Piracy at sea has been a problem for hundreds of years. In recent years, it has extended far off the Somali coast, into the Indian Ocean and is now escalating on the West Coast of Africa, Indonesia and Central America.
To present-day shipping companies piracy is a major concern and expense — so it is no surprise that there has been a lot of interest in the development of vessel protection.
Guardian Maritime Limited has developed a new and deceptively simple solution to the problem of unwanted boarding under sail, at anchor or in port.
Unlike razor wire the GUARDIANTM units are quick, simple and safe to install.
The GUARDIANTM ship protection system is a BMP 4-compliant installation which forms part of a vessel’s layered defence system. It provides worldwide 24/7 protection against stowaways, robbery and piracy for vessels, crew and cargo at sea, anchor or in port Guardian Maritime is totally committed to providing a world class service, and its solution is a fit-and- forget passive sustainable, recyclable anti- piracy barrier system.
GUARDIAN MARITIME CELEBRATES FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF ITS ANTI-PIRACY BARRIER The founders of Guardian Maritime Ltd, Teresa and David Stevens, are very excited to have now passed the five-year marker on the first ship installed with the Guardian system. On 20 June 2012, the CMA CGM Bellini became the first commercial vessel to have the Guardian system installed on her lower poop deck.
This was a bold step by CMA CGM to combat the dangers of piracy and has paid off, giving substantial savings and resulting in
no replacements having to be supplied.
Both Maersk Line and CMA CGM have
now had Guardian systems protecting their
container vessels for over five years. As the
original claim by Guardian was that the
system was warranted for five years there
can be no doubt that the durability of
Guardian can be proclaimed a success. No
other anti-piracy barrier system can make
this claim.
In addition to the anniversary Guardian
can also announce its pride at having
defeated five piracy attacks in the Gulf of Guinea. Teresa and David are proud of the
fact Guardian has denied pirates the
capture and ransom of the vessels worth
hundreds of millions of pounds and an
incalculable value in cargo, but are proudest
at saving over 100 mariners from the
terrors of captivity with its associated pain
and suffering for crews and that those men
and women have returned to their families
unharmed.
GUARDIAN GOES ‘SELF-INSTALL’
In an effort to keep costs down for ship-
owners and operators whilst having a highly
effective anti-piracy system available on
their vessels, Guardian Maritime is now
offering to provide would-be clients the opportunity to have the crew install the
Guardian system. David Stevens of
Guardian said “Of course in our opinion the best way to install
Guardian is by using our
installers but many clients are
now eager for their own crews
to carry out the install during
transit. By providing clear
instruction to the crew via a
specially filmed installation, the
crew quickly learn how simple
the system is to install and use
and by working with Guardian
the confidence of the crew is
enhanced”.
Guardian Maritime has also
announced that, working in
partnership with a finance
brokers, it can now offer a
finance option to anyone wishing to purchase Guardian Barriers; this
helps to spread the cost and allows budgets
to be managed over a longer term. •
THE GUARDIAN PROMISE:
- v a proven track record with over five
piracy attacks defeated in the last 36
months, saving billions of dollars in
revenues for its clients;
- v 99% crew injury reduction using
Guardian achieving increased crew
productivity and higher motivation;
- v saved over 100 mariners’ lives to date;
and
- v five-year warranty validated by Guardian
Maritime’s annual vessel inspection if
used — a quote can be supplied.