Anti-Piracy TTPs
(Tactics, Technology & Politics)
By Marianne Molchan, President of Molchan Marine Sciences & Commander Joseph Tenaglia, CEO of Tactical Defense Concepts
Who wasn't watching the events unfold with Maersk Alabama recently? For maritime security consultants, CDR Joe Tenaglia, USN (Ret.) and CDR Marianne Molchan (USNR) Ret, this was much more than a news story. In fact, as Maersk Alabama's story unfolded, Marianne's father was on the Tahitian Princess in the Gulf of Aden practicing piracy drills and the ship was being escorted through the area by the Combined Task Force (CTF 151). While his ship was being escorted, another group of pirates (separate from the Maersk Alabama) boarded a German cargo vessel in the area, but left the ship when they discovered it had relief supplies headed for Somalia. Every detail from the moment the pirates were spotted by the Maersk Alabama's crew until the pirates were taken out by the SEAL team provided a window into the complicated challenge of "self protection" while sailing the waters off East Africa. For Joe, the tales of Somalia piracy are not new. In August 2001 one of his friends served as a second engineer on a research vessel off the coast of Somalia. His vessel was attacked by pirates. The unfortunate part of the tale is while underway for Somalia, the union provided a security consultant to help prepare the vessel for known threats. The second engineer was performing the duties of vessel security officer. The Master decided the security preparations were not necessary and bilged the consultant, the second engineer, and the makeshift weapons (bats, Molotov cocktails, plans, etc.) they had fabricated. As fate would have it, days later the vessel faced pirates firing AK47's and rocket propelled grenades. Since the vessel was unprepared, the scene was one of confusion and panic. While being raked by gunfire and experiencing near miss explosions by the RPG's, the actions of the second engineer and a few crewmen saved both the ship and the lives
20 MTR
of the crew. They dropped the survey gear and pushed the vessel to maximum speed while sheltering the passengers. On several occasions the pirates attempted to board but were thwarted by healing the ship. The aftermath produced a great deal of dissension and friction amongst the crew and embarked scientists, as each took sides concerning the lack of preparation and the response of some of the crew. The event provided the impetus and motivation for the formation of Tenaglia's company, Tactical Defense Concepts, simultaneous to the implementation of the ISPS and MTSA requirements for vessel security.
Keeping Track
More than 30,000 vessels transit the Gulf of Aden annually. Between January and May 2009, the International Maritime Bureau Piracy Reporting Center reported nearly 100 attempted attacks on merchant vessels, 27 of which were successful. Even more surprising is the fact that the number of piracy events in the Gulf of Aden for 2009 has surpassed all piracy events in that region in 2008. Somalia has been without a functioning national government for 14 years, when the country received its independence from Italy. During the 1990s, a group of Saudieducated, Wahhabi militants arrived in Somalia with the aim of creating an Islamic state in this African country. Also, Al-Qaeda reportedly established an operations base and training camp. The transitional parliament created in 2004, has failed to end the devastating anarchy. The impoverished people who live in the ruined capital of Mogadishu have witnessed Al-Qaeda operatives, Jihadi extremists, Ethiopian security services and Westernbacked counter-terrorism agents engaged in a continued war. Since 2003, Somalia has witnessed the growth of a
June 2009
You don't have Macromedia Flash Player installed.
This content requires the Macromedia Flash Player.
Get Flash
Text to Image
www.marinelink.com