The early successes in the use of shipborne citadels to protect ships' crews, attacked by Somali pirates in the Horn of Africa and Indian Ocean regions, appeared to provide a simple measure to foil any attempted hijack. News of merchant vessels evading capture by retreating to the 'safe room', or being rescued by naval units came to the fore in 2010. MV BBC Orinoco - rescued by the Indian Navy; MV Magellan Star -rescued by US Marines; MV Go Trader - where the pirates abandoned the vessel, and MV Beluga Fortune - rescued by a Royal Navy frigate, all of which gave a relatively 'quick fix' to the problem of being boarded by pirates. Or so it would seem, as covered in an editorial by OCEANUSLive Citadels; Safe? For How Long? 

Things have moved on since that November 2010 editorial, and the question asked has been answered in a manner that no one had foreseen. The events leading to the capture by Somali pirates of MV Beluga Nomination are worrying, frustrating, alarming and have proved to have great effect on the attitudes of some shipping companies.

The events surrounding the hijack of the Beluga Nomination remain clouded even now. However, the German operators expressed their outrage in light of the fact that the ship had asked for assistance from military units when the pirates had first boarded the vessel. With no naval unit within reach of the vessel, they were holed up in the citadel (the precise location has not been reported) for over 2 days. The pirates had that time to break into the citadel and take the crew plus the unarmed security team as hostages. A rescue was attempt was made by a Dutch warship and Seychelles patrol vessel, however, this proved disastrous with only 2 crewmembers managing to escape in a lifeboat, but 3 others died as a result of the abortive attempt, including the Bosun being executed in retaliation. Consequently, the German ship operators have lobbied the German government to permit armed guards to be placed on German-flagged, -owned vessels. The call for armed guards to man vessels transiting through the region have grown, with more shipping authorities and seafarers unions demanding the use of armed guards, and more action by their governments to secure the release of seafarers.

But back to citadels, as they have become commonly known, rather than 'safe room' as was the preferred name last year. There has been various statements by military authorities in response to the industry frustrations relating to the employment of citadels. The message is that the use of a citadel does not guarantee a military response. It is the responsibility of merchant shipping owners, operators and masters to understand the criteria that military forces will apply in any action to free any vessel. At 2.5 million square miles (pirates having expanded their geographical scope — north toward the Straits of Hormuz, south toward Mozambique and east nearly to India) and between 20 to 30 multinational naval units (mainly in the Gulf of Aden or escorting WFP vessels off the east coast of Africa) to cover the area, the recommendation is that citadels are used as complimentary to the measures stated in the industry-agreed, BMP3.

A statement was agreed by EUNAVFOR, NATO, UKMTO, CMF and industry organisations involved as signatories of BMP3, which is as follows:

"If CITADELS are to be employed, it is strongly recommended that they must be seen as complementary to, rather than a replacement for, all other self-protection measures set out in BMP 3. It is the responsibility of owners, operators and masters to decide and implement their policy in relation to the use of citadels. The most effective counter-piracy tactic is to ensure through passive defensive measures that the pirates do not board the ship in the first place. CITADELS have become a focus of discussion as a result of their successful use on recent occasions. However, there has been a mis-perception on the part of some in the Shipping Industry that the occupation of CITADELS will result in a military response to release the sea-farers. As a consequence of this mis-perception, and with support from Industry organisations, further guidance and advice relating to these expectations are provided below.

 The use of a CITADEL DOES NOT guarantee a military response. Before owners, operators and masters commit to a policy that recommends the use of a citadel, it is important to understand the criteria that military forces will apply before a boarding to free the ship can be considered:  

1. 100% of the crew must be secured in the CITADEL.  
2. The Crew of the ship must have self-contained, independent, 2-way external communications. Sole reliance on VHF communications is insufficient. 
3. The pirates must be denied access to propulsion. 

The following points should also be taken into consideration when preparing CITADELS:  

1. All emergency equipment in the CITADEL should be fully and regularly tested for functionality. 
2. The communications system should have a power supply for a minimum of 3 days, based on a continuous open line, see note 1 
3. A full list of emergency contact numbers including UKMTO should be held inside the CITADEL. 
4. At least three days of food and water provisions for all the crew should be available in the CITADEL.
5. Medical supplies, including medication for the treatment of physical trauma, and sanitation should be made available."

An interesting footnote (note 1 quoted above) is included which states, "consider satellite communications/satellite e-mail." This last aspect is of particular interest to us at OCEANUSLive, and has been mentioned in our previous article about the use of citadels. The idea of a real-time information exchange capability, that is secure and readily available, even in a citadel with computer/mobile device access to the internet, and therefore, to the relevant authorities at short notice, can only be of great benefit to enhance the security and safety of the seafarer, and the vessels they operate.

OCEANUSLive is open for live testing by users; and there are already many users registered who see the value in such a capability. This is an opportunity to not only extend the ability to coordinate and co-operate better between the commercial shipping community and other organisations, Flag and regional States, but to also help deliver a low-bandwidth information exchange facility. OCEANUSLive supports the aims of the IMO "Piracy - orchestrating the response" initiative to promote greater levels of support, and promote anti-piracy coordination and cooperation procedures. It is independent, which places it uniquely in a position to deliver to all the necessary authorities, and users, that seek to provide the freedom of navigation for the world trade transiting across the waters off Somalia. It involves a change in mindset for many, but to truly enhance the security and safety of the seafarer requires situational awareness to be shared. OCEANUSLive provides a secure, real-time, collaborative environment that enables the greater protection of maritime assets and people through information sharing. Why not register and find out for yourself - Information, Security, Safety; Shared.

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