The successful sabotage of a gas carrier or tanker in an important trade lane could “shock waves” across the world, according to security broker Asket. The assessment comes after last week’s unsuccessful attack on a Teekay LNG ship.
As TradeWinds reported earlier this week, an investigation into the attack suggests piracy alone may not have been the motive. Teekay said the skiff that approached the 138,000-cbm Galicia Spirit (built 2004) was carrying a “substantial amount of explosives” that could have “caused significant damage to the vessel.”
The skiff blew up before it reached the Galicia Spirit, which sustained only minor damage in the attack, Teekay said.
Ships that transit dangerous water may come equipped with hardening measures to deter boardings, such as razor wire around decks and railings, fire hoses to disrupt small craft and safe rooms for the crew. But an attack aimed at utterly destroying a ship may require even more security measures, Asket advises.
Asket said a successful attack in a major area for seaborne commerce would be “spectacular” and would send “shock waves across the world.”
LNG carriers are double-hulled and the storage tanks are made of concrete and steel. But “ships companies will need to review measures to take in case of a directed attack from a small boat crewed by persons intent on their goal and laden with explosives,” it added.
Asket cited a 2002 attack against a crude oil tanker transiting from Iran to Malaysia. It was rammed by suicide bombers in explosives-laden dinghy into the starboard side of the tanker. It also cited the attack on the USS Cole in 2000, where a small craft with explosives rammed into the side of the ship, and caused the death of 17 sailors.
