CBC Radio: interview with a Pirate and with Sunil Ram
of Executive Security Services International:

LISTEN TO PART ONE
http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/2008/200811/20081121.html

Contact: Mr. Sunil Ram
Media Security Consultant
http://www.executivesecurity.ca

November 19, 2008

Canuck seamen seek security advice

By TOM GODFREY, SUN MEDIA

TORONTO — Canadian seamen and shipowners are looking at ways of warding off pirates in the dangerous waters along the coast of Somalia. And they’re searching for answers in Huntsville, Ont.

The latest high seas seizure is a Hong Kong-registered Iranian cargo ship commandeered in the Gulf of Aden yesterday, just days after a Saudi supertanker was taken.

“I have been getting a steady stream of calls from concerned seamen,” said Sunil Ram, of Executive Security Services International. “People want to know what they can do to ensure their safety,” he said yesterday.

“We offer a range of services to help with their security.”

Crews are advised to use high-pressure fire hoses to keep pirates from boarding vessels and to be equipped with floodlights and sirens and if necessary, armed security teams, he said.

GREASED RAILS

“The rails of the ship should be greased and electrified to prevent pirates from boarding,” Ram said.

Foreign Affairs in Ottawa said its embassy in Somalia has been closed and Canadians are being told to leave the country.

“The security situation in Somalia is very volatile,” a government website says.

Sylvie LaFleur, of Canada Steamship Lines, one of the Canada’s largest carriers, said its ships travel through the pirate-infested waters.

“We take many precautions to ensure the safety of our crew,” LaFleur said.

Pirates last month seized a Ukrainian cargo ship that had on board tanks, rocket-propelled grenades and ammunition. Food shipments to the war-torn region are also being disrupted.

But maybe the pirates will start wearing hearing protection?