John Willy, Commander, Royal Australian Naval Reserve and Regional Operations Manager Australia, Orient Overseas Container Line, gave a presentation Counter-piracy Operations in the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea and Somali Basin to a joint meeting with the IMarEST attended by twenty-nine on 4 May in the Harricks Auditorium at Engineers Australia, Chatswood.
The area covered by the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea and the Somali Basin is currently a major hot spot for maritime piracy, with daily attacks against passing ships as well as frequent hijackings taking place every month. The situation has worsened over the past few years, with attacks by pirates becoming more daring and extremely aggressive. Vital shipping trade lanes connecting Asia with the Mediterranean and Europe pass through the Arabian Sea, Somali Basin and Gulf of Aden from the Indian Ocean. Piracy in this area is holding the international shipping community to ransom.
John Willy recently returned from a three-month deployment in the United Arab Emirates, serving with the Royal Navy and working in their counter-piracy operations. John provided a detailed presentation on the current situation regarding piracy in this area, and explained some of the tactics used by the various pirate action groups in capturing passing ships. He also gave an overview of the military presence in the region involved with counter-piracy, and exposed some graphic images of damages to ships’ superstructures.
It is expected that John’s presentation will be written up in the August issue of The ANA.
The vote of thanks was proposed, and the “thank you” bottle of wine presented, by Hannah Flint, the Membership Manager for IMarEST in the UK. The vote was carried with acclamation.
|
