Piracy remains a serious threat to global maritime trade, requiring coordinated efforts from governments, navies, shipping companies, and international organizations.
What this session covered
This session takes the form of an interview: a NISSMAT host in conversation with a single guest, a maritime industry practitioner whose seagoing career ended in 2000, followed by 23 years of project work in the international marine industry and, since 2011, a global role covering health, safety, security and environment. The introduction noted that 10% of all sailors in the world are Indians. Asked about current trends, the speaker described piracy hotspots as including the Gulf of Guinea, Southeast Asia and the waters of Somalia, and said methods had moved from traditional hijacking towards kidnap for ransom. He assessed Somali waters as calmer over the last two to three years, and described a shift in the Gulf of Guinea away from the hijacking of tankers and cargo theft towards the kidnapping of crew members. Factors he associated with the reduction there included Nigerian elections, oil price increases and a Nigerian government initiative referred to as the Deep Blue project, alongside seasonal weather, with fewer incidents normally seen between April and October. The interviewer cited incident figures gathered from open online sources: 445 in 2010, 439 in 2011, 132 in 2021 and 115 in 2022, with a rise of 10% in the first nine months of 2023.
The discussion then turned to why particular areas are vulnerable. The speaker pointed to choke points where shipping concentrates, combined with political instability, socio-economic conditions and inadequate law enforcement in surrounding states, citing the Gulf of Aden and the Malacca Strait, and noting that incidents in the latter tend to be robbery rather than piracy. He drew a distinction between robbery, where property is taken and the attackers depart, and piracy, where crew may be held and ransoms demanded, and recalled that some seafarers were held for extended periods. On motivation, he described economic gain, political motives and insurgency, tracing the rise of Somali piracy to grievances among fishermen over foreign trawling and the absence of a functioning central government, with early proceeds reinvested in more sophisticated weapons and mother vessels. Countermeasures covered at length included naval escort convoys and transit corridors, established in collaboration between navies without charge to operators; vessel hardening with razor wire, water cannon, nozzles and turrets, and secured accommodation; citadels stocked with food, water, satellite telephones and camera feeds; acoustic deterrents; and armed guards, whose employment depended on flag-state approvals and vetting. The interviewer put to him that private maritime security companies were concentrated in the United Kingdom; in reply the speaker attributed this to the relative ease of arranging screening, police verification, visas and boarding logistics there. Where national requirements permit weapons aboard under controlled conditions, he described their storage in sealed lockers held in the master's possession; where a country does not allow that, he described the alternative of an escort boat carrying the weapons and armed personnel, with any guards aboard the vessel itself unarmed, an arrangement he considered to have worked well in the Gulf of Guinea. Floating armouries, raised by the interviewer as a development from 2010 off Sri Lanka and in the UAE area, were described as a cheaper alternative to keeping weapons ashore, and as now much reduced. Insurance arrangements discussed included higher premiums in designated high-risk areas, additional payments to crew, and separate kidnap and ransom cover.
On consequences, the speaker placed the human dimension first: crew morale, the psychological trauma suffered by those kidnapped, the support needed on their return, and the practice of respecting a seafarer's decision not to sail into a vulnerable area. Asked about seafarers whose contracts lapse while they are held, he referred to licensing requirements for manning companies and to seafarer unions, and said that in his experience such cases arose with substandard operators rather than standard ones. Commercially, he described route deviation, longer voyages and higher operating costs ultimately borne by customers. He set out how information sharing works, through incident reporting broadcast across fleets, commercial risk-intelligence providers under contract to operators, and coordination bodies. He said larger fleet operators may commission a risk assessment before fixing vessels for trade into vulnerable areas, and closed that point by urging risk assessment before entering such areas as a matter of course. The regulatory and guidance framework touched on included the ISPS code, which he noted originated after the events of September 2001 rather than in response to piracy, and the industry best management practices, which he described as having been revised through successive versions and as standing at a fifth version at the time of the discussion. He placed the origin of that guidance in the same period as a 2009 hijacking of a US-flagged vessel that, he said, drew international attention, and set that period alongside a series of United Nations Security Council resolutions addressing piracy off the Somali coast which, in his account, authorised naval forces to enter Somali territorial waters. The interviewer also raised the difficulties of overlapping national jurisdictions, referring to a past controversy in India concerning foreign personnel and weapons carried on board. Invited to close with two recommendations, the speaker urged owners to invest in detection and in measures that delay boarding, and argued that major maritime nations should work with local governments to improve socio-economic conditions in the coastal states adjacent to choke points.
Key points raised
- The session is a single-guest interview with a maritime industry practitioner, covering piracy trends, countermeasures at sea and the human cost to seafarers.
- The speaker described a shift in method from hijacking towards kidnap for ransom, with the Gulf of Guinea moving from tanker hijacking and cargo theft to crew kidnapping, and Somali waters assessed as calmer over the preceding two to three years.
- The speaker attributed vulnerability to choke points where shipping concentrates, combined with political instability, socio-economic conditions and weak law enforcement ashore.
- Ship-level measures discussed included hardening, citadels, water cannon and acoustic deterrents, naval escort convoys and transit corridors, and armed guards subject to flag-state approval and vetting, with weapons arrangements varying by national requirement.
- Commercial consequences described included high-risk area insurance premiums, separate kidnap and ransom cover, additional crew payments, route deviation and longer voyages.
- The closing recommendation was twofold: onboard technology that detects and delays boarding, and engagement by major maritime nations with coastal states on socio-economic conditions.
Session transcript
This transcript is auto-generated from the session recording and lightly edited for punctuation and readability; it may contain transcription errors. The video remains the authoritative record.
Read the full transcript
Welcome listeners to a crucial discussion by NISSMAT on safeguarding our seas from the perils of piracy. As waves carry immerse culture and life itself across the vast expanse of our oceans, the threat of piracy persists. Today we shall deep dive into the strategies, technologies, and international collaborations employed to ensure the protection of maritime trade routes. From the treacherous waters of the Gulf of Aden to the strategic choke points worldwide, we shall explore the evolving landscape of maritime security and the efforts made to secure our oceans against piracy. A point to remember here is that 10% of all sailors in the world are Indians.
We have with us Mr. Jazep Looney who is an expert on the maritime security. He's been in marine industry for the last 42 years. He started as an apprentice on a merchant ship in 1981 and got his first command of a ship in 1996. He hanged his sea boots in the year 2000. For the last 23 years, he's led and executed various projects in international marine industry. Since 2011, he's the global vice president technical of health, safety and security and environment of Tom Denmark. He also heads Storm Group in India. He has worked at various levels in the marine industry and contributed towards improving safety and security at sea.
I begin by asking Mr. Looney the first question. What are the current trends in piracy activity worldwide and how have they evolved over the recent years? Over to you Jesse.
Yeah, thank you Mr. Pan and thanks to NISSMAT for taking up this topic. It's very crucial for safety of life at sea. So coming back to, you know, what are the current trends — well, piracy trends vary, but hotspots include the Gulf of Guinea, Southeast Asia and waters of Somalia. The methods have evolved from a traditional hijacking to more sophisticated approaches today, and that includes kidnap for ransom. Historically several kidnappings, primarily between 2014 and 2021, were on the coast of Somalia. But what we have seen is in last 2 to 3 years, presently Somalian waters seems to be calm than what they were before.
In Gulf of Guinea there has been a shift from hijacking tankers, where they used to take the tankers, and to the cargo thefts. Now it is kidnapping of crew members. At present what we see is, due to Nigerian elections, oil prices increase, and Nigerian government has implemented deep blue project, with which that area is little less on the piracy, or little less incidents have happened. And of course always the seasonal weather impact also plays a role. So normally April to October we see lesser incidents. If I have to take the current trends in general, we see that piracy incidents have reduced worldwide.
That is so true. In fact, I've dug out some data from the internet. We said that in 2010, there were 445 incidents of piracy on the seas. In 2011, it came down to 439. 2021, it was 132. 2022 stepped further to 115, but in 2023 in the first 9 months it's gone up 10%.
Yes.
So this is the data that is there at this point of time on the internet. So can we just talk of what is deep blue project? Because we don't know actually what is deep blue project.
Perfect. So you know, I'll connect a little bit more onto deep blue project. So when Somalian piracy was at the peak, what we required at that time was that navies from that area become active, because they play a very active role when it comes to combating the pirates and also getting the situation under control. So in this area it was the EU forces which started patrolling, monitoring in the Indian Ocean, and a similar model started about two years back in Gulf of Guinea where the EU forces started putting their own navies to patrol the area, because there's a lot of activity from the European navies, European commercial navies, in that area. So with that the local governments in Nigeria, they also said, okay, we can do these things together, and they became active. So that is where there has been a funding — they have put some funds aside, there has been an international funding as well. So they said we will also start doing it on the similar lines. What we saw Indian Navy stepping up during the Somalian piracy, a similar thing what we are seeing also in Nigeria.
Now, how can you highlight the vulnerable areas for piracy and what would be the reasons for their vulnerability?
Yeah, sure. Vulnerable areas include all the choke points, and when we say choke points, you know, more number of ships, most vulnerable. And you know, if we look at Gulf of Aden, then it's around — one side is Yemen, the other side is Somalia, Djibouti. So that is a choke point where maximum shipping is passing, and as well as the countries around it have a political instability. There are socioeconomic factors and inadequate law enforcement. If we look at Malacca Strait, it is also narrow channels, but there also we see more of robbery than of piracy. So these are the choke points, what I said, where maximum shipping is moving and areas around it have a political instability.
Yes. JP, how would you differentiate between robbery and piracy?
Yeah, huge differences, you know. I mean robbery is they come, they rob and they run away. The piracy is moving more towards where they are kidnapping the person, taking it. There are ransoms being asked. For robbery, okay, they take whatever is on board and go away. While in the case of piracy, it's the ship, it's the environment, it's the safety of life at sea. So normally a robber will not harm an individual if he gets what is there, but that may not be the same in case of piracy. As well, the piracy, if you look at, you know, some of the hijackings and kidnappings — I mean there were some of the seafarers who were taken off almost for a year. They were kidnapped by the pirates.
What actually motivates a pirate?
While piracy, let me start with Somalia part of it. So it is mainly it's the economic gain, it is the political motives and sometime insurgency also. If I go back almost two decades back, around 2005 or so, that's the time we started seeing rise in Somali piracy. That means in that area there were fishermen who felt that, you know, their seas have been robbed by the bigger fishing boats, and they have taken away by the trawlers — they have taken away the fish from that area. There was a lack of functioning central government, and that was driving them towards socioeconomic part of it, and then that's the time it started rising. When it started rising, they could see that there was an immediate gain. And with that immediate gain, they've kept investing back in sophisticated weapons, and they had made mother vessels, and then a lot of groups entered into this, and then they were being like a control and command with the bigger groups.
Well, today we see that the piracy in Somalia is down, but a lot of effort has been put also on the shore side to settle the people there as well, to improve their life on the shores. That's if I see towards Somalia. Gulf of Guinea, Nigeria — that's again a different part. There is again one thing what is common in both the areas is lack of functioning governments in those areas.
Yes. JP, can you talk of, you know, like if there's a ship moving from place A to place B, what are the type of insurances that the ship carries to protect itself against the pirates who may come in and probably take the ship away or the crew away or something like that? What are the insurances that you carry at all times?
Yeah. So what started happening was that when the piracy was going really at the peak, and even now also in some areas, then high-risk areas were established. That means whenever a vessel entered in those high-risk areas, then the insurance premium was high. Then also was that, you know, some of the crew had the option of not going into those areas. If they said, well, we don't want to trade, we don't want to be in the ships where there is potential danger to them. So then we also took what is known as K&R — these are kidnapping and ransom insurance, which is a separate one. This K&R insurance was again which was kept quite secret, because these were, from here came in, if we had to settle or negotiate with the pirates. So all in all, high insurance premiums, making the HRA where you had to give crew an additional amount for the high-risk area they were operating in, as well as K&R insurance also clicked in at that time.
Which part of the world has the highest insurance levels — for example, if it's the Gulf of Guinea or the Gulf of Aden or the Indonesian waters?
Yeah, I think the highest so far I have seen is in the Somalian waters. But again, when we talk about insurance, then we also go into a different part with the geopolitical situations right now which are ongoing. So let's say if the vessel has to operate in Black Sea during the Ukraine Russia conflict, then the premiums will be even higher. So far we have seen the highest around the Somalian waters.
So, which means that the cost that is to be borne by the customer for moving their goods would become more expensive.
It will. So there will be direct cost and indirect cost, and it will also happen is that, you know, if I — when you're talking about the cost, then I can move into a little bit different — is that during the Somalian piracy it took a long time for some of the countries to put in the security guards on board, because as such the merchant naval vessels don't have the security guards on board, nor is the crew trained to operate any weapons. So we don't carry any weapons on board. So you had to employ security guards on board, but that took a lot of time, and the reasons for that was, when you are flying a flag of a country, that means there are certain checks, certain vettings to be done before the employment of the security guards on boat. So I can say, you know, some countries it took as much as — the security guards started boarding only in 2012. So that was also a cost to the owners and eventually going to the customers when they were operating in these areas.
That's so true. And then how do ships utilize the safe corridors and recommended transit routes to mitigate piracy? What is the methodology that you use to be able to comply with this instruction?
Yes, and it was very interesting part that how quickly these safe corridors — and normally, as you asked me earlier on the choke points, so these choke points where the safe corridors were set up. And the intention when it started was that some ships had the security guards and some did not have, because as per the regulations of the countries, the flag what they were flying. So these corridors were where they had the escort vessels from the navy when passing through that. So they will announce that, okay, there are convoys at this time and this time. So the ships reached those choke points at that particular time, and then it was also what speed you do, you know, what kind of vessel you are. So all that was put into, and then you said, okay, you will be joining this convoy and you'll be escorted by the patrolling vessels of the navies. And these were patrolled, monitored — they were reducing the risk of piracy. Gulf of Aden was where the corridor was set up, and actually it was very helpful during those choke points.
Did you have to pay to the navies for the escort duties, or it was just a safety precaution that countries took for their maritime activities?
No, we didn't have to pay to the navies for that. In fact, it was a collaboration between the various navies — EU navies, we had Indian navy, all of them — and they were running this in collaboration also. You know, if I take another leaf out of what was happening was that it was the energy security. If you had to give the gas shipments and the oil tankers and others which were passing, which was as it is, you know, quite risky and vulnerable to carry these cargos. So you were giving the energy security to the world by doing this. So it was absolutely very well done by the naval forces in that area.
When I was researching on this topic, what came up was that Indonesia, Somalia and Nigeria were the three locations where you had the highest number of piracy attacks.
Yes.
And whereas the Gulf of Aden, which we talk more of, did not figure in the topmost piracy locations.
Yeah. See, actually the maximum number — when we talk about, so far, Indonesian waters and all that have mainly been robberies. There have been very few hijackings. And why we talk, when we talk about Somalia and these areas, it picked up where, as you rightly said, you know, there were times when there were 20-25 ships under the control of pirates, and it was quite long till everything came under control. Gulf of Guinea has a different altogether — it's a different way of handling, or different area altogether. So when we talk about the piracy, it's actually things go in your mind is the Gulf of Aden and Somalian area.
Yeah, that is so right.
Yeah, because also, you know, here — if we look at the Gulf of Guinea, up till very recently, I'm talking about up to two-three years back or four years back, it was mainly for the cargo. They will take the vessel. They have changed to the kidnapping very recently. And that is not so when it comes to the Somalia — it was always people. So people were taken first, and you know, when we talk more about Somalia, always you are talking about safety of life at sea. So that's why Somalia is — we speak more about it.
There was a very interesting movie that was made, Captain Phillips. Did you know — was it fictional or is it real?
Yeah. See, there was — if we go back a couple of years back, when, you know, there was a vessel named Maersk Alabama, and that was way back in 2009 where the hijacking took place, and it was a US flag vessel, which drew significant international attention, and the ship captain was held hostage. But eventually that also brought in, you know, a lot of changes in the international legislation. So that led to where the United Nation Security Council passed several resolutions, including resolution 1851, which was aimed to address the piracy of the coast of Somalia. And these resolutions authorized the naval forces to enter Somalian territorial waters to combat piracy.
And very interesting also is that that is the time when the international chamber of shipping issued their first best management practices — today from that, version one or part one or the first version to number five. So where it has been revised as per what is required. That was also something for seafarers to use, or for the shipping industry to use, to safeguard. Again I repeat here is that seafarers were not trained to combat armed pirates. They were not trained to handle weapons. So the only thing what they had in their hand was the best management practice, which was first to delay, first was how you, with the evasive maneuvers and whatever measures you have taken, to stop them from boarding, and if they have boarded —
You just get across to that, but can you just highlight what are the best management practices and guidelines that was set out for you all to follow?
Yeah. So one of the major thing was, you know, we at that time we went into the vessel hardening and security measures. That means you put on the razor wires, you use non-lethal deterrents, like, you know, you add special turrets and nozzles, then you add — how do you secure your accommodation where the crew is? So you had everything locked in a way that they are not able to make it to the accommodation. And then on the ships citadels were made, which was the safe rooms — that means where the crew can retreat in case of a pirate attack — and there was an emergency communication and wait for an external help. That means, you know, you will sound an alert which will be transmitted in that area. So whether the navy picks up, or the platforms like UKMTO and all that which were monitoring you, they will pick it up and they say, okay, so and so vessel is under attack, and with these measures what were put in, there can be a help from outside. So that was what was set up. Those were the measures which actually came out of the BMP or the best management practices.
How effective was hardening of the ships in combating piracy?
It was, because, you know, the tougher you made that — the better you had the hardening done, that helped you. In a way, they knew that this particular vessel is — there is high awareness, they are vigilant. So that led to them not picking up the target. They always went for an easy target. And some things which was also there is that how much is the draft of the vessel, how high it is. So their way of boarding was with high ladders and all that — they used to board from the skiffs. So you kept on improving on your security measures from the knowledge which was being shared internationally by various organizations, and you kept — that's how I say, you know, BMP — we are at BMP 5 now. So they were effective, but then also was, you know, the more incident occurred, where it was becoming difficult just by BMP to keep the pirates minutes away, and that's the time a lot of companies approached their governments and got approvals to have the security armed guards on board.
With the security armed guards on board, there are very few, handful, where they have boarded the vessel. Again, now I'm talking about is in Somalia. The same thing may not work in Gulf of Guinea, because there the pirates have much more sophisticated weapons, and just having three or four or five security guard does not work. So it worked well in Somalia, but it is not the solution there, because there also having the security guards itself is not easy, because you are being governed by so many different countries and they may not allow you to have the security guards.
One of the things that I did notice was that majority of the maritime security guard companies were emanating out of the United Kingdom, and we did not have any coming out of the Indian subcontinent. What exactly were the reasons for this?
Yeah, say to start with was — I mean again, where the maritime international companies were coming from, those companies were set up. So where is the more number of vessels or the ships coming from. And one of the reason for moving to UK first was, of most of the companies, was that the security guards who came on board, their personal records had to be vetted and they had to be screened. It was much easier to get the screening done by police verifications and everything when we were putting them on board. So it was more on to is that when you have security arm guards on board, they should have a clean record, and there it was quite tough to get those things done out of India and other places. The next was also the visas, boarding of the vessel. So it was quite easier logistic wise also to have somebody with a UK passport boarding the vessels than what was for an Indian.
What are the training protocols that need to be put into place on the ships?
Yeah. So for the training protocols for security, we do have the security drills. That's one of the most thing is, you know, they are trained into hardening of the vessels, taking the security measure, good lookouts, of course also where the security alert is. So this is all part, and then how good they are prepared — there is an audit for that, both internal and external, on these preparations, which comes, actually falls under an ISPS code. Now the history of the ISPS code was not due to the piracy, but it goes back to 9/11, when the ISPS code came in.
What does ISPS stand for?
Yeah, it is for the international shipping. It is a security code.
What is that? You know, one of the things that I've been reading is on the use of water cannons on the ships and acoustic devices. Can you just give a brief on how effective these two things have been — the water cannons and the acoustic devices?
Actually they have been quite effective, and also, you know, initially when it came in it was just the nozzles, but later on development of the turrets, and also the machines which were put up on the ship's hull, on the ship side of it, which were running — that's one. Acoustic also is quite interesting. What are the behaviors what we have seen — because when the pirates are on board, a lot of VDR, which is like a black box you can say, it's recorded how they were behaving, what it was, and that was used. And so for acoustic was also the sounds and everything which actually troubles them. So that was one of the behavior which we have seen, and that has worked on the ships also.
Can you give a little brief for our viewers and listeners as what exactly is a citadel, and for how many days can you hold yourself out in that — your food, water, communication — if you can just give a little idea to everyone on this?
Yeah, perfect. Citadel is like a safe box, and so when we had to develop where the crew can go and secure themselves, what was done was certain areas on the ship were converted into citadels. That means you had doors which had the double shield. You had put in water, food. You add the satellite phones. So, cameras now, where, you know, you can see what is happening around. You can have a live camera coming in there, and most important was that you had the communication outside. What we have seen is that some of the crew has been there inside, because as long as they had the communication, they know that there is a help coming in, right. Personally I have seen 3 to 4 days was easily group was inside, even longer also, so by the time the help came in.
Here, if I see the behaviors of the pirates also, is normally they will not stay on board more than 72 hours. So anything between 36 to 48 hours — if they have not been able to take a control of the vessel, they will leave. So that's where we have to be, this one. So what we do in a situations like this, once you get all the help, they will see — I mean especially the navies who have come and helped — so they will board the vessel, they will do the full scanning of the vessel and see that everything is clear, and then only they will board.
On ships is multi-country jurisdictional issue.
Yes.
How did you get down to solving them? Because we had the Indian case of the Italians.
Yes.
You know, and it was a huge controversy that erupted, mainly because I think the Indian laws did not permit weapons to be on board the ships and they were carrying them.
Yeah. So what is done is that, you know, with regards to the each national requirement, you had to work out, okay, what can be done. So there was also where you had to keep them in the lockers, safe lockers, and seal them and kept in the locker, and that locker was in the position of the master. So that is one part of it. There are certain countries which do not allow that part also. So there the actions are different, and there we have — there can be an escort boat, and the security guards and the weapons are kept on the escort boat. So you will not have any weapon security guard on board. You can have without, unarmed security guards, and the weapons are in the escort boat, which is down and which is of that country. So that's how it works.
But would the escort boat then be vulnerable to pirate attacks?
I think so far what we have seen — and especially now I'm moving a little bit to the Gulf of Guinea — in fact, escort boats have been more, they have a more impact and they have worked well in that part than the security guards.
Could you share some success stories or notable instances where effective security measures have thwarted piracy attempts?
Yes, there are several stories around what we have seen, where first is good evasive maneuvers, vigilant crew, is one, you know, which is the first one, and that has been the biggest success stories. Then the other is also, you know, where they had armed guards on board, or they went into the citadels — how fast they went into the citadels if they saw the boardings. So there have been quite a few successful maneuvers to keep them at bay, the pirates.
How does information sharing and collaboration amongst different stakeholders occur, and how does it enhance your ability to protect yourself?
Absolutely, that's a good one. You see, one is that there are different platforms where every time you have a theft or you have a security incident, you report, and that is broadcast to every fleet, every ship across the world. So that means, you know, that's something where every ship is contributing if there has been a piracy or even if they saw something suspicious. So the ships, organizations work together. In addition to that, there are like service providers which are gathering that information, and companies like us, or so many companies, they are tied up with them, they have an agreement with them, and they share the information — dynamic information on what's happening. And of course at any given time we are monitoring all the vessels, where they are, and if there is any incident which has happened, it is immediately getting broadcasted. Also is, like UKMTO, which has been set up in Dubai area, to also help us. So there is a lot of support internationally from different organizations, right from navies to private service providers to private companies who are doing this and keeping the entire maritime community informed.
What role does intelligence gathering and risk assessment play in preempting and responding to piracy threats?
Well, they play a very crucial role. In fact, risk intelligence is one thing which — who are on top of it, and they say, okay, what is the geopolitical situation here? What do they expect? When was the last case? When was the attempt? So they go beyond the incident. And they also go into what are the things happening in that area, and they keep giving you the information. And lot of times, when bigger organizations, which have a huge number of ships or a large number of big fleet, they even before fixing up their vessels for trade, they will go to them and ask for a risk assessment if they are sending any of their assets in vulnerable areas. So before opening up and going to the vulnerable areas, risk assessment is paramount, because that's how you get the comfort whether you are taking any risk, or is your crew becoming vulnerable, or your ship becoming vulnerable in that area. So there they very much play a huge role towards the maritime security.
If you recall, the concept of floating armories had come into being in 2010.
Yeah.
One of the nearest one was off the coast of Sri Lanka.
Yes.
And one was also in the UAE area somewhere.
Yes.
Can you just explain as to what these were and how did they get used, and who would own them to sort of be there?
Yes. So what was happening was, you know, up to a certain time some countries like Sri Lanka allowed to have all the weapons kept ashore. So were some other countries where these security companies, which I can call it as private maritime security companies, which were providing armed guards — they were keeping their weapons in these countries, and when the boarding used to happen, they will take out the weapons, take it along to the assets what they were boarding. With time then it started becoming a bit difficult also — cost set in. Cost wise it was cheaper to have a floating armory and put everything there. So armories also became a space for where the armed guards or security guards could come and stay and then go back, because of also because of the covid. So then right now what we have is again the high-risk area is almost gone. So with that we still have — we see an armory in Red Sea. So all in all, because of the reduction of piracy, the use of security guard is reduced, and so has the armory also reduced. So that's what's happening. In fact it's going to reduce further, what we can see.
What is the impact of piracy on global trade and the economy?
Yeah.
From the ship's perspective.
Okay. So the first impact if I see was on the human part of it. When the piracy was — I mean, the first anyone looks at is the safety of life at sea. So it was also the seafarers, their life — their life at sea was most important thing when I look at it. And one of the biggest impact was that how to keep the crew motivated, their morale up, and also provide them the safety and security in these vulnerable areas. So you do have quite a few times where the seafarers said we will not go in that area, and we always respect that. So you know, it was an individual call and we used to respect. So that was the first thing — how to keep this trade going, how to have the ships going, if the seafarers don't feel secure.
And of course, if I look beyond that, because all of us were reading the stories of ransom and kidnapping and psychological trauma. So all that was in direct impact, and so it was a humanitarian crisis during that time, and it continued for a couple of years. The seafarers who were kidnapped or hijacked during that time, they required a lot of help to come back to leading a normal life, because of what they had gone through. And of course then, you know, disruption of the major shipping routes. So they were no more on the same shipping routes. We had to deviate the vessel, see which is the safest route for people, cargo and the vessel. So that means your voyages became longer, so the operational cost increase. So all this kept on going up and led to actually that how will we operate. And every time a vessel was hijacked, the piracy became richer, and they could deploy and employ more sophisticated weapons and way of doing the things, right. So that was — so if I start people, then I came on to how it —
One thing, I have another question here. You see, majority of your sailors and all are on contract basis.
Yes. Yes.
And there have been instances where the sailor have been kidnapped, their contract would probably expire, and the company says that we got nothing to do with them now. Who looks after them?
No, I think there may be, you know, some of the companies which are not operating under the RPSL requirements. RPSL is very much the requirements. So it is a license to have — for the seafarers to be on board. So all RPSL companies will take care of their seafarers. Now yes, from India they are on contract, but if we go outside India, then they are full-time also. So the stories what we hear are from some of the substandard operators and not from the standard operation.
Nevertheless, you see, whether it's standard or otherwise, it is the sailor who's suffering at the end of the day.
Yeah. So in this particular one, as long as they are on board, they have been taken care. For the salaries part of it, there are forums like the seaman unions are there, there are operators which are a part of ASA and other ones. So there is a very good understanding — it is a seafarer who's getting the ship going, so we have to respect that. And that is where it comes to is that I have not heard many incidents of that. I have heard very few where it was that the seafarer was not — not only the seafarers, even the families were given full support, and that's what I strongly believe in.
You have so much of experience in handling ships. What are the measures that, you know, all the ship companies together are taking to reduce the impact of piracy or to eliminate piracy?
Yeah. So what is being going on is that, you know, when we had in the Indian Ocean, when it was full piracy or the peak was there, that's the time what we did was these companies approached the various authorities, navies, and so the main thing was out there that how you can get the local regional support to combat it. And the same things have been done in Gulf of Guinea, where several governments, along with the governments, the companies have gone, approached the local regional governments to support in that. And that's where it comes in, you know — when you have a local support, when you have a regional support, then it becomes easy to deal with this, and that's what's going on at all the time. You know, the areas keep changing, as I said, but we have to be on top of it that we get the regional support of this.
You know, to conclude the session, what is your recommendation to the maritime community as to what they should do? If you were to suggest two points that they should do, what would they be?
Yeah, I think the most important thing here is that we should not forget that the safety of life at sea is most important, and to have the ships which can at least detect what's going on. So technology wise, you should have the vessels which can delay the piracy boarding, because I can for sure say is that there'll be always up and down when it comes to the regional areas, and because the geopolitical situations keep changing. Identify the vulnerable points, help involve your governments to look at it, and especially the maritime nations — you know, big maritime nations play a huge role in this. And that's where it comes to is that huge maritime nations working along with the local governments and lifting up the socioeconomic part of those coastal states which are at the choke points and all. So one is enhance your security measures on board, bring in a technology, but on the same time start or keep working on what work has been started with the socioeconomic part of the coastal states of the area which are vulnerable.
JP, I'd like to thank you, and as I conclude the session today, I'd like to request all our viewers that if you like the program, please sort of like and share and subscribe to NISSMAT. All the videos that we keep doing would come to you immediately if you've done this. And the battle against piracy is ongoing, requiring not only advanced technologies but also international cooperation and a commitment to the safety of seafarers and global trade. We extend our gratitude to you for being with us today and sharing your insights. We'd also like to remember that the seas connect us all, and it is our duty to ensure they remain pathways of prosperity, untamed by the shadows of piracy. Stay vigilant, stay informed, and join us again as we continue to explore critical topics impacting our world. Thank you very much for being on our show today.
Thank you to NISSMAT. Thank you Mr. Pan, and thanks for always taking up the hot topics. Thank you. Yeah.
