Guardian Maritime sets sights on Asia-Pacific markets

Guardian  Maritime has signed an agreement with SINWA Group for the marketing of its Guardian anti-piracy barriers in the Asia-Pacific region. The agreement is in line with Guardian Maritime’s global expansion plans.

The agreement will see SINWA, a marine and logistics company that serves more than 100 ports across the Far East, become the first dual stockist and agent for the equipment outside the UK. The company will supply and fit ship owners and operators with the Guardian system, and will also hold stock in Singapore to enable faster response times to both ship fitments and the supply of replacement units by specialist teams of Guardian installers.
 
Guardian is a crew-friendly and environmentally responsible anti-piracy system. A proven alternative to razor wire, the system works by covering the ship’s safety rails with a specially designed barrier. Once installed, Guardian provides a robust and simple way of making access to the ship or rig as difficult as possible. The system is currently protecting some of the world’s biggest fleets and rigs, including CMA-CGM, Maersk and BW Tankers.

Peter Schellenberger, group sales and marketing director, Guardian  Maritime, said: ‘We have been selling huge quantities of razor wire however through talking to the technical and safety people we heard about a number of problems arising from its use – one of which is the safety of the seafarers as the use of razor wire may cause significant injuries. Some companies using razor wire do not buy the proper equipment, for example not buying the right gloves, which endangers seafarers and leads to accidents on-board vessels.

‘The other issue raised by some of our major clients is the impact on the environment. Nobody talks about the issue that arises when vessels come into Singapore Port - they are not allowed to have razor wire installed. Only a very few take it down and re-install or dispose responsibly, the majority simply cut it down and throw it overboard. Multiply that by hundreds of vessels every year and you have tonnes of rusting metal in the sea. We feel that Guardian offers a complete solution to both issues as well as being a highly effective piracy solution.’