Collaboration between the heads of security of oil and gas companies and suppliers to the industry will help minimise security challenges in Africa, according to Doug Byers of shipbuilding and maritime solutions company Nautic Africa
Nautic Africa’s business development manager said that the heads of security of companies such as Shell Nigeria, Subsea7, Tidewater, Halliburton and Statoil work under extremely challenging conditions and have an enormous responsibility to ensure the safety of staff, sub-contractors and assets, while focusing on, and improving, issues such as safety awareness, processes and measures.
The Corporate Security Forum (CSF) conference, which was recently held in London in October 2014 and attended by Byers, was an opportunity to gain a better understanding of the security challenges facing these security executives as well as their numerous responsibilities, which go beyond maritime security to include security in others areas such as IT, transport and local communities.
Byers said, “During the conference, we received a report of a vessel hijacking on the western coast of Africa. The pirates had been monitoring vessels leaving the harbour, and presumably had an onshore contact providing them with intelligence about potential targets. The pirates struck as soon as the vessel became isolated in open water, robbing the crew and taking a hostage.”
Byers explained that how the report at the conference quickly turned to a discussion on how the incident could have been avoided and how important it is to not only have the right processes and people in place, but also the right ‘tools’ to deal with these challenges.
“These tools include having high-speed and ballistic-protected vessels such as Nautic Africa’s Sentinel range, which provide a safe haven against small firearms and have the ability to outrun the pirates,” he noted
The executive added said that the CSF focus was on the current pressing security challenges facing the oil and gas industry. The event also provided a platform for sharing information on Nautic Africa’s specialised patrol and vessels, which have been purpose-built for the oil and gas market.
