IMO Conventions

3. systems and networks, such as electrical distribution systems, radio and telecommunication systems and computer systems and networks;

4. port vessel traffic management systems and aids to navigation;

5. power plants, cargo transfer piping and water supplies;

6. bridges, railways and roads;

7. port service vessels, including pilot boats, tugs, lighters, etc.;

8. security and surveillance equipment and systems;

9. and the waters adjacent to the port facility.

3. Question: How many Officers shall be in charge of security of a port facility?

Answer:

Chapter XI-2 SOLAS-74 and ISPS Code does not determine a number of officers in charge of security of a port facility, it should be determined by the management of a company.

It is recommended to designate at least one Security Officer who does not perform any other duties except for those related to security.

SHIPS

4. Question: Can Company Security Officers participate in Security Assessment and development of Security Plans?

  Answer:                                                                                                                 

Training courses, organized in special maritime institutions of the Ministry of Transport of Russia offer theoretical knowledge and practical skills for assessments of security and development of Security Plans, which qualifies them to participate in works with mandatory engagement of experts from specialized institutions, admitted by the Ministry of Transport of Russia to performance of works.

5. Question: Can a shipping company independently perform a ship security assessment and develop a security plan?

Answer:

According to the provisions of the ISPS Code, items 8.2, 8.3 of Part A and 8.2 of Part B, a company officer shall ensure that activities related to the assessment of security are performed by properly quantified personnel. This does not allow for an independent performance of such works without participation of experts, who qualify the requirements set by Item 8.4, Part B of the ISPS Code.

6. Question: Who determines security levels at maritime transport objects?

Answer:

According to Item 4.1, Part А of the ISPS Code, the security level for maritime transport objects shall be established by the Contracting Government. The following factors shall be considered for establishment of an appropriate security level:

- the degree of reliability of the source of information related to the threat;

- the degree of reliability of information related to the threat;

- the degree of comprehensiveness of information related to the threat or the degree of inevitability of the threat;

- potential consequences of such event.

7. Question: Who can demand filling in the Security Declaration?

Answer:

According to the Par.5.2, Part А of the ISPS Code, a ship may demand filling in the Security Declaration provided that:

1. the ship is operated with a higher security level than a port facility or another ship with which it interacts;

2. the Contracted Governments are the parties of an Agreement on Security Declaration related to certain international routes or ships engaged on such routes;

3. there is a threat of security breach or there was an incident related to a ship or a port facility security breach - depending on the incident;

4. a ship is located in such port, in which presence of an approved port facility security plan is not mandatory;

5.a ship interacts with such another ship, for which presence of an approved ship security plan is not mandatory.

 

Home task.

 

1. Translate the following words and word combinations into Russian.

IMB – International Maritime Bureau, allegedly, to hijack, highlight, to praise, to tip off, risk-prone area, to recover, to witness, mother ship, to decline, law enforcement patrol, intelligence-led action, swift join action.

 

2. Translate the text.

 

Piracy attacks fall but hostage taking soars

 

A total of 440 crew members were taken hostage in piracy attacks reported to the International Maritime Bureau last year. This was the highest figure since the bureau started compiling statistics in 1992. No crew were killed, however, though 12 were still missing when the 1MB published its annual report recently.

On the positive side, worldwide piracy attacks declined from 329 in 2004 to 276 last year - the lowest figure since 1999.

The welcome drop in attacks is attributed to avoiding action by shipmasters in risk-prone areas, coupled with an increase in law enforcement patrols. The 1MB praises Indonesian authorities in particular for stepping up their efforts to defeat piracy. This came largely by way of Operation Gurita, a show of force in known hot spots, it says, and several intelligence-led actions that resulted in gangs of pirates being caught and several small vessels being recovered.

An example of the effectiveness of swift joint action by law enforcement agencies from several countries in the region is provided by the recovery of the tanker Steadfast at the end of last year. The vessel was seized shortly after leaving Indonesia; the ship’s managers alerted the 1MB, which in turn tipped off Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore and Indonesia, all of which were ready to arrest the vessel if it entered their waters. Eventually, the pirates were forced to abandon the tanker.

According to 1MB figures for last year, attacks in Indonesian waters fell from 94 to 79, though they still account for nearly 30 per cent of all reported assaults. There was a big drop, too, in the Malacca Strait - down to 12 from 38 in 2004.

Other countries which witnessed a fall were Malaysia, Thailand, Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Haiti Nigeria and Guinea.

However, Somalia and Iraq saw a serious increase in pirate activity in their waters during the year. Somalia, now largely in the hands of warlords, recorded 35 attacks, against just two the year before.

The 1MB report does note, however, that the frequency of attacks off Somalia showed signs of decreasing towards the end of the year after the presence of foreign naval vessels was stepped up. Britain, for example, has deployed an assault ship on a seven-month operation to help secure trade routes in the Gulf and off the Horn of Africa.

The US navy has also been active in the region. Its destroyer USS Winston S Churchill recently handed over a number of suspected Somali pirates to the Kenyan authorities after intercepting an Indian-crewed dhow allegedly hijacked and used to launch attacks on other shipping. The dhow was pursued by the warship which eventually forced it to stop after firing warning shots.

Attacks go on, however. Only a day after the US incident the cargoship Al Manara was hijacked off Somalia and its crew held hostage. And a so-called "mother ship" was used to launch speedboats carrying armed men in another attempted hijack. This time, despite being fired on with machine guns, the target vessel managed to escape.

Meanwhile, Iraq has emerged as a new piracy hot spot, according to the IMB's annual report. Ten assaults were recorded in its waters, compared with none the year before. The report highlights one against an LPG tanker at anchor in which three pirates armed with machine guns boarded and held the master and second officer at gunpoint. One of the gunmen fired a shot which narrowly missed the master before forcing him to open the ship's safe. In other cases crew members were seriously assaulted and injured.

 

3. Remember the words:

1. hostage – заложник
2. to attribute – относить к
3. enforcement – принуждение
4. to seize – схватить, налагать арест
5. to tip off – давать честную информацию, передавать ценные сведения
6. to abandon – покидать
7. to witness – быть свидетелем
8. to deploy – развертывать, размещать
9. intercepting – перехват, прерывание, приостановка
10. assault – вооруженное нападение, атака, штурм, приступ

 

4. Translate the questions into English and answer them:

1. Какие районы мирового океана являются опасными для судоходства?
2. Кто может осуществить захват пиратских судов?
3. Где рекомендуется держать ценности?
4. Рекомендуется ли оказывать сопротивление пиратам?
5. Почему рекомендуется закрывать иллюминаторы и доступы во внутренние зоны судна?

 

5. Translate into English.

Существует   специальный   сигнал   для   использования судном, подвергшимся атаке или угрозе атаке пиратов или вооруженных грабителей.

«Нападение  пиратов/вооруженных грабителей»  является категорией сообщений о  бедствии для всех классов аппаратуры ЦИВ (DSC), а ИНМАР-САТ добавил сообщение о пиратстве в меню ИНМАРСАТ-С для ГМССБ.

Для собственной безопасности, суда могут  скрыто передать сообщение «нападение пиратов/вооруженных грабителей».

Когда спасательно-координационному центру (RCC) станет известно о такой ситуации, он сообщит соответствующим службам.

Если  судно скрытно посылает сообщение, то необходимо соблюдать осторожность в отношении ответных сообщений, посылаемых на судно, чтобы не насторожить  пиратов.

Существует  две различающихся ситуации при  нападении пиратов или вооруженных  грабителей:

- пираты обнаружены судовым персоналом до того, как они поднялись на борт;

-  пираты поднялись на борт незамеченными, взяли заложников и угрожают насилием или смертью экипажу судна.

Обычно  пираты приказывают судну не вести  никакие радиопередачи, угрожая  дальнейшим насилием.

 

Lesson 4.

 

Homereading.

 

1. Переведите на русский язык следующие словосочетания.

Seagoing pirates, a spate of attacks, highly profitable, grinding poverty, violent free-for-all,

important considerations, the most troubling type, untraceable cargos, look-outs forward,

unsuccessful attempts.

 

2. Прочитайте и переведите текст.

High sea piracy.

       There have been seagoing pirates throughout history — from plundering Vikings to 17th-century raiders who pillaged Spanish galleons.  In recent years, a spate of attacks off the Horn of Africa has shown that piracy can still be highly profitable as well as dangerous.

       In Somalia, a country of grinding poverty and internal chaos, the pirate economy is booming. The piracy is an extension of the corrupt, violent free-for-all that has raged on land since the central government imploded in 1991. It has turned the waters into the most dangerous shipping lanes in the world.

      You have been trained to believe in PIRATES as part of the wild wind of adventure --

Here is the deadly modern reality --15 merchants vessels highjacked by pirates; 138 merchant vessels boarded by pirates; 11 merchant vessels fired upon by pirates, 35 merchant crew members badly injured; over 400 merchant crew members taken hostage by pirates; and over 75 merchant crew members murdered in cold blood.

       But those figures are for 1998. Murder, rape, mutilation, robbery and a host of other crimes by depraved, blood thirsty pirates without pity only got worse in 1999 and 2000. This year alone the increase may be as much as 60%.

Increddible Increase In Year 2000

April 15 2001 Special Note: Sea piracy jumped 57% worldwide in Year 2000 with Indonesian waters recording the highest number of attacks. (Source:IMB)

       About the 202 pirates incidents from 1998. These were followed in 1999 by about 309 incidents. This year through September alone, there were 337 attacks by some estimates. But even these numbers don't include another 3,000 incidents involving yachts and small boats. The problem is serious, but one that for some reason you will never hear about on the evening news.

 

WHAT IS PIRACY?

       So piracy is back and it's bad -- but exactly what is it? According to the International Maritime Bureau the definition is:

"Piracy is the act of boarding any vessel with an intent to commit theft or any other crime, and with an intent or capacity to use force in furtherance of that act."

       In order to distinguish it from simple highjacking, a piracy crime requires that two vessels are involved in the incident. The second requirement is that the crime has been undertaken for private, not political purposes. These can be important considerations when determining coverage under a policy of marine cargo insurance.

WHERE IS PIRACY?

So where are the international danger areas?

       Piracy is often referred to as a "movable crime" because new hot spots tend to pop up all the time while other locations return to relative peace.

       One thing for sure, for some time now the 2 most dangerous areas without peer are on either side of the Strait of Malacca, between Malaysia on one side and the Indonesian Island of Sumatra on the other. This is the main ocean highway from Asia to Europe, used by 50,000 ships per year.

       The Number 3 area of concern is Bangladesh. There is even a "General Warning" now in effect for pirates in the area of Port Chittagong.

       India ranks the 4th in the world, where current government regulations restrict sailing to daylight operations only due to pirate activity.

       Having been in 1st place at times during the 1990s, Brazil remains a particular hotbed of pirate activity.

1999 - 2000 Not Much Change By Region To Present

Other areas of concern include:

The Philippines; The Arabian Peninsula; The West African Coast; The Coasts of Venezuela & Columbia.

 

TYPES OF PIRATES

       There are generally three categories of pirates.

1. The first type of pirate is your standard issue low-life criminal. These are scum who find it more expedient to just steal your finger, instead of taking the time to remove your ring.
2. The second pirate type is a more sophisticated organized crime group such as the five gangs thought to control a significant percentage of piracy in Southeast Asia or one of the several triads believed to control this crime in China.
3. The third and perhaps the most troubling type is the "Semi-Official Military Pirate," examples of which have been seen in China, Indonesia & Somalia and elsewhere.

 

TYPES OF PIRATE ATTACKS

How do pirates do it?

There are essentially three types of pirate attacks.

1. The most common type of attack is where pirates board the merchant vessel, rob the crew and escape. These raids on merchant crews are understood to yield an average US$20,000 haul. Considerable cash is commonly held in a merchant ship's safe for payment port charges and payroll fees.

       To quote the master of the freighter M/V Bonsella whose vessel was attacked by 26 Somali pirates off the northeastern tip of Somalia last year:

"I told them that we didn't have any money, but the General of the Somali coastguard cocked his pistol and pointed it by my head saying:

'Captain, no ship travels without money. Do you really want to lose your life just as I am about to set your ship free?"

       That pirate highjacking lasted five days while the M/V Bonsella was used in several unsuccessful attempts to board other vessels in the area. The problem was the Bonsella was just too slow, for pirate work so its cargo of first aid medicine was simply stripped from vessel, along with everything else that could be carried off. At least the crew was spared.

2. The second type of pirate attack is a more ambitious one where pirates not only rob the crew but steal the cargo. While simple robbery crimes normally employ pirate crews of 6 to 7 men, gangs of 70 or more may fall upon a merchant vessel when it's cargo that they are after.

       Unless the pirate gang is very sophisticated, untraceable cargos are preferred such as timber, wire, metal & minerals.

       The time of attack is almost always between 1:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. During those hours, most of the crew is either asleep, on the bridge or below decks in noisy engine spaces. Little attention is paid to the sound of grappling hooks thrown over the stern. Even a vessel making over 17 knots is not safe from expert pirates who come along side at high speed and board in seconds.

       Because vessels focus their attention and look-outs forward for navigation ahead, pirates almost always approach and board from the stern.

       These can be pretty sophisticated thugs, using radar and global positioning systems to track their prey. Modern pirates have even been known to carry computer generated cargo manifests which have been obtained in advance for later use during machine gun enforced "shopping sprees."

       But with profits from stolen cargo ranging well into the millions of dollars per vessel, pirates can well afford the luxuries of both new technology and proper planning. One favorite scheme is for pirates to literally interview their intended victims at port and then radio ahead to the pirate ship at sea when the time for attack approaches.

3. Another trick is a new twist on what I call the "Little Mermaid" concept. Pirates using prostitutes for luring crews into what I would call "submission" so that their vessel might be more easily attacked and taken.

The facts of each attack may be different, and increasingly more innovative, but escape is always easy -- because help for the merchant vessel is not "just around the corner." Frequently the pirates even monitor communications so that further punishment can be meted out to victims who might make a "May Day" or distress call.

WHY NOT ARM THE MERCHANT VESSELS?

       So why can't we just forget about all the reporting centers, Gurkhas and new laws &endash; and just arm the merchant ships &endash; and blow these pirates away before they board!!

       The fact is &endash; most nations including "Her Majesty" have placed an outright ban on arming merchant vessels in order to avoid creating the "Wild Wild West At Sea."

       The fear is that use of guns by crew members could easily escalate both the violence of these attacks and the harshness of pirate reprisals. Worse, shooting the "wrong pirate" could cause political, military or legal problems that are simply impossible to solve. More, you can't even use a cell phone or walkie-talkie on a tanker for fear for making a spark which might explode the vessel, so imagine the problem of firearms!