On-Board Security Teams (OBST)

On Board Security Team (OBST) is the terminology coined by Sri Lanka Navy in mid-90’s when Navy started deploying armed naval personnel onboard Merchant Vessels (MV) at anchorage off the Port of Colombo, awaiting their turn to enter the harbour. This was necessitated as some rogue elements in places like Lansiyawatta (at the north edge of the Kelani Ganga mouth opposite of Mutwal area) started boarding and looting the cargo from these merchant vessels at anchorage. This robbery at sea was very detrimental to the Port of Colombo’s reputation and it grew in to such level that the Navy was tasked to protect the merchant ships and take aggressive patrolling in ship’s anchorage to keep the robbers away from these ships. However, after Navy shooting down several of robbers climbing and already climbed to brake open the containers to loot, this menace was eradicated once and for all. Besides the Government also drafted a new legislature vide Piracy Act No 9 of 2001 To make matters legally abiding.

Then came another requirement to protect the ships from rising sea tiger activities whilst sailing to the northern part, more especially to Kankasanthurai (KKS) and Point Pedro (PPD) with cargo under the Commissioner General of Essential Services. Thus, rather than the practiced two- or four-man team onboard (to deter robbery at anchorage), the OBST was enhanced to 12 and later made up to about 25-30 men under the command of a senior sailor. Their job was to protect the MVs from Colombo to KKS and disembark at KKS harbour whilst the ship goes to PPD to unload items under ICRC supervision.

These MVs, mostly slow-moving coastal freighters belonging to several Colombo based shipping companies used to keep 30 to 50 nautical miles to the shoreline at the critical area starting from Pulmudai to PPD where their rounded up touching the International maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) and sail on the IMBL to make a direct approach to KKS. The Port of KKS was under the Navy and on Port Control instructions they would either enter or go for unloading off the PPD pier in day times. They always returned for KKS anchorage by sunset. The most famous MV was the MV Muditha of Ceylon Shipping Corporation which was the largest and only remaining MV from the Shipping Corporation fleet at that time. The enemy targeted MV Muditha in 1995 at dusk in a concentrated attack where for the first-time enemy used the 23mm ZSU double barrel Anti-Aircraft (AA) gun fitted onboard 12m LoA fibreglass boats as the forward gun. The enemy recorded this attack on video camera and when Navy got a copy of same through diaspora contacts, was able to study the changing nature of the enemy battle formations by aided by this new fire power.

 Muditha survived the attack and Navy was able to thwart the attack where Late Lieutenant Commander Upul Dushmantha (a veteran Fast Attack Craft (FAC) operator with vast combat experience, he was KIA on 30th Nov 1998 onboard another FAC at a training mission to train the newly build craft P 498) led the three FAC formation to protect the MV Muditha. The enemy tried out the 23mm ZSU which was used for AA fire since 1991 Elephant Pass besiege operation because now that they got SAMs (by 1995) there were no need of 23mm ZSUs for AA role! The introduction of 23mm ZSU to enemy’s inventory was from early Tamil militants’ relations with factions fighting Israelis from the Lebanon soil. There were several photographic images available on these where Tamil militants are seen operating and being trained by Hizballah factions in Beirut at that time!

These OBST teams mostly comprised of after-leave naval personnel serving in the establishments in the northern Naval Area. They were not trained to operate as a cohesive unit thus lacked team spirit. But the Navy did not have any other options either, than depend on them due logistical constraints in the northern waters to have dedicated teams. However, these OBST fought some fierce battles at sea with their SMGs and LMGs in protecting the MVs as the inner defence line. All these ships were protected by naval units depending on the cargo they carried either by close escorts or standing guards at choke points in the sea lanes of communications.

With these experiences post May 2009, the Navy received a proposal from M/S Wilhelmsen Shipping to embark Naval ‘Sea Marshals’ onboard Merchant Vessels plying through the Somalian waters which at that time were vulnerable for increasing piracy attacks. This offer was turned down by the NHQ due legal issues preventing the Navy from undertaking such an international task. However, Navy suggested that ‘sea marshalling’ be pursued with interests as there were commercial scope in this growing demand at that time. At that time, the Sea Marshal industry was dominated mostly by UK based companies with ex Royal Marines and retired British Army personnel being utilized as the Sea Marshals. The Port of Galle was the natural choice to embark west bound Sea Marshals and to disembark east bounded Sea marshals, thereby creating a local industry to support the movement of Sea Marshals. The Navy took care of the weapons, ammunition, and accessories by storing them in dedicated armouries established for this purpose. There was no threat to National Security as the weapons were counted and regulated without going unaccounted! This activity even continued to date where all weapons, ammunition and the accessories remain under the custody of the armouries managed by the Navy.

When southern part of the Red Sea tensed up due Houthis action in support of Gaza, the dimension of engagement changed, it is now beyond the handling of ship borne armed guards as Ballistic Missiles, Cruise Missiles, Armed Drones, and unmanned Surface vehicles has replaced the pirates! However, the role of armed Sea Marshals remains the same and very recently a video circulated show casing how the Armed Guards preventing an unmanned surface explosive boat from ramming the MV, by engaging effectively to detonate the explosive pack it was carrying.

Sri Lanka Navy have had an experience of these encounters over two decades back and despite several losses, were able to keep the supply to the Jaffna Peninsula open against all odds. Had this sea routes stopped functioning at that time, its both the civilian population and the separatist terrorists operating in the Jaffna Peninsula to be the victims! OBST thus remain a part of history that must be cherished for its sustainability amidst all deaths and destructions and the Jaffna residents need to be much obliged for those unsung heroes who guarded the supply ships!

As OBST today and the Armed Private Security Officers or ‘Sea Marshals’ as known in general vocabulary is a global business, several of Sri Lanka’s Shipping Agents are involved in the trade on commercial basis. There are manpower agencies (who provide trained ‘Sea Marshals), weapon providers (who provides weapons and accessories) and the Floating Armoury keepers (who provide weapon storage facilities in high seas, more especially in north of the Red Sea and in Gulf of Yemen) and the ancillary service providers (who provides ship-agent services) in this business. Sri Lanka Navy does not provide manpower nor the weapons and only is tasked to keep all weapons coming into country under safe storage till they are taken out. For this the Navy charge a nominal fee and used to deposit same direct to the General Treasury. Sri Lanka stands to be benefitted by OBST Business due to its location and with the escalation of crisis at Red Sea, the scope of engagement has gone beyond private security service providers as unlike the piracy, the present threat has a wider spectrum of engagements from aerial to surface!

OBST carry many tales of heroism and frustration from the men who were giving protection onboard to the merchant vessels that undertook the risky sailing in northern waters. And then comes the escorts; the FGBs that gave close protection, FACs that fought fearlessly to protect the slow-moving merchant vessels. These all makes studying the Sri Lanka Navy’s OBST operations in detail a unmatched understanding anywhere in the world!