Drum Cussac News

Somali pirate attacks down by 95 pct since 2011 -Maritime bureau. Cash-strapped maritime security firms are being forced to use fewer costly elite guards and to diversify into other businesses such as cyber security, as a steep decline in Somali pirate attacks and hotter competition erode fast-thinning margins. Hundreds of security firms sprang up over the past seven years to offer protection to shipping companies, with scores of merchant vessels being boarded and sailors taken hostage in pirate raids off the coast of conflict-torn Somalia. However, attacks in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean have dropped from a peak of 237 in 2011 to just 10 in the first nine months of this year, the lowest since the piracy scourge began in 2008, according to the International Maritime Bureau.

Drum Cussac and Ambrey Risk have agreed the sale and purchase of Drum Cussac’s maritime transits security division. Drum Cussac’s transits security division provides security consultants in all marine environments to protect commercial shipping from seaborne piracy threats, predominantly in the Lloyds of London High Risk Area (HRA) of the Indian Ocean. Drum Cussac has provided this service to a large number of clients since 2008. Ambrey Risk will integrate Drum Cussac’s maritime transits operations staff and equipment into its existing business.

Drum Cussac said it is helping Tanzania's budding entrepreneurs cater to the requirements of the international oil and gas companies operating in the country, as part of its own Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative and a Tanzanian government vocational scheme. In the coastal town of Mtwara, in southern Tanzania, Drum Cussac liaises with students at one of the country's many Vocational Education and Training Authority (VETA) centers, facilitating the provision and refurbishment…

The late Nelson Mandela once said: “I dream of an Africa which is in peace with itself.” At the EU-Africa summit in Brussels last month, European leaders urged their African counterparts to facilitate that dream by shouldering more of the security burden in their countries, both onshore and offshore. The summit coincided with reports of renewed piracy activity in the Gulf of Aden; ongoing attacks on shipping in the Gulf of Guinea, and explosions and mass arrests in Kenya, all serving to underline the scale of that challenge.

In the second half of 2013, the number of secured transits conducted by Drum Cussac, using both armed and un-armed security consultants, was 16% up on the same period in 2012. Drum Cussac's Director of Maritime, Charlotte Tinworth said: "I am delighted with our team achievements in such a competitive industry. Our high standards, including our unrelenting focus on HSSE; the professionalism and dedication of our people, combined with our client relationships and ability to adapt to any circumstances have resulted in the growth of our market share.

The FSRU Toscana, the world’s first-ever floating Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) platform, has begun commercial operations off the coast of Italy, on schedule. However, before the 288-meter container ship, turned floating LNG storage platform, could begin operation as a regasification plant, it had to negotiate a perilous journey, being towed from Drydock World in Dubai to the Italian Coast, via the Gulf of Aden and the Suez Canal, protected by Drum Cussac security specialists. Drum Cussac’s Chief Operating Officer…

Global business risk consultancy Drum Cussac Ltd. delivered an antipiracy training program for the Malagasy Navy at the Naval Base in Diego Suarez, Madagascar. It is the first time that a private company has been permitted to partner with the Malagasy Navy. A team of Drum Cussac’s skilled and experienced risk management consultants worked closely with thirty Malagasy Naval personnel to enhance the Navy’s anti-piracy capability when operating in an offshore environment. Although reported cases of offshore security incidents in East Africa have fallen recently, the rapid development of Madagascar’s offshore oil and gas industry has led to a growing need for more robust security in the region.

The company offers a range of offshore security, transit security and risk management services. The company has its own floating logistical base in the Gulf, as well as villas where the men have downtime, and even, on one site, they give voluntary service at a local orphanage. Its agents are recruited from the Royal Marines and Special Boat Service, and they are given training in human rights, as well as corporate-social responsibility and general maritime training. “We’re bringing on new integrated services over the next year, and we’re enhancing our presence in the Gulf. With the right licensing we can embark and disembark men and weapons more efficiently than our competitors,” said Mark Pearce, marketing director.

Foreign Office Minister Henry Bellingham's speech to the British Chamber of Shipping on the UK Government’s response to counter-piracy. One of the most important duties of a Government is to protect UK citizens, both at home and abroad. In the networked world of the 21st century, insecurity in pockets of the world ripples outwards and the impact can be felt here at home. Africa is a long way from the UK. But the crimes committed on the high seas off the coast of Somalia and off the coast of West Africa have a direct impact on the UK’s security, prosperity and the lives of British people.

Somali based pirates continue to cause serious challenges to merchant vessels transiting the Indian Ocean. At the time of writing, EU NAVFOR statistics indicate that there are 26 vessels and 582 crew held captive off the coast of Somalia (not taking into account an unknown number of smaller dhows and fishing vessels that have been seized). Moreover, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) reported that Somali pirates hijacked 49 vessels in 2010, an increase from 47 in 2009. With the use of hijacked mother ships, Somali pirates proved that they are capable of operating for extended periods of time in areas further out to sea; a trend that has continued in the first months of 2011.

Somali based pirates continue to cause serious challenges to merchant vessels transiting the Indian Ocean.At the time of writing, EU NAVFOR statistics indicate that there are 26 vessels and 582 crew held captive off the coast of Somalia (not taking into account an unknown number of smaller dhows and fishing vessels that have been seized). Moreover, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) reported that Somali pirates hijacked 49 vessels in 2010, an increase from 47 in 2009. With the use of hijacked mother ships…