‘Soldier in a box’ concept offers anti-piracy solution

As the scourge of piracy continues to dominate world headlines, the shipping industry is investigating a range of solutions – among these on-board armed protection. Belgium-based MSC Global Group, run by ex-South African Stefan Crause, supplies what Crause terms ‘a soldier in a box’ which is effectively an armed guard with all his required equipment – and it’s a concept that has already attracted significant interest. Crause has been involved in recruitment and training of a range of personnel in conflict areas for the past six years, and while there’s much ground to be covered before on-board armed security teams can be marketed on a global basis, the company is already operating between Durban and Kuwait. “We have 12-, 10- and 8-man teams, depending on the size of the vessel, and they are on guard 24 hours a day.” MSC Global was launched in 2004 focusing on recruitment for the US State Department. “We subsequently became the African and European recruiters for various companies for which we supply manpower to Iraq, Somalia, Sudan and most conflict countries around the world. And that’s not only security personnel but medical personnel, technical staff and the like. “Toward the latter part of last year we looked at putting armed security teams on board vessels and so far we are the only private company in the world doing just that,” Crause told FTW. The security team becomes part of the crew on the vessel. “They are fully armed and are a ghost on the vessel, never interfering with operations. They operate independently, maintaining contact with the security company at all times. “We are at present registering MSC Global in Tanzania and Djibouti so that vessels coming through Suez can use our teams as an escort to whichever port they are destined for – Kuwait, Mogadishu, Mombasa, Dar es Salaam etc. “If vessels are routed around the Horn of Africa, we will do the same – put a team on the vessel inbound to Mogadishu or whatever port. If they wish to exit via the Suez we will offload the team in Djibouti and fly them back.” According to Crause there are several legal matters that need to be ironed out before the system can be rolled out worldwide and for this reason the company is currently in discussions with several large shipping organisations. The escalating scale of piracy attacks clearly demands early action.