shipping in south africa

Our involvement in shipping is securing the vessel and crew during transit, but I am interested to learn other parts of the shipping business.

I am a International co-ordinator for a household removal company and would like to know more about shipping eg. our freight forwarder is Safcorpanalpina who books our containers. I would like to know more of what there processes are and in general learn more about shipping. I have been in this industry for 16 months and thourougly enjoy what I do. This is totally different to what I was doing before and don;t think that there is any other Job as exciting, pressurised and each move is different every day,

Please give me some ideas on the topics you would like to discuss in relation to piracy and I will be happy to address them. With exception of the political aspects as am not a government person, just a person involved with anti piracy operations globally.

Firearms or no firearms? It’s the wrong question.
Proponents and opponents of arming ships against pirate attack may be asking the wrong questions suggests Mike Murrell, director of operations for anti-piracy specialist International Ships Support Group, ISSG. The company recently extended its logistics support system to key points to enable its eight-man teams to embark and disembark vessels approaching areas presenting high threat levels of pirate attacks.

Complex legal issues surround the presence of firearms on ships while the effectiveness of non-lethal defense systems has recently been brought into question. Murrell, whose company uses its own specially designed deterrence systems, believes that a different approach is needed to meet the concerns of shipping companies, flag states, P&I Clubs and seafarers’ organizations.

Says Murrell: “Pirates don’t seem to be too afraid of gunfire. Apart from still unresolved legal issues about firearms having a highly visible armed team on deck gives the pirates a more concentrated target, which, if neutralized, gives the vessel no other options. If you engage the aggressor too early you end up with a firefight rather that ship defense. In fact it can actually invite pirates to attack even more fiercely if they believe that armed protection indicates a high-value cargo worth dying for. And let’s face it, the last thing you want on oil, gas or chemical tanker is a firearm going off.

“High powered audio defense systems have a place but, as recent events have shown, they aren’t enough on their own and the equipment operators also become targets for the pirate firearms. But just because there are no guns onboard it doesn’t mean the ship is unarmed.“

The answer, says Murrell, is what he terms ‘less than lethal’ equipment, a sufficiently large and well-trained team and a calibrated response that provides the element of surprise should an attack take place. Much of the equipment has been designed or adapted by ISSG and is legal in almost all jurisdictions.

“We have a suite of protective devices that won’t set off too many alarms when our teams fly out to join a ship. In a sense, they don’t actually exist until the equipment is actually on the ship. This equipment will disable pirate skiffs and negate the pirate’s ability to continue an attack, when used by an appropriately trained team. Firearms come with an enormous cost burden so our decision to use less than lethal force has a significant impact on the cost of protection, and nobody has to be told how important that is in an industry badly hit by financial crises.”

ISSG deploys eight man teams, each member of which is a fully certified seafarer, including a medical officer. Says Murrell: “If you’re going to put someone onboard a ship, they have to understand ships and seafarers and their responsibilities as seafarers. If you put someone onboard a ship who isn’t a qualified seafarer you can run into all sorts of problems, some them legal, and they can become a danger to themselves and other seafarers.”

In the long term, piracy can only be resolved through economic, developmental and political means but it is something we have to learn to deal with, effectively and economically to protect seafarers, their ships, and the industry.”

For further information contact: admin@issg-seamarshals.com

Just discovered this site today.I am new to the shipping industry and would like to be updated on recent development in the shipping indusrty.

I own a clearing and forwarding business and am looking for network opportunities on a global scale. any advise as to where the best conferences are to attend?

I will try to get a couple things into you soon, just have been a bit busy lately.

Regards to all

HI!

Great site indeed! I’ve always wanted to be in freight industry as a sales executive please help on how i should go about. Currently forex sales consultant ( 7yrs exp ).

Regards
Greg

Our company ships internationally on a daily basis. I would be happy to comment on your blog posts if I have any insight.

The issues we hear is insuring through high risk (hijacking) areas. Maybe a clarification for all to help muddle through this stick issue?

ISSG Holdings, Ltd. and Evolutionary Security Management, Inc. have developed an unparalleled anti-piracy vessel survey program for the maritime industry. This survey is conducted in two parts. First we send a trained security surveyor to your vessel, anywhere in the world to conduct the survey without interrupting the ships schedule. The report of the security survey is then transmitted to Evolutionary Security Management, Inc. in Canada, where an exhaustive assessment is conducted, and report issued back to the company.

Being appropriately prepared for an attack by pirates requires an approach that is based on sound judgment and analysis. The approach put forward in this program is intended to meet that goal while clearly demonstrating the company’s alignment with Section 29 of MSC 1333 put forward by the IMO in June 2009 and other elements of the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code. While the IMO’s guidance is indicated as being a preferred practice, it can be construed, given the maritime culture, as a best practice for companies seeking to demonstrate that they are exercising their due diligence. This approach is further supported by security doctrine that has undergone a peer review to ensure its soundness and consistency with security doctrine and practices.

Theory:
The three following cycles play pivotal roles in the defence of the vessel:

1. Protection, detection, response and recovery;

2. Deter, detect, delay, deny and detain or destroy; and

3. Mitigation, preparation, response and recovery.

In the first cycle, the goal is for the vessel to be able to be adequately hardened against reasonably foreseeable threats. Having been hardened, the next goal is for the vessel to be able to detect and respond to threats effectively. Finally, infrastructure should be included that allows for the vessel to recover from a range of known impacts.

In the second cycle, the focus is on the security operations of the vessel. In this case, the hardening of the vessel and other activities ideally deter the attacker. If this is not possible, however, the goal is for the vessel to be able to detect and delay the attacker from boarding the vessel (and progressively more sensitive areas) until help arrives. Finally, the goal is to be able to deny access to personnel , potential hostages, or critical aspects of the ship. Finally, the ship may want to maintain the means of being able to detain or destroy a potential attacker, although this option will rarely be acceptable.

In the third cycle, the goal is to take steps to minimize the potential impacts of an attack as part of the long-term corporate activities. The first cycle plays a significant role in the preparation of the vessel while the second cycle plays a significant role in the response phase. The final recovery phase ensures that the ship, its crew and the assets on board are protected so that normal operations can resume expeditiously.

The Approach:
There are four basic elements required in order to perform a valid survey of a vessel. These four elements are the following:

An understanding of the threat, including its knowledge, skills, abilities and traditional resources; ·

An understanding of the vessel from an engineering perspective; ·

An understanding of the operations of the vessel, particularly its navigation and how it deals with security events;

and · An understanding of the crew and its ability to respond.

Before setting out on the survey, the surveyor must review the threat profile of the potential threat in the area. Particular attention should be paid to the intent, number of craft, number of persons per craft, knowledge, skills, abilities, and resources (particularly weapons and tools) available to the attacker. This can often be provided through the Evolutionary Security website (marineweb). To get access to this web, you will need to contact
amcdougall@evolutionarysecurity.ca

The second element deals with how robust the vessel is or, in other terms, how well it is likely to withstand an attack. This is broken down into two sub-elements. The first element deals with the materials, engineering and design used in the construction of the vessel. This is a question of robustness. The second sub-element, however, looks at whether or not the design offers the attacker the means or opportunity to gradually penetrate onto the vessel, into the superstructure, and then to progressively more protected compartments.

While the second element deals with how well the ship can defend itself (a question of preparation), the third element looks at the elements of response and recovery. Having detected a suspicious vessel or potentially hostile situation, can the vessel outrun, outmaneuver, or otherwise navigate in such a way that it enhances the ship’s natural design features? This is the first sub-element. The second sub-element involves whether or not the ship has the necessary preparations, plans, procedures and testing completed to validate whether or not the infrastructure on board the vessel is working.

The final element of four involves the training and understanding of the crew. This is not part of the ship survey and fits more closely into an inspection under regulatory regimes, etc. We want, however, to remind the ship owner and operator that technology is only one piece of the challenge, the other is a capable and confident crew. Incident reports have borne out the conclusion that those that have solid plans and look like they know how to execute them have a reduced chance of being attacked over those that appear unprepared.

We believe that the Vessel Survey for Anti-Piracy Risk Assessment is vital in the maritime industry today. This program not only enhances the capability of the ship and crew to be prepared, but is one of the most cost effective ways for shipping companies to exercise due diligence and a sound security practice.

It is very important that shipping companies have up to date information in regards to the piracy situation. Piracy is a global issue, but for now seems to be focused in the Gulf of Aden. evolutionary Security Management Inc. of Canada is a partner in risk analysis and assessment with ISSG Holdings, Ltd. Allan Mcdougall produces a Bi-monthly Anti-Piracy assessment that can be found at;

http://www.issg-seamarshals.com/files/sep2009.pdf

This publication is issued for free to the maritime community.

MATS College of Technology, ISSG Holdings and Evolutionary Security Management are pleased to announce that they have reached a significant milestone in their efforts to support the seafarer community’s anti-piracy efforts through specialized practical anti-piracy training. The product of several months’ research and development, this training will provide seafarers with training that is specifically designed to meet this rising global challenge.

MATS College of Technology, a leading maritime training institution in the Philippines, has nearly forty years of history in training seafarers for the global maritime industry and is located within the city of Davao. Graduates from MATS College of Technology have often been found amongst the top graduates within the region.

ISSG Holdings, a specialized provider of ship security and high-risk transits, provides operational support and knowledge that will ensure that the training candidates receive encompasses the latest understanding of the operational environment. This is further refined through ISSG Holdings commitment to ensuring that the shipping industry receives both relevant and reliable ship security services, maintaining constant lines of communication with shipping companies, manning agencies and other supporting elements.

Evolutionary Security Management, a recognized training institution for maritime security based in Ontario, Canada, has been a leading research organization within the Transportation Security community with strong ties to first responder, professional security and asset protection associations. These include taking on leadership roles within those communities. The lines of communication into these professional associations ensure that the training provided to candidates aligns with best practices and sound security doctrine.

Located in Davao City, this course is easily accessible to the maritime and seafarer communities, taking into account the need for a cost-effective solution within the maritime industry. The vast majority of seafarers being drawn from this community mean that shipping companies and manning agencies are not burdened with the high travel and accommodation costs that are often encountered when attempting to coordinate specialized training in certain other parts of the globe. Concurrently, shipping companies and manning agencies have the option of having full crews undergo the training together, a practice that reinforces the crew’s ability to respond cohesively. Direct flights from Singapore, a major transportation hub, ensure that this training can be accessible across the global community.

By blending theoretical (classroom) and practical (on board vessel) training that culminates in a live practical exercise on board a vessel, this training is unique in its preparation of seafarers for real-world events. By building this capacity, this is the first course that balances the history and traditions of the professional merchant mariner with leading edge security practices and theory in a way that will have significant and cumulative benefits across the maritime industry. Full time courses are scheduled to start in mid November.