Story:
As pirates attacks become a serious hazard in shipping lanes, Israeli security academy offers special maritime protection class.
Israeli security abilities are well known across the world, and are now extending to international waters as well, with the graduation of the first course of ship security staff who will attempt to protect vessels from pirate attacks.
One hundred and twenty students from all over the world, including two women, participated on Thursday (June 11) in the final ... Read more
Story:
As pirates attacks become a serious hazard in shipping lanes, Israeli security academy offers special maritime protection class.
Israeli security abilities are well known across the world, and are now extending to international waters as well, with the graduation of the first course of ship security staff who will attempt to protect vessels from pirate attacks.
One hundred and twenty students from all over the world, including two women, participated on Thursday (June 11) in the final drill of the six-week course, focused on tactics to prevent pirates from taking over ships, a phenomenon that some reports say, has cost the insurance business at least 80 million dollars in the past year.
"Today is the final exercise of the maritime protection course, in which we simulate attacks on the ship, and in case of escalation, that we meet the pirates on board," David Mirza, CEO and founder of International Security Academy, a private Israeli security company, told Reuters.
The International Security Academy (ISA), is led by former soldiers in the Israeli security forces, and is known around the world for its expertise in training bodyguards and securing money transfers and convoys.
In the course of the graduation 'wet' drill, cadets trained the use of several types of fire weapons, shooting towards small targets such as dinghies, and in face to face combat, in the event that pirates manage to get on board.
During the course, students learned not only how to fight pirates, but preventive "active security" as well. One of the tricks mentioned to reporters was that in the event of a possible threat, all ship crew, including cleaners should mass on board, in order to create the illusion that the ship is heavily guarded and thus not worth the risk of attacking. Another method students learnt was how to identify pirates who were gathering information about the ship's whereabouts while still docking at port.
"The training has been very unique, from my perspective coming from Australia and ex-military background. This sort of training, I haven't been exposed to before from an Israeli point of view. It's a new concept, as far as using combat to deter, they take a very offensive role comparing with a lot of other courses that are available," Russ, an Australian student told Reuters.
"That's been seen just recently in the media, with the attempt of hijacking on the Italian vessel, which was deterred by Israeli protection team using offensive action," he added, referring to the April 2009 incident in which an Israeli security staff employed on an Italian cruise liner beat off pirates near the Seychelles.
"It is very important to make this team professional in what they are doing, because once the pirates attack the ship it takes them no more than 5 to 15 minutes to take over the ship, so the team has to be very quick, and very efficient in what they are doing," said one of the two only women in the course, Ivana from Serbia. Asked how she feels being in the female minority, Ivana replied that it's has not been easy to keep up with the boy's physical abilities, but that she and her other female friend, Tamara from Switzerland, are doing just fine.
According to the London-based International Maritime Bureau (IMB) Piracy Reporting Centre's latest report, global pirate attacks accounted for until May 2009 have already exceeded the number of those accounted in all of 2008. Of the 114 pirate attacks reported world-wide in that period, 71 took place in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia. The total number of hostages taken in these areas during 2009 already stands at 478.
Piracy has flourished in recent years off the Somalian shores, with seabourne gangs seizing cargo ships for millions of dollars in ransom. International war ships, including task forces under NATO, the EU and U.S. command, have been deployed off the coast of the lawless Horn of Africa state since the beginning of 2009 in an effort to prevent piracy in shipping lanes.
Last week, the U.S navy has warned that due to bad weather and the boosted presence of foreign navies, pirates in the Gulf of Aden are increasingly operating at night and could expand their raids into the Red Sea and the Seychelles Islands.
Enforcement of international law regarding piracy is challenging and captured pirates are routinely disarmed and set free. Restoring peace to war-torn Somalia is generally seen as the only long-term solution to the problem.
The ISA course organisers say they have been flooded with requests from security companies, who are eagerly waiting to employ the new trainees.
close
Back to results
Add all clips to ClipBin
Add all clips to Basket
Added to Clipbin
Close
