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Neptune Maritime Security News

04 Apr 2016

Port2Port, Neptune Maritime Security to Merge

Photo courtesy of Neptune Maritime Security

Two global maritime security risk management providers Port2Port Maritime Security and Neptune Maritime Security announced they have agreed to merge. The combined group will provide significant scale and service advantages to the shipping and offshore industries, as well as improving the global reach of both companies. The merger follows an extensive strategic evaluation process between both companies, where key areas such as operational capability, logistics and quality of service were carefully examined to ensure consistent and enhanced service for existing and new clients.

21 Mar 2014

Neptune Maritime Security Adds to Asia Area Staff

Neptune Patrol Boat: Image courtesy of Neptune Maritime Security

Neptune Maritime Security says that Graham Storey has joined its team representing Asian and South East Asian clients. Graham has a wealth of experience in the shipping industry in Singapore and will be working closely with Neptune’s representatives in Japan and Asia. Additionally, Neptune has moved its ISO 9001:2008 certification to LRQA, who certified the company to ISO PAS 28007 in January this year. Neptune Maritime Security was founded in 2009 by former members of the UK Special Boat Service and provides specialist Risk Management and Security solutions tailored to the safety…

10 Feb 2014

Neptune Maritime Security Certified to ISO PAS 28007

From L to R: Mike Richards, Ron Bishop and David Derrick from LRQA, Ian Simpson (Neptune GM), Cara Sims  (Neptune Operations Manager) and Jeremy Johnson (Neptune Business Development Manager).

Neptune announce that it has been certified by Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance (LRQA) to ISO PAS 28007. The PAS, as part of the ISO 28000 family of security standards, gives established guidelines to private maritime security companies (PMSC) providing armed guards to ships. Certification to the standards demonstrates to clients and stakeholders that Neptune Maritime Security and its operatives can legally, safely and effectively guard their people, assets and reputation having undergone a rigorous and internationally recognised process.

22 Jul 2013

Shipping Registries and Piracy Response

Brad Berman, ship finance and registry lawyer,  Partner at Holland & Knight (H&K)

International shipping registries have continued to sharpen their aim taken at a longstanding maritime problem: What is the appropriate response to piracy? As attacks have shifted from Somalia to West Africa, the issue remains at top of mind. Armed guards have proven to be a successful deterrent against attacks. Ship finance and registry lawyer Brad Berman, a Partner at Holland & Knight (H&K), sums up a sea change in views over the past year in views about guns aboard ships, telling Maritime Reporter: “A few years ago most of the shipping industry was against having weapons aboard…

15 Apr 2013

Maritime Anti-Piracy, The Captain’s Guide Book

The fight against global piracy is as old as the seas themselves. Recent years have seen huge increases in pirate attacks against commercial shipping and, while the risk of piracy off East Africa is now believed to be somewhat diminished, the threat remains in the region and the cost to the global economy has been estimated to be as much as $6 billion by Oceans Beyond Piracy in their 2012 report. Piracy in West Africa and the South China Sea, meanwhile, is very much on the increase.

16 Feb 2012

The Pirate Surge That Never Was

In September 2011, as the monsoon began to blow itself out, there were grave warnings from a number of sources and analysts that the shipping industry could expect to see a significant surge in pirate activity as conditions in the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean became more favorable. But as conditions cleared, the anticipated increase in pirate activity failed to materialize, to the surprise of many in the industry. This was all the more remarkable given the business model of Somali pirates…

09 Feb 2012

Piracy Notice: MV Free Goddess Reported Hijacked

Neptune Maritime Security received information via credible channels that the vessel, MV FREE GODDESS (IMO 9107045), has been successfully hijacked by Somali pirates. According to the report Neptune received, the Liberian-flagged bulk carrier came under attack on February 7, 2012, in position 16.03N 062.26E (approximately 520nm NE of Socotra Island) at around 1500 UTC from an unknown number of pirates. Reports state that UKMTO received a call from the CSO of Free Goddess stating that he could not contact the vessel. The Free Goddess was en route from Adabiya, Egypt to Singapore, carrying 19,475mt of steel cable with a crew of 21 Filipinos on board. The vessel is not responding to any calls.

04 Nov 2011

The Changing Face of Piracy

As the NATO and EU NAVFOR operations Ocean Shield and Atalanta continue their work in the Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean and Red Sea areas, one could easily be forgiven for thinking, well, that’s that. Tough luck, pirates, the world is on to you. Sadly, as anyone involved in international shipping knows, that is very far from the truth. The fact is that the areas patrolled by the world’s navies are vast and the chance of early interdiction of a pirate skiff or mothership by a naval vessel is small. In the risk versus reward world of the pirate, it’s a virtual no-brainer.

30 Aug 2011

Pirate Activity in the Red Sea/Eritrea Area

Further to our previous media releases detailing a potential new trend in pirate tactics in an area of the Red Sea off Eritrea (see Figure 1), Neptune Maritime Security has had the opportunity to examine the available data through our Intelligence Bank, including material supplied by intelligence sources, and presents the following report to interested parties. In July, pirate activity off Eritrea was limited to small numbers of pirates mounting similarly small-scale attacks on shipping. while underway in position 13:27N-042:39E, approximately 27nm NW off Assab, Eritrea.

19 Aug 2011

Piracy: Second Red Sea ‘Mass Attack’ Suggests New Trend

Following a report filed on Sunday August 7, 2011, by the IMB Live Piracy Reporting Center, which saw suspected Somali pirates at 13:02N 043:07E attempt to hijack a vessel off the coast  of Eritrea in large numbers, Neptune Maritime Security raised concerns over this apparent change of tactics. Unfortunately, it would indeed appear that pirates in the area are banding together in an attempt to ‘swarm’ vessels. On Thursday August 18th, the IMB Live Piracy Reporting Centre listed an attempted hijacking* on a bulk carrier underway around 22nm NE of Assab, Eritrea in the Red Sea at 13:16N 043:01E. Interestingly, this is approximately 26.19km North of the attack on August 7th, and could suggest that this large group of pirates have a specific area of operations.

14 Jul 2011

Piracy: Attacks Getting Bigger, Bolder

According to data released July 14, 2011, by the International Maritime Bureau, pirate attacks off Somalia and in the GoA/Indian Ocean region climbed dramatically in the first six months of this year. Figures reveal that there were 266 attacks on vessels in this period compared with 196 attacks in 2010. “In the last six months, Somali pirates attacked more vessels than ever before and they’re taking higher risks,” IMB director Pottengal Mukundan said. They fired on ships for the first time during the monsoon season last month, he said. Pirates hijacked one in eight vessels attacked in the first half of the year, compared with one in four a year earlier, the report showed.

01 Apr 2011

UAESA Reverses Decision on Armed Security Teams

The tragic loss of life on board the S/V Quest last week, which saw four American citizens die at the hands of Somali pirates, has once again raised the issue of the use of force into the headlines. The killings come as the shipping industry reconsiders its position on the presence of weapons on board vessels, with the UAE Shipping Association (UAESA) reversing their decision against the use of private security guards aboard commercial vessels. In the case of the S/V Quest, it would appear that negotiations between US forces and the pirates went seriously wrong, with terrible consequences.

30 Mar 2011

Neptune Maritime Security Becomes ICoC PSSP Signatory

Neptune Maritime Security is pleased to announce that, as of April 1st 2011, it will be recognised as a full signatory to the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers (ICoC PSSP). This initiative, launched by the Swiss government in Geneva in November, 2010, has been widely hailed as a landmark agreement and praised by governments and human rights groups alike. By becoming a signatory, Neptune Maritime Security agrees to adhere to the terms of the ICoC…