Posted on: Monday, November 25, 2002
Ship wiring can zap pirates, but has drawbacks
By Sri Jegarajah
Bloomberg News Service
ROTTERDAM, Netherlands — It can make hardened sea dogs think twice: a 9,000-volt electric fence to zap pirates and other intruders as they try to board ships.
As security on the high seas becomes of increasing concern, Rotterdam-based Secure-Marine says its new device can ward off modern-day buccaneers who often arrive at night aboard motorboats and scale vessels by rope.
Beefing up onboard security may persuade insurers to lower premiums for ships headed to places like Indonesia. Its waters recently were declared a war-risk zone by insurers, according to Regional Container Pcl, Thailand's largest shipper.
"If it's effective and if there is the take-up, then it could be reflected in rates," said Jonathan Ranger, principal officer at the Lloyd's marine insurance syndicate Watkins in Singapore. At the same time, though, "an electric fence is unlikely to stop a determined terrorist."
Attacks at sea range from "maritime mugging," in which thieves board anchored vessels to steal personal belongings, to heists in which goods are stolen at gunpoint by organized gangs, said Jayant Abhyankar, a 17-year merchant navy captain who is now deputy director at the International Maritime Bureau, a division of the International Chamber of Commerce.
Attacks off Indonesia accounted for 72 of 271 reported pirate attacks between January and September of 2001, the bureau said.
Globally, pirate attacks rose from 253 in the first nine months of 2000, the bureau said. Hot spots also include the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea, where armed militias seized four commercial vessels near Somalia since January.
Secure-Ship is modeled on the electrified fences that enclose military bases. Raphael Kahn, director of the Dutch company, said the system strings wires from poles that poke from a vessel's deck.
The cost varies from ship to ship. Buyers can expect to pay about $19,800 to fit a vessel less than 490 feet long, Kahn said.
The system has drawbacks: Its high-voltage current means it can't be used on oil tankers like the Limburg, the French ship attacked off Yemen, presumably by politically motivated terrorists. Nor can it be used on ships carrying other flammable cargoes. And it offers no protection against suicide squads like those who used an explosives-packed boat to attack the USS Cole off Aden in October 2000.
It may also endanger crews.
"It's not going to be too long before a stevedore or crew member accidentally electrocutes himself, and shipping companies start getting insurance claims," said Darryl Kennard, a maritime lawyer at Thomas Cooper & Stibbard in Singapore.
That doesn't deter SecureMarine, which hopes to win its first order from Rotterdam-based Jumbo Shipping to protect an 11-ship fleet carrying heavy parts for power stations and oil rigs worldwide.
Jumbo is testing the system for six months on one of its vessels, the 7,500-ton Fairlift, said Bert de Wolff, marketing and communications director. The company's ships traverse the Strait of Malacca, between Indonesia and Malaysia.
De Wolff hopes it will "reassure not only the crew but the families of the seafarers who have read the stories about piracy... and are understandably worried."
Companies that offer maritime security applaud the invention.
"I can imagine if you get a belt like that, it can spoil your entire afternoon," said Chris Austen, managing partner of London- based Underwater Security Consultants, which offers antiterrorist and piracy protection for clients such as submarine cable installers.
