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essary information about the situation in the Gulf of
Aden. Unfortunately as IMO delivers every third
ship does not follow this routine and endangers itself
and the crew.
The European Commission calls on EU Member
States, to use all available means of protection,
which are aimed at combating hazards while cross-
ing the Gulf of Aden. At the same time calls on the
EU States, to disseminate, control and up-date best
practices, aimed at combating acts of piracy and
armed attacks in the Gulf of Aden.
IMO issued a series of recommendations aimed at
avoiding slowdown, and inhibit acts of piracy and
armed assault along the coast of Somalia and the
Gulf Aden, intended for companies, operators, cap-
tains and crew members. The practices were accept-
ed by international members of maritime sector (eg.
INTERTANKO - International Association of Inde-
pendent Tanker Owners, ICO - International Cham-
ber of Shipping, BIMCO – The Baltic and Interna-
tional Maritime Council, IMO – International
Maritime Organization and many others)
10
.
Generally speaking it is being advised to use the
IRTC and to enter the gulf in groups at scheduled
time which gives the possibility to international
forces to escort the vessels. They should avoid enter-
ing territorial water of Yemen as they are not pro-
tected by international forces. Apart from that the
ships should transit the waters at night as the number
of attacks is much lower at that time.
At the time of planning the transition through the
high risk area, the company together with the captain
of the ship must make the relative risk assessment,
taking into account all the most up-to-date infor-
mation from the area of the threat. This assessment
will allow to estimate the likelihood of attack by pi-
rates, and take additional outside regulation
measures in favour of the fight against piracy. Own-
ers are obliged to register their ships on the website
of the MSC (HOA) – www.mschoa.eu, since it is the
source of many necessary and most up-to-date in-
formation needed when planning a journey in waters
of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden. The captain is
obliged to ensure that all procedures associated with
the passage of a vessel by a vulnerable area were
made. He must make sure that the company reported
to MARLO – Maritime Communications Office and
UKMTO Dubai - the United Kingdom Maritime
Trade Operations intention of entry of the vessel in
international Transit Corridor – the IRTC, five days
before the planned entry. If such notification has not
been sent, the captain is required to complete this
obligation. The captain must accurately inform the
crew of the planned passage and anti-piracy protec-
tion measures. The captain decides also if the AIS
10
Trapla M., op. cit., 78-79.
(Automatic identification System) should be turned
on or not. A very important element in secure
against pirate attack is blocking access to the ship. In
the first instance you should protect and control ac-
cess to the bridge of the captain, the bridge, the en-
gine room, and all cabins inside the vessel.
It is recommended that there is a special dedicat-
ed room onboard -a citadel ‘a hardened’ secure
space in the ship, which fulfils the role of the assem-
bly at the time when the risk of attack has been pi-
rated. It is designed to block and delay access to the
control of the ship by pirates. Although in 2010 mili-
tary forces have freed three vessels by conducting
‘opposed boardings’ while the crew was safely
sealed in citadels. Despite this, shipping operators
are warned that they should not treat a citadel as a
panacea and that a proper risk analysis is essential
11
.
Requirements for the placing of the citadel and how
to use it are the newsgroups, for this reason, masters
of vessels, on a regular basis should verify this in-
formation via the MSC (HOA).
Another a very popular way of thwarting a pirates
attack is the use of water and fire hoses and hose to
clean the deck. It is recommended that they are dis-
tributed over the whole length of the deck ready for
use, and the pump, supplying water to the hydrants
should be in on, while passing through high risk are-
as. High pressure water stream addressed in the at-
tackers, effectively can refute the attack.
Additional protection for the ship may be appli-
cable Razor Ship. This is a system of cables wired
along the side of the ship and low placed to enter at
the stern. This is one of the essential elements of the
passive defence before the attack, which can be used
while passing the sea, at the time of berthing at an-
chor and in port. The system has many advantages,
thanks to which it is so popular on ships, and they
are:
− low cost;
− strong psychological barrier to overcome, not
ease to overcame for the attackers;
− easy assembly and dismantling (such a security
system is only recommended in risk areas);
− high efficiency and the possibility of prolonged
use; practical packaging allows the quick and safe
positioning of the crew to wire the whole length
of the ship, and facilitates storage in marine con-
ditions .
− system of passive protection (approaching at your
own risk);
− easy to link individual lengths of wire (in the case
of securing large surface)
− a good tool for protection against pirates, together
with the LRAD (Long Range Acoustic Device -
11
Worwood D., A new anti-piracy bible, Safety at Sea, 23, Oc-
tober 2010, vol. 44 no 500.