In the past few years, there have been more reported cases of maritime problems (piracy, hijacking, terrorism) than in any other decade. The sea is becoming one of the hotly contested areas in world affairs. With trillions of dollars of cargo traveling through various sea routes, ensuring maritime protection is essential.
In many cases, ships are carrying important cargo like medicines and food items for aid countries. On the other hand, they can also carry elements like arms, ammunition, tanks and so on. If the security of the ship is compromised, the same can land in evil hands.
In this article, we will look at four simple things you can do to enhance the security of your ship. However, before we go into the points, let us first look at why shipping is important to human sustenance and development.
The Shipping and Maritime Industry: why is it so important?
If you analyze the major ways, goods and services are moved in the world, you will see that we have three options-
- By air (planes)
- By road (trucks and trains)
- By sea (ships)
International trade across countries and continents is done only by air and sea. Even then, planes, even the biggest ones have severe limitations when it comes to moving goods and services. This is where ships are essential to help the world economy keep moving. The sheer volume of products they can carry across continents makes them indispensable to trade.
Carry indispensable, also makes them susceptible to attacks from pirates, terrorists and rogue governments. Any shipping incident in international waters is bound to become global news and affect diplomatic relations among countries.
4 Simple Ways to improve the security of your Ship: The List
- Paying attention to the Communications Systems-
When you are out at sea, there are many things, which can go wrong. In most cases, help can also be very far away. Hence, it is essential that the communications systems onboard the ship are up-to-date at all times. This can help you make communication even during turbulent storms or when you are in danger and have been intercepted.
- Focussing on your Engine and other equipment-
Just like hyenas prey on injured and weak animals, so to terrorists and pirates. They know that a ship, which has engine issues, is likely to be a handicap at sea. This can make it an easy target. It is important that you always invest in the best maritime protection products in Singapore. This will allow your consignment and your crew to be always safe from such threats.
- Having regular Training Sessions for your Employees-
Everyone onboard the ship needs to understand his or her roles and responsibilities. This includes the captain, the dock officer, the cadets as well as your helps, cooks and so on. It is important that regular security and training sessions be organized to help them familiarise themselves. Events like a security threat, storms, engine failures and other episodes need to be played out.
- Ensuring that everything is always Insured at all times-
There might be moments where you can simply not do anything to prevent a crisis. Even if you are best prepared, there might be times, where things are just going to go in the opposite direction. One best practice, which should always ensure is ensuring everything on the ship. This means ensuring your cargo, employees and the ship itself. This will help you minimize losses in the event something goes wrong.
Conclusion
When it comes to the shipping industry and everything related to it, preparation is the key. The more you are prepared for untoward incidents; the better will be your response when something actually happens. By following the above four points, you will be able to improve the security of your ship as well as your employees.