For years the issue of piracy on the high seas has been a chronic, yet almost acceptable disease inflicting the maritime and maritime insurance industries. But the recent hijacking of the Sirius Star, a Saudi super large oil tanker, off the Eastern coast of Africa concentrated the collective minds of both the international maritime and security communities. The incident of the Sirius Star exposed the almost absolute vulnerability of ships on the high seas to piracy and terror attacks.

Now, while the Sirius Star incident is ransom-motivated, it is reasonable to assume that terror organizations around the world watch this new “trend” with interest, and we cannot exclude the worst case scenario - the hijacking of an oil/LNG tanker with for terror purposes.

An international flotilla of ships from American, Russian, Indian, British, and French navies tries to provide some security to oil tankers and other commercial maritime traffic, particularly in front of the (very long) Somalie costline, but these forces are stretched thin across vast areas, and even at the best of times can barely cover only oil choke points such as Bab-El-Mandeb, and the straights of Hormuz and Malacca.

So how do we mitigate against maritime piracy, and even worse so against maritime terrorism?

One of the solutions is to staff each seagoing merchant ships with an on-board armed security crew. This measure, used routinely by the Israeli merchant fleet, is especially desirable for oil and LNG tankers - cargos that can best serve the purposes of terrorists. Such services, provided by multiple private security organizations, cost $20,000 to $50,000 a day. In view of the potential dangers and the high cost of ransoms, and the infinitely higher costs of a successful maritime-borne terror attack, this appears to be a reasonable cost,

However, several factors hinder development of this market segment:

• The notion that armed guards pose more of a risk than a safeguard (e.g., if ships are transporting volatile cargo like oil, a gunshot could lead to a literally explosive situation).
• Host countries do not want to have armed foreigners entering their souvereign territory.

Still, professionals in the LNG industry present a more positive attitude towards such a development, and if the situation does not change significantly for the better soon, others in the maritime and security industries may start changing their mind as well.

What are market opportunities in providing security at high seas:

• The International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) requires AIS (Automatic Identification System) to be fitted aboard international voyaging ships with gross tonnage (GT) of 300 or more tons, and all passenger ships regardless of size. It is estimated that more than 40,000 ships currently carry AIS class A equipment. Still, ship location and tracking capabilities are a far cry from the prevailing equivalent standards in aviation, for example.
• High sea security services, equipment, and crew training.
• Early detection and warning systems, sensors, onboard intrusion alarms and C3I systems.
• Ship-borne means of deterrence and threat mitigation: helicopter, power boats, lethal and non-lethal weapons.

Please consider the following reports for in-depth analysis and forecast of the maritime security market segments:

• Global Homeland Security, Homeland Defense & Intelligence Markets Outlook 2009-2018
• Global LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) Infrastructure Security Market 2009 - 2014
• Saudi Arabia Homeland Security Market Outlook - 2009-2018
• Saudi Oil Industry Security Market 2009 - 2014