IMarEST Piracy Conference Highlights Practical Responses And Solutions

Highlighting and discussing ways and means in which ship and offshore installation owners and operators can counter the generic, and ever-present, threat of piracy, ‘Piracy and Offshore Security Conference – Practical responses and solutions' organised by the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) will be held at the aptly named ‘Action Stations' at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard in September.

Ship owners, operators and charterers; offshore installation owners and operators; ship and offshore security officers; port and terminal operators; insurers; government agencies; legal representatives; academia; and suppliers of security-related services and specialist equipment from around the world will gather at the conference being held Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 16 September and supported by BIMCO, The Defence Manufacturers Association (DMA), EEZING (Exclusive Economic Zone Industry Group); and the Society of Maritime Industries.

"Our aim for this event is quite simple: to get operators and suppliers to meet in a forum which explores what is needed to protect ships and installations, and to compare the need with what is available," explains Frank Mungo Chairman EEZING, Past President of IMarEST and Chairman of the Conference. "To achieve this, we intend to analyse the threat and the costs; ask owners to identify what they need to protect ships within the law; give a taste of real situations through interactive workshops; seek international and government opinion on what needs to be done; and finally allow suppliers to demonstrate the latest available services and equipment which can be used for layered defence of ships and platforms.

"Whilst the speakers will play a key part in the event, we aim to provide the maximum opportunity for discussion at every stage," he adds. "We will also provide the opportunity for all potential suppliers to display their products and services in the refreshment and net-working areas, and will encourage owners, operators and insurers to explore all the offerings.

"In this way, we hope to ensure that maritime security is enhanced to the benefit and prosperity of all in the historically-sited but forward-looking environment of Actions Stations at Portsmouth."

Packed conference programme
The first full session on 15 September will look at ‘The Threat'. Charles Le Gallais CBE, Strategy Director for the Gold Standard Programme at Selex Systems Integration Ltd (a Cabinet Office resilience programme run on PPP principles over five years) will set the scene by discussing ‘UK Critical National Infrastructure – is piracy a threat?'. The Gold Standard strategy is to build UK resilience by protecting the critical national infrastructure (CNI) and its supply chain at home and abroad by developing security governance at home and with host nations that secure the CNI supply chain.

Peter Cook, Maritime Security Consultant, BIMCO will then look at ‘Worldwide current level of pirate activity' providing analysis by region; the true cost; and common threads. He will be followed by Cyrus Mody, Manager, International Maritime Bureau (IMB) who will consider ‘Global piracy' including areas of high risk; areas of improvement; the face of piracy; current figures and trends; and protecting the vessel.

OB Sisay, Deputy Head of Africa Division, Exclusive Analysis Ltd takes ‘Onshore risks and the implications for offshore operations' as his topic, looking at understanding the value of local sources; dynamics and indicators – how small local actions transform the strategic outlook; and will include country case studies from Africa and Asia. The Threat session then features a presentation by Neil Cox, Security Advisor, BP Exploration Angola speaking on ‘Offshore platforms: the operator's view of the threat – and the requirements to counter it'; and after a presentation ‘Shipping: the owner's view of the threat and the requirements to counter it' half an hour will be devoted to a panel discussion involving the session's speakers and other panellists on ‘Common and special needs: ship operators and service providers'.

A case study – ‘Security for cruise vessels – experience of Athens 2004 Olympic Games'- to be given by Captain John Wills RN (Rtd), Director, IMarEST who was British Defence and Naval Attaché to Athens, either side of the 2004 Olympic Games; and two compelling workshops are on the agenda for the afternoon of 15 September. Both workshops will be led by Ian McLaren MBE, Director, ProTeez Ltd. The first deals with ‘Visualising the developing threat' and will be an interactive tactical exercise involving charts, model ships and a scripted scenario; and the second covers ‘Reacting to the crisis'.

Ian McLaren was a Warfare Officer in the Royal Navy and during his distinguished career of 26 years saw action in various conflicts including Oman-Iran, Falklands, First Gulf War and Bosnia. He co-founded ProTeez Ltd., a maritime consultancy specialising in port, coastal and EEZ security and safety issues in 2003. Ian also lectures at the Maritime Warfare School on EEZ issues. He will be assisted by Wally Murison, who recently retired as a Chief Inspector of Hong Kong Police, Marine Region and is now a Consultant at ProTeez.

Following the ‘Chairman's Discussion' which will combine a discussion on the threat and summary of the day, the first day draws to a close with a drinks reception and buffet with John S Burnett, author of ‘Dangerous Waters – Modern Piracy and Terror on the High Seas' as the guest speaker.

Day 2 – Naval perspective and some of the solutions
Rear Admiral Philip Wilcocks CB DSC will get the second day off to a flying start with a keynote address on ‘Naval perspective' looking at rules of engagement, practicalities of the help navies can give, and ‘how can the ships help the navies to help them?'. Rear Admiral Wilcocks joined the Royal Navy in 1971 and after a long and distinguished career, he became COS (Capability) to CinCFleet in January 2007 assuming responsibility for generating the Fleet (ships, submarines, aircraft and marines) today, tomorrow and the future across all Defence Lines of Development. As Rear Admiral Surface Ships he was also the "tribal chief" of the Surface Flotilla.

Appointed as a Companion of the Bath in the 2007 New Years Honours List for sustained leadership throughout his naval career, he retired from the Royal Navy earlier this year.

The day continues with sessions on ‘International Agency and Association View'; ‘Countering the Risk – A Layered Approach'; and ‘Hardening the Vessel, Boarding Detection, Self-Defence and Countermeasures' before a closing panel session looks at ‘The Way Forward'.

Chris Trelawny, Head Maritime Security Section, IMO, Captain Rodger MacDonald Secretary General, International Federation of Shipmasters' Associations (IFSMA) will give their views in the International Agency and Association session, and then take part in a panel discussion ‘How far can and should industry help themselves?' with other invited participants.

Frank Mungo will set the scene at the start of the ‘Countering the risk – a layered approach' session summarising operators' requirements from the previous day; and looking at the structure of a layered approach. William Miller of Special Contingency Risks Ltd will then consider ‘Insurance services'; Laurence Marzell, CNI Scan Programme Lead, Serco Consulting will look at ‘Risk assessment and diversion'; and Jack Green, Principal Industry Consultant at VEGA; Security & Resilience at SELEX Systems Integration Ltd., Finmeccanica Group will focus on ‘Intelligence'.

During ‘Hardening the vessel, boarding detection, self-defence and counter measures', Paul Horstmann, Capability Leader – Survivability Assessment, QinetiQ will cover ‘Vulnerability modelling'; Mike Critchley, Business Development Manager, Ultra Electronics Command & Control Systems, SML Technologies will deal with ‘Integrated Boat Detection Systems'; Mark Hankey, Marketing and Communications Director, Maritime & Underwater Security Consultants (MUSC) will focus on ‘Hardening the hull'; a speaker from ResQmax(UK) Ltd will address ‘Counter piracy Running Gear Entanglement System (RGES)'; while Tom Mackey, Chairman, Hyde Marine Inc will concentrate on ‘Water cannons – forceful, non-lethal protection'; and Suzanne Coop, Managing Director, Sound-To-Go Ltd will bring that session to a close with her thoughts on ‘Acoustic devices'.

The conference will end with a panel session ‘The Way Forward' involving key participants from the two days including a leading operator, a naval expert and representatives of international shipping groups who will join the session moderator to assess what has been learned from the proceedings.

Further information and registration
Further information including registration at the early bird rate and discounts for IMarEST Members and Marine Partners is available from www.imarest.org and from the Events Department at IMarEST, 80 Coleman Street, London EC2R 5BJ, UK. Tel: +44 (0)20 7382 2636/2655; Fax: +44 (0)20 7382 2667. Email: events@imarest.org. The conference is eligible for CPD (Continuing Professional Development). All delegates will be sent their certificates after the event.

About IMarEST

• The IMarEST (Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology) is the leading membership body and learned society for marine professionals, industry, research and education, with 50 branches and 15,000 members worldwide
• Professional Recognition: qualifications for membership are based on the educational background and/or multi-disciplinary experience ensuring that high professional standards are maintained
• The only membership body that can award Chartered Marine Scientist and Technologist, Chartered, Incorporated and Engineering Technician status to their professional engineering counterparts
• The IMarEST is part of the Marine Engineering, Science and Technology Federation
• IMarEST Marine Partners: a membership network for organisations in industry, research and education operating in the marine and offshore sectors
• Maritime journals include MER (Marine Engineers Review); Shipping World & Shipbuilder incorporating Maritime IT & Electronics; The Marine Scientist; and Offshore Technology
• IMarEST Publications: Technical Proceedings Journal of Marine Engineering and Technology (JMET), Journal of Marine Design and Operations (JMDO), the newly launched Journal of Operational Oceanography (JOO) and a catalogue of 100+/- books
• The IMarEST Marine Information Centre (MIC) has 36,000 references available; 86,000 references on the combined IMarEST/BMT database; and nearly 10,000 books and 2,000 conference proceedings
• IMarEST organises 30-40 events and conferences annually; and was the host organisation for the World Maritime Technology Conference held in London 6-10 March 2006.

SOURCE: Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology