UK – SOMALIA – WORLDWIDE –
After 5 years of representing the private maritime security industry the
Directors of the Security Association for the Maritime Industry (SAMI) have made the decision to put the company into voluntary liquidation.
When the association was first formed piracy and hijackings of merchant vessels
off the coast of Somalia were increasing at an alarming rate but since the
first members joined in April 2011 much has changed with suspicious activity in
the Gulf of Aden becoming less and less frequent. CEO of SAMI, Peter Cook said:
“There has not been a
successful hijacking of a commercial vessel in the High Risk Area since May
2012 and this is principally due to the increasing competence and
professionalism of the private maritime security industry. This is the task
SAMI set out to achieve and we have done it.
“We would like to publicly
thank all current and past members of the SAMI Secretariat, our associates,
affiliates, partners and the members that have contributed so much to the
success of the Association and the unique position we have held within the
global maritime industry for the past 5 years.”
The industry has also evolved
and consolidated significantly with membership falling from its peak of 180 to
less than half that figure. Consequently the Association finds that it is no
longer financially sustainable in its current configuration.
The SAMI Secretariat says it
has worked tirelessly, on behalf of its membership, to represent them in as
many influential forums as possible around the world and to establish an
effective regulatory structure for the use of armed guards on board ships in
the pirate-infested waters of the Indian Ocean. Dr Phillip Belcher, Marine
Director, INTERTANKO commented:
“SAMI’s contribution to
ensuring a better regulated space was significant. Through the provision of a
single point of contact to this industry, shipowners were able to talk sensibly
and proactively at a real time of crisis in the shipping industry. It is a
shame that that point of contact is now being lost, but their positive impacts
will remain as their legacy.”
SAMI greatly influenced the
development of the use of armed guards on board ships in the North-West Indian
Ocean and, as noted by former Commander of the naval task force EUNAVFOR, Vice Admiral Duncan
Potts, the private maritime security industry ‘has a 100% rate of success’,
protecting many thousands of seafarers from pirate attacks and the horrors and
deprivations of being held hostage, details of some of which were linked to our story in
2011 and which contained
shocking images.
SAMI has reassured ship owners,
charterers, and marine insurers of a high standard of professionalism from the
Privately Contracted Armed Security Personnel (PCASP) providing a measured and
proportionate response to deter pirates from attacking ships transiting the
High Risk Area. Neil Roberts, Manager Marine and Aviation, Lloyd’s Market
Association (LMA) said:
“There is no doubt that SAMI
made a positive contribution to the private maritime security industry by
helping to establish improved regulation and, in doing so, improved how the
industry was perceived. Its pioneering work on floating armouries will be an
enduring legacy.”
The Security Association for
the Maritime Industry (SAMI) was founded by Peter Cook (a former Royal Marine
Officer) and Steven Jones (a former Merchant Navy Officer) in the spring of
2011. At its peak, over 180 Private Maritime Security Companies from more than
35 countries around the globe were members. SAMI was a NGO and not for profit
association that represented its extensive membership in the most influential
supranational forums such as the UN’s International Contact Group for Piracy
Off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS), the IMO as part of the Marshall Islands
delegation, the European Commission’s Stakeholders Advisory Group on Maritime
Security (SAGMaS) and the G7++ Friends of Gulf of Guinea (FOGG), exploring ways
in which private maritime security could support the protection of seafarers
and promote a more secure maritime domain.
http://www.handyshippingguide.com
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