MT Fairchem Bogey, a chemical tanker was hijacked back in 2011 at port in the Gulf of Oman while sailing under the Marshall Islands flag, 21 Indian sailors were on board. It was hijacked by Somali pirates who boarded the vessel ferrying a cattle load, while being anchored and it was unclear whether the ship was carrying any cargo.
According to Maritime Bulletin, the tanker had armed guards on board who were later released in Oman; first mistake done in ship management. The hijacking took place in the region of the Arabian Sea; connecting Oman, Yemen and Somalia. This region, according to marineinsight.com is the 9th most piracy-prone region with Oman being the most targeted, in the world which warrants constant protection of vessels.
However, further investigation points to the fact that international organisations under-manage this area due to its geographical location and limitation of naval resources available. A possible solution can be the provision of air cover from helicopters and aircraft patrols; such measures will balance out the lack of naval resources and assist existing ones. Helicopters and drones would be a good investment as helicopters have maneuverability and ease of movement along with dropping of counter-piracy forces; surveillance drones can monitor for suspicious activity and allow for faster preparation.
Mis-management of security measures as well as disregard for possible danger and history of piracy within the region is the first mistake done by crew of the Fairchem Bogey; factor of human error. Before analysing human errors it is worth breaking down the categories of staff employed in maritime; shore staff and sea staff which leads to a unified HRM system. A unified HRM doubles the chance for a mistake to occur as according to a study of 100 maritime accidents each person makes an average of 2 errors; divided across the entire organizational structure. In the case of Fairchem Bogey, the error was overconfidence and possibly lack of knowledge; among the most common human errors
