GAC Protective Solutions calls for non-lethal, anti-piracy approach

GAC Protective Solutions is calling on shipowners and operators to adopt a more systematic approach to sea defence that is based upon a multi-layered model of non-lethal risk mitigation measures, rather than relying on armed guards for vessel protection.

The conclusion was published in its new position paper entitled Sea Crime: Replacing the Fear. The company argues an alternative approach to sea defence ought to replace "undue reliance on armed guards on vessels travelling through high-risk areas with a more systematic approach based on the concept of the Maritime Risk Management Onion".

The Maritime Risk Management Onion is based on the principles of intelligence, detection, communications, defend & deter, control and the safe haven.

"The number of successful attacks on vessels crossing the Indian Ocean has fallen from one out of every 4,000 vessels to around one in 13,000. While there is no room for complacency, shipowners and operators should certainly take the opportunity to undertake a rational assessment of all the security options available to them. History informs us that the best security solution lies in a robust system, rather than a single device," said GAC maritime security director Rick Filon.

The company is a partnership between global shipping, logistics and marine services provider GAC and maritime intelligence agency AKE Ltd, with its headquarters in Hereford near the British Army's Special Air Service (SAS) base. It rivals Neptune Maritime Security in Bournemouth near the navy's Royal Marines headquarters at Portsmouth.

The AKE "army" team, headed by ex-SAS man Andrew Kain, who wrote "SAS Handbook" and has promoted his company in the course of providing an analysis of the pirate problem for logistics major GAC Protective Solutions.