mm calibre weapons with optical sights
• night visual aids
• satellite phone
• binoculars
• first aid pack

UN-ARMED SECURITY TEAMS

This security option generally applies to vessels that can attain a speed of 18 kts.

Our un-armed security teams make a valuable difference to the morale and confidence of the crew and also the difference between vessels being hijacked or attacks thwarted. Despite having no firearms on board, there are a number of sophisticated, successful and proven methods that we can utilise to harden and defend the vessel from unwanted attention. We regularly supply unarmed guards as an anti-piracy solution on many commercial transits and super yachts. We currently have two models of operation:

1. an unarmed team of two or three highly experienced maritime security operatives who will:

• assist in hardening a vessel
• advise on anti-piracy training, evasive procedures and crew drills
• prepare a safe room and appropriate communications systems

2.  advise the captain and crew on all aspects of security

• audit the ship’s security procedures
• oversee anti-piracy training for transits in high risk areas
• supervise crew watches and drills
• assist with gathering and interpreting operational intelligence

SUPER YACHT SECURITY SERVICES

Unlike the Gulf of Aden, where coalition navy ships patrol to defend commercial shipping against Somali piracy, the Gulf of Guinea has little in the way of foreign naval assets. Stretching from Guinea on Africa’s north western tip down to Angola in the south, the Gulf of Guinea spans a dozen countries and is a growing source of oil and metals to the world’s markets.

In some locations piracy frequency has hit the same levels as seen off Somalia’s coast, analysts say pirates have spotted a window of opportunity with weak local maritime security structures and a rough coastline, which offers natural hideouts from which to mount attacks.

The Gulf of Guinea is already home to insurgency in the Niger Delta where they routinely attack oil facilities. Recent statistics have proved that attacks by gunmen operating in the mangrove-lined creeks of Nigeria’s Niger Delta have slashed Nigeria’s oil output by over 20 per-cent and, according to specialists, driven the annual cost of oil services-related security there to US$3.5 billion.

60 per-cent of vessels that are attacked in the Gulf of Guinea do not report them to the authorities, moreover, the fact that a distress call will not elicit a rescue by a Western warship is seen to dissuade many ship owners from reporting an attack, fearing the unwanted side-effect of seeing their insurance premiums rise.
Our security teams have worked in pirate waters all over the Gulf of Guinea, the presence of an experienced armed or un-armed security team makes a valuable difference to the morale and confidence of the crew and also the difference between vessels being hijacked or attacks thwarted.

Because of the political situation and tensions in some of the Gulf of Guinea states , it is not possible for western European personnel to carry firearms in some of these locations, we have two options for this eventuality .

1. an unarmed team of two or three highly experienced maritime security operatives will board the vessel
2. assist in hardening a vessel
3. advise on anti-piracy training, evasive procedures and crew drills
4. prepare a safe room and appropriate communications systems

OR

1. an unarmed team of two highly experienced maritime security operatives will board the vessel
2. assist in hardening a vessel
3. advise on anti-piracy training, evasive procedures and crew drills
4. prepare a safe room and appropriate communications systems
5. Train and operational administer an armed West African detachment of guards for the duration whilst in the relevant coastal waters ( This option is tried and tested but is administration intensive and costs. )

We can provide Armed security teams at these ports in the Gulf of Guinea:

• Togo (Lome)
• Nigeria (Lagos, Warri, Bonny and Port Harcourt)
• Benin (Cotonou)

And we can provide Unarmed security teams at these ports in the Gulf of Guinea:

• Senegal (Dakar)
• Cote D’ivoire (Abidjan)
• Ghana (Tema and Accra)
• Namibia (Walvis Bay)
• Sao Tome

In summery our company aim is to provide best practice standards of service which meets and exceeds our client’s requirements.

Our range of professional maritime protection services, ensure that your vessels , cargo and crew have safe passage anywhere in the world, offering a full and varied compliment of security services designed to help train your crews and protect your vessels. Our services include risk assessments, armed and unarmed services.

Our teams of hand-picked professionally qualified advisers, and maritime protection officers have extensive previous maritime risk management experience.

The world at this present time and geopolitical and financial situation are seeing more and more areas of challenge for commercial maritime operations that continue to operate in difficult economic circumstances alongside the rapid expansion of pirate activity in the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea we believe there is more than ever a need for well managed private maritime protection services and to those ends offer our services in mitigation to the safety and security of your maritime operations and assets.