Last January, when the MICA CENTER (Maritime, Information, Cooperation & Awareness), the French center for expertise dedicated to maritime security, had just published its annual activity report, we took the opportunity to review 2023 with François Morizur, Group Security Director, who is also a reserve officer and, as such, regularly involved with the MICA Center. Interview.
 

PartnerSHIP: How would you sum up 2023 in terms of maritime security?

François Morizur: It was a year of contrasts, with a low number of incidents, particularly in the Gulf of Guinea, where we mainly operate, but also in a geopolitical context that remains extremely tense, especially in the Black Sea. In the South American region, the situation was also calm, with, for example, no incidents at all in the Gulf of Mexico, which is an area that was greatly affected in 2022. In Asia, on the other hand, there were around a hundred incidents, over half being along the channel in Singapore. In the Indian Ocean, since the Hamas attack on Israel, there has been a knock-on effect that has led to a sharp increase in acts of maritime terrorism in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden as well as a surprising resurgence of acts of piracy by Somalian groups.
 

PS: Why "surprising"?

F. M.: Maritime piracy was stamped out in the Indian Ocean over four years ago. This sudden upsurge in piracy, at such a level of intensity and over such a wide area, was totally unexpected. 
 

PS: So, BOURBON was quite fortunate last year.

F. M.: Most of our activities take place in the Gulf of Guinea, where we've seen a real alleviation in acts of piracy. So, we've been able to benefit from greater security in this environment. In fact, we were only directly affected by two cases of theft on anchored vessels in Luanda, Angola.
 

PS: Do you attribute these good results solely to restored calm in this area or to improved application of procedures?

F. M.: It's clear that compliance with procedures has played a considerable role. In this respect, I'd like to mention that the Anguun crew, working out of Ghana, was confronted on two occasions, just two days apart, by thieves attempting to board while the vessel was anchored. These attempted thefts were prevented, since the thieves' movements were detected very quickly by the team on watch, which raised the alarm. ISPS monitoring is still key: knowing the way local thieves work, being vigilant, keeping a deterrent watch and responding as quickly as possible, to raise the alarm and stop suspected thieves boarding.
 

PS: What is your 2024 action plan?

F. M.: The year 2023 will have been a relatively quiet year for our operations in terms of maritime security. However, since exception is not the rule and we probably won't enjoy the same conditions in the coming years, we still need to be at-the-ready. In fact, we're currently experiencing a rise in regional and local tensions, which have impacted or may yet impact the maritime sector, in the China Sea, the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, Guyana, the Black Sea, etc. We're also seeing obvious pockets of tension, related to political and/or socio-economic situations, in a number of countries where our employees occasionally work and live and where there is risk of unrest or political instability. For example, Gabon and Senegal have been affected by political crises in recent months. And given latent economic crises, other signs are appearing. Finally, in the Gulf of Guinea, even if the situation could lead us to lower our guard a little, we must remain alert. On January 1st, a tanker was attacked in the south of Malabo and nine crew members were held hostage. This shows us that pirates are still highly capable of acting.
 

PS: What is your key message this year?

F. M.: Crew safety and security depend on good risk assessment, the implementing of tailored preventive measures, strict application of directives, the preparing of crews and vessels and the professionalism of our people. It goes without saying that the security environment covers all our employees, seafarers, technicians, sales teams and onshore personnel, who move around all over the planet, throughout the year, in constantly-changing environments. Once again, we must be guided by good risk assessment and by our collective and individual compliance with general and specific rules.