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The three-man ex-military security team were hired to protect cargo ship S. Venus in the pirate infested waters of the Gulf of Aden off the Africa coast.
On four separate occasions between New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day Somali pirates – armed with AK-47s and rocket propelled grenades (RPG) – tried to hijack the boat by force.
Alex Little, 43, said: “We knew if we engaged them and they won we would be killed.
“It was a fight for our lives but we decided we were going to save this boat - it was emotional.”
The men, who work for APMSS security, were protecting the 190-metre long cargo ship on its two day voyage ferrying barley from Aden to Oman.
Denied guns by law, the men were forced to used improvised weapons – including mini grenades made out of light bulbs and paint thinner.
Former Royal Marine Kevin Brewin, 52, lead the team of Alex and Ian Knight, 38, on their mission to defend the vulnerable vessel.
He said: “We made the decision to fight and that is what we did. I suppose looking back it was pretty hairy but at the time you just get stuck in and do your job.
“Ian had made some Molotov cocktails out of light bulbs by taking out the element, filling it with paint thinner and plugging the top with toilet paper.”
Despite the vicious onslaught the men hatched an audacious defence – pouring paint thinner straight into a pirate boat – before firing a flare gun into it.
During the last attack the S. Venus captain had headed towards a nearby French frigate which had been alerted to their plight during the third attack.
The Premier Maitre L’Her picked up and arrested eight pirates who were handed over to Puntland, a state in north eastern Somalia.
The trio are now safely back in the UK after their dramatic ordeal.
Their boss Nick Davis and owner of APMSS said: “It was unbelievably brave - to be attacked four times is unprecedented.
“They really are heroes. This team performed above and beyond the call of duty.”
By David Willetts
From the Sun Newspaper
Men rescued from sea but Indian crew taken hostage / Deployment of foreign navies fails to curb attacks
By Daniel Howden in Nairobi and Toby Green
Saturday, 29 November 2008
The limitations of private security in protecting shipping from the rise of Somali piracy were cruelly exposed yesterday as three British operatives threw themselves overboard into the Gulf of Aden to escape hijackers.
The guards, from a UK-based shipping protection company, had to be rescued by a German navy helicopter, and they left the Singapore-operated MS Biscaglia unable to defend itself despite its "protection" and a distress call to a nearby warship. The pirates overran the Liberian-flagged chemical tanker, and kidnapped its mainly Indian crew of 28. The hijacking could have major implications for other firms trying to cash in on the piracy crisis.
Just over a week ago, the controversial US contractor Blackwater announced it was moving into the pirate-infested waters between Somalia and Yemen with a private gunboat carrying an attack helicopter.
So far this year, there have been 97 attempted hijackings off the lawless Horn of Africa. A massive deployment of foreign navies to the vital shipping lane has so far failed to halt or even slow the rate of attacks, with new ships taken almost daily.
A spokesman for Anti-Piracy Maritime Security Solutions (APMSS), a shipping protection company based in Poole, Dorset, said the tanker was attacked in daylight by five pirates on a high-speed launch. Despite the presence of the security men, the pirates boarded the tanker. APMSS, which advertises "non-lethal" security solutions, said their guards had been "under fire". A spokesman said: "Basically if they didn’t [jump], we would probably have been picking three bodies out of the water." The Dorset firm was set up by a former pilot, Nick Davis, and offers a range of defence measures for merchant shipping ranging from long-range acoustic devices, designed to emit ear-splitting noise to thermal imagers and night sun torches. None of those appears to have deterred the pirates.
The spokesman said the firm’s employees had reason to believe they would have been killed. "These three guys had spent quite a considerable amount of time trying to repel these pirates, so they could clearly identify them, and they were the only three British aboard. There are 26 Indians and two Bangladeshis and three white guys, so it’s not rocket science."
The spokesman refused to reveal the identity of the men although the British embassy in Nairobi said that they were alive and well aboard a French naval vessel.
Germany and France are just two of the Nato countries running patrols in the area; an international coalition of other nations has ships in the Gulf including India, Malaysia and Russia. Their main role is to escort merchant ships and respond to distress calls. The dangers of the militarisation of the Gulf were exposed this week after the Indian navy appeared to have sunk a Thai fishing trawler after mistaking it for a pirate "mother ship".
Several organisations, including the East African Seafarers Programme based in Mombasa, Kenya, believe a hijacked Nigerian vessel is being used by pirates to launch attacks on shipping further out to sea. Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau’s piracy-reporting centre in Malaysia said ships "must continue to maintain a 24-hour vigil and radar watch so they can take early measures to escape pirates. Even though there are patrols, the warships cannot be everywhere at the same time."
The crew of the Biscaglia join the estimated 300 other seamen being held by Somali pirates, including the 25 crew of the Saudi-owned supertanker, the Sirius Star, the largest ship taken by pirates. The "very large crude carrier" class vessel carrying $100m of oil is at anchor off the pirate port of Eyl, and its owners are close to agreeing a ransom of £9m, sources say.
Few companies will admit to dealing with the pirates but some $30m is estimated to have been paid in ransoms this year alone, and the pirates themselves claim to be receiving an average of $2m for each seized ship.
Greek authorities said a Greek-owned cargo ship seized by the pirates more than two months ago had been released on Thursday and that all 25 crew members are unharmed.
Nobody was hurt in the incident at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport and Mr Blair’s spokesman said the former Prime Minister had not heard the gunshot.
But an Israeli police spokesman said that in the confusion Mr Blair was hurried on to his plane.
Accidental firings are taken extremely seriously in Israel and its Airports Authority has launched an inquiry.
"One of his bodyguards accidentally fired his gun, and the bullet hit the ground," said, Maayan Malkin, an IAA spokesman.
The incident took place as Mr Blair was leaving Ben Gurion, the main international airport in Israel, after spending a few days in the country in his capacity as international envoy for Palestinian development.
Since being appointed as Middle East representative for the Quartet - the diplomatic grouping of America, Russia, the United Nations and European Union - Mr Blair has visited many times using commercial and private flights.
Earlier this year Israeli fighter planes intercepted a private jet carrying Mr Blair after the plane failed to identify itself adequately as it approached Israeli airspace.
In June an official farewell on the tarmac at Ben Gurion for Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, ended in chaos after an Israeli policeman guarding the event shot himself dead.
In September another of Mr Blair’s bodyguards left their gun in the lavatory of a Starbuck’s coffee shop near his London home.
Securiplan Plc has been fined £95,000 with £550,000 costs for an offence under the Private Security Industry Act 2001.
The case at Southwark Crown Court on November 7 was for 19 offences of deploying unlicensed security operatives between March and September 2006; hence a £5,000 fine per count. The guarding contractor will also pay the Security Industry Authority (SIA) £550k to meet most of the costs of the investigation and prosecution. It is an offence contrary to Section 5 of the Private Security Industry Act 2001 to deploy unlicensed security operatives. The company had pleaded guilty to the offences on November 3. The SIA offered no evidence against a director of the company and he was acquitted.
Speaking on behalf of the company, Andrew Mitchell QC said at an earlier hearing: "Securiplan apologises for the continued deployment of unlicensed guards for up to six months after the enforcement date, which had the effect of undermining the regulatory regime that was designed to protect the public."
Before sentencing, His Honour Judge Rivlin QC said: "Knowing perfectly well that deployment was against the law, in a period of approximately five months, Securiplan deployed many unlicensed operatives. This was, I am satisfied, the consequence of a deliberate commercial decision arrived at in the hope and expectation that the heavily stretched SIA would take no action against them. These counts constitute wholesale breaches of the Act. This is a particularly serious matter as Securiplan were amongst the leaders in the field. Any such policy had grave consequences not merely in terms of deployment, but in undermining the new licensing regime. In some cases, Securiplan entered into new contracts, or rolled over existing contracts, knowing the inevitable outcome would be that those companies would be recipients of unlicensed guards. The SIA has, in my judgement, quite rightly not prosecuted individuals who were sent out unlicensed - they have prosecuted the real offenders. Those individuals should never have been placed in such an invidious position by their employer, who was in a position of trust with their employees. Certain employees were treated in a disrespectful manner. The widespread nature of offending and continuance over time has resulted in this being an obviously serious case. The gravity of the situation is only exemplified by the fact that 20 major companies, including companies of national renown, chose to terminate their contracts with Securiplan. In consequence of its action, this company has already suffered very substantial financial losses due to contracts being lost or terminated by customers. I am satisfied that this ran into millions of pounds of lost business. I must stress that it was, in my opinion, entirely self-inflicted."
Taking into account mitigating factors such as; the company’s financial losses, the company’s public apology to the SIA, difficulties of the transition to licensing, previous good character and the length of the investigation, Judge Rivlin said: "I must look at the overall scale of offending which was serious and financially driven. It is important that companies in this industry should appreciate the seriousness of the legislation and the seriousness of the failure to comply."
During earlier proceedings, the judge made clear that, in his view, the SIA had acted with complete propriety in this case. Andy Drane, SIA deputy chief executive, said afterwards: "The judge has made clear that this was serious offending and prosecution was justified. This guilty plea and the sentences imposed by the court bring to an end a long process of investigation and proceedings in which the SIA has been subjected to fierce and relentless legal challenges. As a result of these findings, the regulatory regime has been strengthened and this enhances the protection of the public. I am pleased that, during this case, our power to prosecute generally has been confirmed and that it was found we have acted with complete propriety. This brings this matter to a close and we will move forward constructively recognising that these events occurred in 2006. I wish to pay tribute to the commitment and resilience of the SIA investigators in this case and to the quality of advice and support given to us by our legal advisors."
The British Security Industry Association after the case welcomed what it termed the robust action taken by the Security Industry Authority against Securiplan plc.
BSIA Chief Executive, David Dickinson, commented afterwards: “As a strong supporter of the Private Security Industry Act, the BSIA welcomes this action which follows the deployment of unlicensed operatives by Securiplan. We and our members support robust investigation of breaches of the Act and are pleased that this case has been brought to an appropriate conclusion. We also welcome the fact that Securiplan will pay £550,000 costs to the SIA, a cost which licence payers may otherwise have incurred.
“The regulatory regime has certainly been strengthened through this case and its conclusion has provided clarity to any company tempted to deploy unlicensed operatives that this approach will not be tolerated.”
Following the Information Commissioner’s call on 29th October for Chief Executives to take responsibility for data protection safeguards, the British Security Industry Association is emphasising that all aspects of security should be a matter of major priority for organisational heads.
BSIA Chief Executive, David Dickinson, comments: ‘Data protection safeguards are essential to any business in terms of the security of both the organisation itself and the customers that it serves. With identity fraud a spectre that continues to haunt both the public and private sectors, it is particularly important that data is disposed of securely by a professional information destruction company to ensure that any confidential waste does not fall into the wrong hands.’
The bodyguards were employed
at the British embassy in Kharto
|
Two British Embassy bodyguards have been expelled from Sudan, the Foreign Office has confirmed.
The Sudanese government had accused the men of running over and seriously injuring two security officers during a row over a parking space.
However, the British Embassy denies its men intentionally hurt anyone and said there were conflicting accounts of the incident at the UN’s HQ in Khartoum.
A Foreign Office spokesman said relations should be unaffected.
Sources say Sudanese guards had tried to stop the British team parking in a reserved space.
Contracts expired
Ali Yusuf, of Sudan’s foreign ministry, said two members of the British ambassador’s close protection team were told to leave the country after the incident.
However, British officials said the bodyguards had been due to leave because their contracts had expired.
A UK Foreign Office spokesman said: “We can confirm that two embassy employees have left Sudan as part of a routine rotation.
“We were given formal notice that we should consider them expelled but we agreed that this should not affect bilateral relations.”
The incident in August which was widely covered in the local newspapers caused a political storm in Khartoum.
The decision to expel the bodyguards comes at a sensitive time for relations between Britain and Sudan.
The Sudanese government wants the UK to support plans to delay the International Criminal Court case against its president Omar Al Bashir who stands accused of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity for atrocities committed in Darfur.
Today, the Security Industry Authority (SIA) has published an interim Impact Assessment, which contains further information about the Government’s proposals to license private investigation activities and precognition agents.
The interim Impact Assessment confirms’ Ministers’ intention to develop competency-based licensing, subject to the agreement of the necessary Orders by Parliament.
The interim Impact Assessment is available on the SIA website:
www.the-sia.org.uk
There is disagreement between Moscow and Tbilisi over whether or not Russia has begun withdrawing troops from Georgia, as promised.
Announcing a “pull-back” from Georgia proper into South Ossetia, a Russian general made clear he did not regard the province as Georgian territory.
According to Russian media, some combat units inside South Ossetia were withdrawn to Russia during the day.
A top Georgian official said there was no evidence of any Russian withdrawal.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev earlier promised to abide by the terms of a ceasefire brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
The conflict over South Ossetia erupted 11 days ago, when the Georgian army tried to wrest back control and Russia sent in its troops to drive them out.
Russian troops remain stationed near the Georgian capital Tbilisi, with Moscow saying it has the right to keep some troops as peacekeepers in a buffer zone around South Ossetia.
The West has repeatedly urged Russia to withdraw its troops and France has said it will call a special EU summit if Russia does not comply.
Mr Medvedev, who was in North Ossetia to decorate Russian soldiers for valour during the recent fighting, has promised to “do whatever is necessary” to maintain security in the region.
“If anyone thinks he can kill our citizens without being punished, or kill our soldiers and officers, who are peacekeepers, we will never allow this,” he said.
He added that Russian soldiers had demonstrated that they had recovered from the crisis of the 1990s and were now a fighting force again.
Blackwater, the US private military contractor widely accused of abuse of power in Iraq, is getting out of the security business.
Company executives said they are moving away from security work in the wake of close media scrutiny of private contractors’ behaviour in Iraq, particularly a Baghdad shooting involving Blackwater employees that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead. The incident is under investigation by American law enforcement.
“The experience we’ve had would certainly be a disincentive to any other companies that want to step in and put their entire business at risk,” Blackwater founder and chief executive Erik Prince told an Associated Press reporter who was given a daylong tour of the company’s headquarters.
Anne Tyrrell, a Blackwater spokesman, said the company has not planned any “shift,” but rather that the company would grow in other areas besides private security.
“When we are seeking to expand the business we will be doing it in other area,” she said. “We don’t see that market growing”.
Blackwater has made hundreds of millions of dollars off of contracts to guard US state department officials. Its seemingly ubiquitous presence, combined with the larger-than-life personality of the conservative Prince, turned Blackwater into an emblem for the privatised military that the Bush administration relied upon to help wage the Iraq war.
The company also operated under broad legal immunity from criminal prosecution in Iraq, attracting criticism from government officials in Washington as well as Baghdad. The US Congress ultimately passed legislation bringing contracting firms under the American military code of justice.
Blackwater’s now plans to focus attention on its expansive rural training facilities. Its North Carolina home attracts swarms of US military, law enforcement and local officials each year.
The company also has expanded its aviation division, which provides airplane and helicopter maintenance and also drops supplies into hard-to-reach military bases. A 6,000-foot runway is under construction and a large map in the company’s hanger shows units based across the world, from Africa to the Middle East to Australia.
“Our focus is away from security work. We’re just not bidding on it,” Blackwater president Gary Jackson told the Associated Press.
The debate over how much of military operations should be turned over to for-profit firms has also touched on contractors’ ability to protect its own employees. Four Blackwater workers were murdered in 2004 in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, then a hotbed of violence, and seven more died in a roadside bomb attack a year later.
Five British private contractors, including IT consultant Peter Moore, were kidnapped from the Baghdad finance ministry by a Shiite militant group 14 months ago. Anguish over their plight flared this week after reports that one of the hostages succumbed to depression and killed himself while in captivity.
From the Guardian