Ships consider barbed wire to ward off pirates

As the world continues to scramble for solutions to the growing number of piracy attacks in the Gulf of Aden, shippers are becoming innovative in the protection of their crews, vessels and cargo. And this could mean anything from turning fire hoses on attacking pirates to wrapping vessels in barbed wire. Piracy expert Roger Middleton of London-based think tank Chatham House says there are various evasive procedures that ships can take to protect themselves against piracy attacks. This could include attaching barbed wire to the sides of the ship preventing pirates from boarding, or having water canons placed on board that can be used to flood the engines of the pirates’ skiffs. “It is all about finding measures or deterrents that prevent pirates from scaling the sides and boarding.” American shippers have actively been advised to use barbed wire as a preventative measure. In an interview with CNN recently, America’s vice admiral William Gortney, commander of the US naval forces in Bahrain, said barbed wire was proving extremely successful and earlier this year two ships using this safety measure had managed to avoid being hijacked by pirates. While some experts are advising shippers to employ armed guards to patrol their vessels, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) has advised against this. Pottengal Mukundan, director of the IMB, has said that arming merchant vessels was not the answer and ran the risk of making the situation worse. Piracy attacks increased tenfold in the first three months of 2009 compared to the same time last year. According to the IMB some 30 000 ships sail through the Gulf of Aden every year. Piracy experts and government advisers concur that there is no quick solution to halting piracy. “Pirates are regularly demanding and receiving million-dollar ransom payments and their operations are becoming increasingly sophisticated. The pirates have improved their equipment and now use GPS systems and satellite phones giving them a greater ability to capture potential targets,” says Middleton. “Only a political solution in Somalia offers a long-term solution to piracy.”