Navagear has been mostly silent on the piracy issue. For one thing, piracy just isn’t something most recreational boaters will ever encounter in their entire lives, newsworthy headline-making exceptions notwithstanding.
Second, Navagear has nothing worthwhile to say about it; if there’s one thing the world does NOT need, it’s more uninformed opinion by well-meaning folks who don’t know what they’re talking about!
But that doesn’t mean I’m not interested, so when Bob over at Boat Bits posted this item, I figured I would take a few minutes to see what these “best management practices” recommended:
The Maritime Security Centre, Horn of Africa has published a pamphlet "Best Management Practice 3: Piracy off the Coast of Somalia and Arabian Sea Area"…
Not exactly warm and fuzzy stuff but it just might come in handy if you plan to be in the area in the foreseeable future.You can download it here.
And you know what? This is a fascinating document! Here are a couple of highlights I found noteworthy. Please note: These are presented arbitrarily and out of context.
Define the ship’s AIS policy: The Master has the discretion to switch off the AIS if he believes that its use increases the ship’s vulnerability. To provide Naval forces with tracking information within the Gulf of Aden it is recommended that AIS transmission is left on, but is restricted to ship’s identity, position, course, speed, navigational status and safety-related information. Outside of the Gulf of Aden, in other parts of the High Risk Area, the decision on AIS policy is again left to the Master’s discretion, but current Naval advice is to turn it off completely.
If the AIS is switched off it should be activated at the time of an attack.
Where navigationally safe to do so, Masters are encouraged to practice manoeuvring their ships to establish which series of helm orders produce the most difficult sea conditions for pirate skiffs trying to attack, without causing a significant reduction in the ship’s speed.
Pirates generally board vessels with little in the way of equipment other than personal weaponry. It is important to try to deny pirates the use of ship’s tools or equipment that may be used to gain entry into the superstructure of the vessel. Tools and equipment that may be of use to the pirates should be stored in a secure location.
Razor wire (also known as barbed tape) creates an effective barrier when carefully deployed. The barbs on the wire are designed to have a piercing and gripping action. Care should be taken when selecting appropriate razor wire as the quality (wire gauge and frequency of barbs) and type will vary considerably. Lower quality razor wire is likely to be less effective. Three main types of razor wire are commonly available – Unclipped (straight strand), Spiral (like a telephone cord) and Concertina (linked spirals). Concertina razor wire is recommended as the linked spirals make it the most effective barrier. Razor wire should be constructed of high tensile wire, which is difficult to cut with hand tools.
It is recommended that warning signs of the electrified fence or barrier are displayed – inward facing in English/language of the crew, outward facing in Somali.
