Gen. Petraeus says "Arm the ships"

General Petraeus took a break from the Middle East this week to talk on Capitol Hill about Pirates, and what the commercial shipping companies can do to improve their security. This comes on the wake of the Maersk Alabama being captured recently off the coast of Somalia by pirates. The following are his recommendations.

Increased speed: Much of the commercial shipping fleet cruises around 22-25 knots while at sea. Gen. Petraeus believes that increasing the ships’ speed while traveling through the waters outside of Somalia will improve their chances of making it to their destination safely. Unfortunately, when your adversary is traveling in a small craft that is speeding along anywhere from 27-35 knots, even at increased speed ships are vulnerable.

Unbolting pilot ladders: A pilot ladder is a retractable rope ladder that is dropped over the side of the ship for the pilot (the person that navigates the ship into port) to climb aboard. Pirates have used grappling hooks to grab hold of these ladders and pull them down so they could board the ship. The General proposes that the ships not only pull the ladders up on deck, but to unbolt and store the ladders until they are needed.

Evasive maneuvers: Another proposal by Gen. Petraeus is to take evasive maneuvers when the ship is being chased. Unfortunately, we are talking about 900-foot long vessels that don’t easily turn – especially at high speed. The small craft that the Pirates are using can easily keep up and adjust to the direction of a large containership at sea. While it wouldn’t hurt to alter course at times, the pirates will eventually get their grappling hooks attached to the railing of the ship.

Concertina wire: Also called razor wire, this coiled barrier strung along the side of the ship as well on the railings would make it more difficult for Pirates to board the vessel. The police and military use this material to defend facilities, since those who attempt to climb over the wire end up with severe cuts. This could work on a ship, but the wire would have to be retractable to make room for lines (ropes) to tie up the vessel to the dock, pilot ladders and gangways that are lowered over the side of the ship, as well as hoses brought aboard from the dock or a neighboring vessel when the ship is taking on fuel.

Armed guards: Probably the most direct form of protection the General recommended, a team of armed guards patrolling the deck would be a good deterrent to any Pirate that might consider boarding. However, the law of escalation applies here. If the ship starts carrying guards with weapons to counter the pirates, the pirates will upgrade their weapons to RPGs or something with more power to battle the guards. Additionally, some ports do not allow the crew aboard ship to be armed while entering their waters, leaving the ship exposed to potential attack.

The General makes good recommendations, but they all have shortcomings as noted. The international naval forces are needed to continue patrols in the waters to protect the commercial ships while combating the pirates. There are a lot of potential drawbacks for private security forces opening fire on pirate vessels, drawbacks that naval forces wouldn’t have if they are authorized to use force. However, these recommendations will not stop the flow of Pirates until the conditions on the ground improve. A strong central Somali government that is able to police their land and shores and end the scourge of the Pirates.

Related articles:
Bloomberg – “Petraeus Says Shipping Industry Should Consider Armed Guards”
Trend News – “Petraeus: Ship companies must ‘get serious’ about piracy”
Yahoo News – “Petraeus: Shippers should consider armed guards”