Terrorism/Danger Defence on Mega-Yachts

Here's some past discussions...

Pirates and other encounters...

http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/g...r-high-seas-encounters.html?highlight=pirates

Terrorism and other threats…

http://www.yachtforums.com/forums/g...underwater-terrorism.html?highlight=terrorist

Hi Michael,

About self defense on yachts there has been some discussions here as you can read from the previous post and elsewhere on the net, but the topic as such shouldn´t really be discussed in open forums. But as you can guess, when money isn´t the subject, anything is possible, from pepper-spray to guided missiles.

On crew, you should look into the charter sites of the major yacht brokers. There you will find the number of crew on yachts of all sizes.

For private yachts you sometimes have to add personal staff, like nannies or bodygards to that figure.

paranoid?

Gentlemen when it come’s to crew composition and rank on mega yachts it might be wise to limit some of our discussions as it may well be used by a particular group of people for not so innocent reasons, call me paranoid but just the fact this guy is doing a paper on it might give us cause to worry.
The fact that terrorists have not used yachts dose not mean to say they have not or are not thinking about it??????????????????

Paranoia?

I reply to the rather "paranoic" reaction of "chiefengineer 00", why not
add "7"?
Since 9/11 a lot has changed on the other side of the water that separates us, and not always for the better.
Fingerprints and photographs, for example, are taken "here" if you're a criminal and have to enter prison, not for a tourist or a business visitor.

By the way, on this side of the water we write "does", not "dose".
No hard feelings engineer, but cool it man!

TRY,

I have to agree with Lars and the Chief Engineer on this for a few reasons...

First, most proficient captains are aware of hot spots and plot courses to avoid trouble. There are information portals detailing dangerous regions, including a list of attacked ships, etc...

http://www.yachtpiracy.org/en/index.htm

Second, there are builders that offer preventive measure options to thwart potential problems and they have devised some effective counter-measures. Trinity is an example of this. I discussed this at length with Billy Smith and although he touched on the equipment and systems available, he asked me not to disclose the details, for obvious reasons.

Third... the Gulf War is an example of WHY this is not a good subject to discuss openly. There were NO oilwell fires in Kuwait when coalition forces were ousting Saddam Hussein's regime, until commentators and reporters begin broadcasting their concern, on televised media, about the havoc this could create. A couple of days later (if my memory serves me well) the first oil well fires began.

Many forms of media prey on the public's fear. In their desperate attempts to get breaking stories, or to create interesting stories, they often plant an idea that would have been best left under the scope. Frankly, they should rise to a higher standard, exercise greater responsibility, and learn to switch the microphone off for the greater benefit of humanity. In the case of YF, a publically accessible forum, maybe it is best for us to exercise the same restraints and show responsibility.

And finally, we have a good number of major yacht captains on YF. If they don't speak up on the subject, this is likely the reason for their silence. Maybe it would be best to let our new member "navigator"... navigate his own way on this subject?

Bravo... Well said. Sorry Navigator, but we have to be very careful about this subject.

For most of us the issue is not one of using massive amounts of C4 to turn the yacht into a WMD, it's a simple matter of wealthy owners and guests (many of whom are high profile) who don't want the whole world knowing about their security.
Sorry but that's about it.

Dave

For anyone requiring general information regarding security on vessels, ISPS (International ships and port security) the IMO (International Maritime organisation) have a world recognised program of general security suggestions, and a code of operation, which is probably the best place for someone to look into the various security issues concerning the operators and flag states regarding security and prevention of use of vessel for terrorist activities and prevention of access by pirates.
This would allow a general overview without any details of individual security being accessed, which is, for both security and privacy reasons unlikely to be available, would you post a plan of your homes access points and security systems on the notice board of your local sailing club? I wouldnt. I would also sack my security guard (if i had one, and most yachts have a crew member responsible as ships security officer) also, if this information was made available, insurance would be invalidated in the case of a claim due to theft or worse.
So, for a general overview, look into ISPS
Hope this helps, can we please not pursue the individual yachts information, it
can only cause concern to both owners and crew.

Knowlage base

If any yacht owner is concerned about security or safety on their yacht!! or have any compliance issues
The one man I have met in this industry who is a walking talking encyclopedia on the subject of ISPS or I.S.M CODE and ships compliance to ''Flag'' or ''State'' is Derek Smith at Fraser yachts in Ft. Lauderdale.
If he does not know about it then it is not important.