Fighting Pirates and Sea Kidnappers with a Private-Public Deal Off Nigeria

Maritime Executive reports on a Private Maritime Security with Active Duty Personnel off Nigeria:

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. . .[T]he contractor may provide private patrol vessels, which are then "crewed, flagged and armed by the Nigerian Navy [who] use Nigerian national Rules of Engagement" on for-hire ship escort missions arranged by the PMSCs.

Damen FCS 3307

Diaplous Maritime Services Nigeria says that its security escort vessels have seven to 10 Nigerian Navy servicemembers on board and are armed and equipped to deter emerging threats. The firm uses Damen FCS 3307 patrol boats, the same model recently delivered to Nigeria's Homeland Integrated Offshore Services Limited (HIOSL).

In addition, in cooperation with the Nigerian Navy, Diaplous offers armed embarked maritime security teams of four to eight members. For unarmed options, it can provide security consultants – Hellenic nationals or former Nigerian Navy officers – who are experienced in operating in the Gulf of Guinea security environment. ***

However it happens, more forces on the water are a good idea to fight the bad guys in the Gulf of Guinea.

Hat tip to Claude Berube. , whose books you should buy.

Photo from Damen.

Catching Up

Having had a couple of days off, it's time to play "catch up"- let's start with an annoying BBC article BBC News - Somali pirates face hard time in US prison, in which the sympathy is entirely misplaced. Further, the article originally had a completely different title, which Lex captured as "Somali pirates face hell in US prison system." When I first saw the original headline, I wondered if the "hell" they will experience in U.S. prisons is even a vague shadow of the "hell" of a Somali prison or even daily Somali life for that matter. But the article is even more biased than its headline:

Federal prison is a frightening, perilous environment of intrigue, violent gangs, terrible food and severe isolation, even for the most hardened criminal.

For men from a faraway land with little or no English-language skills and no prior familiarity with American culture, it will be especially hard, say lawyers for the men, and experts in psychology and the criminal justice system.
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On Monday, Muhidin Salad Omar and Mahdi Jama Mohamed were sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to their part in the hijacking in February of the yacht S/V Quest, in which pirates shot to death four American yachters as the US Navy sought their release.

On Tuesday, four more men are to be sentenced to automatic life terms in prison following their guilty pleas to piracy counts in the Quest case. More are to be sentenced in the autumn.
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Language and cultural barriers will make it difficult for the men to form the support groups and informal social networks that lawyers and social workers say are necessary to get by in prison.

"They have all the stressors associated with prison," says Frederic Reamer, a professor of social work at Rhode Island College with extensive experience working in prisons and a member of the Rhode Island state parole board.

"But unlike most inmates, they cannot just go into the dining hall and sit at a table and start conversing with people with whom they have some shared cultural experience. They are likely to be isolated in every imaginable way."

God spare from bleeding heart professors of social work. I figure under some Somali law, we could have simply stoned these guys to death, as it seems to be a favored punishment. Read the part again about how these pirates "shot to death four American yachters."

Isn't it interesting that as the assertions of the world "running out of fossil fuels" continue to be heard that we keep finding more? Here's a report of a possible discovery off Sri Lanka -

While further drilling is required to determine the commerciality of the natural gas discovery, this is the first oil and gas well to be drilled in Sri Lanka in 30 years -- and the first hydrocarbon discovery ever in the country.

Which reminds me that the gas field off Cyprus continues to be a blip in international relations. The Turkish government has deployed a ship to "investigate" the waters off Northern Cyprus, as set out here. Saturn5 from Bosphorus Naval News has a series of posts on the topic, Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. It's all about the gas and oodles of money. The Russians, the French and others are out there playing hard.

The Eastern Mediterranean: Much Ado About Gas

So, Turkey has been shaking the war stick at Israel, making big noise over the Israeli blockade of Gaza that last year resulted in the stopping of Turkish ship and the violence that followed. In addition, Turkey is most unhappy with the discovery of large amounts of natural gas beneath the waters off Israel and Cyprus.

First, about the discovery:

The above map from Nobel Energy sets forth some discoveries made by that company, as described below:

Noble Energy has been operating in the Mediterranean Sea, offshore Israel, since 1998. We have a 47 percent interest in the Mari-B field, the first offshore natural gas production facility in Israel. Production from Mari-B began in 2004 and sales volumes have increased as Israel’s power demand and pipeline infrastructure have expanded tremendously. Significant new exploration discoveries at Tamar, Dalit, and Leviathan will help meet Israel's energy needs and drive new potential for natural gas in the future.

The Company has recently completed two additional development wells at Mari-B. Combined with additional compression work in 2011, these new wells will support near-term gas deliverability and serve as injection wells for storage in the future.

We have a 36 percent operated working interest at Tamar, with gross mean resources of 8.4 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas. Tamar was the largest deepwater natural gas discovery in the world in 2009. Sanctioned by the Company in September 2010, initial expectations target commissioning first gas from Tamar at the end of 2012. Development drilling at Tamar is underway, and the Company is continuing discussion with a growing number of parties to deliver reliable and clean energy resources to customers.

Leviathan represents the largest exploration success in the Company's history, with gross mean resources of 16 Tcf of natural gas. We are actively studying multiple export options, including both LNG and pipeline scenarios. The Company anticipates returning to appraisal drilling at Leviathan in mid 2011. Supported by 3D seismic acquisitions in 2009 and 2010, Noble Energy has identified a number of additional prospects and leads on our significant acreage position offshore Israel and Cyprus, with plans to drill three to four exploration / appraisal wells in 2011.

This discovery has major implications for Israel and Cyprus. With specific reference to Cyprus, this piece notes:

For Cypriots who always had an Arab-envy, seeing their neighbors drawn in oil while they have to import every drop of it, has been frustrating if not intoxicating. Loren Steffy, the business columnist for the Houston Chronicle, reports: “Just as the Israeli discoveries may transform that country from an energy importer to an exporter, a similar find off the coast of Cyprus could turn the island nation into a major European energy hub”.
Terry Gerhart, the Vice President for international operations of Houston-based Noble Energy declares: “Cyprus could be on the verge of a natural gas revolution. Gas will strengthen the Cypriot economy for decades to come. Cyprus will become the Mediterranean’s energy hub”.

Well, maybe - both Cyprus and Israel are going to have some serious challenges - as noted her:

From Israel, there is good news and bad news.

Update: That "Iranian" Arms Ship

Remember that ship alleged to be carrying Iranian arms to Gaza? See here for a refresher. The government of Cyprus, having availed itself of UN advice, has decided to unload the ship (and presumably let the ship go), as set out here:

Cyprus has begun to unload a detained ship allegedly carrying weapons-related material, which the government says was in "clear" breach of UN sanctions.

The government said the unidentified cargo would be stored on the island.

The containers were being transported to a naval base along the coast under heavy police guard, state radio said.

Israel says the ship, the Monchegorsk, was carrying Iranian arms destined for the Palestinian militant group, Hamas, in Gaza. Iran denies the accusation.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Ghasghavi stated on Wednesday: "The ship was not taking arms and weapons [to Gaza]."

Cypriot authorities had inquired about the ship's cargo and "if it was carrying weapons things would have been clear", he added.
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Later, Defence Minister Costas Papacostas told the Associated Press: "There are no weapons. There is material that could be used in the manufacture of munitions."

On Tuesday, Cypriot Foreign Minister Marcos Kyprianou said the UN committee had ruled that the Monchegorsk was in "clear" breach of UN sanctions, but he did not specify what had been found on board or name the cargo's destination.

More on that "Iranian" Arms Ship

For background, see here. Latest report from here:

Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou has said that the government is still investigating whether weaponry carried by a Russian owned ship comes under UN resolutions banning arms exports by Iran.

The ship is now anchored about two nautical miles off the coast of Limassol pending further decisions by the Cyprus government.

Press reports said the ship may be brought into Limassol port so that a complete inspection on its cargo can by carried out.

Mr Kyprianou said he could not comment on this information and added that many of the details carried by news media were not correct.

He called for patience for a few days until the matter is resolved.

The "Monchegorsk", a Russian-owned ship which is registered in Cyprus, had been escorted to Cyprus by an American warship, on suspicion that it is carrying military equipment from Iran, in contravention of a UN security council resolution.

Russian authorities are dismissing american charges about arms trafficking.

U.S. military officials said personnel from the U.S. Navy last week boarded the vessel, travelling from Iran to Syria, and found a weapons shipment, but for legal reasons did not confiscate the cargo.

Well informed sources say the cargo of the ship includes specialised materials which could be used in the manufacture of rockets.

Just for fun, here's how the ship might look through a periscope: