Risk Assessment: Piracy in Bangladesh

Risk Assessment: Chittagong, Bangladesh Piracy Threats Cox's Bazar Cox's Bazar District Chittagong Channel Moheshkhali Island Piracy Incidents Reported { between January and June 2014 CNODO O Enodo Global, Inc. 2014 CE Overview Ba ngladesh is cha racterized by political insta bility, inadequate infrastructure, The majority of these attacks corruption, ins uf ficie nt power supplies, a nd is slow to implement meaningful eco nomic reforms. Approximately half of its po pulation is employed in the agricultural sector with the majority living be low the poverty level. Lack of opportunity in rural regions has caused la rge scale urban migration. This com bined with Ba ngladesh's yo uth population bulge, has shifted employment to support the industrial sector, specifically the ga rment industry. Those that remain in ruralareas often turn to crimiral ga nga a nd illicit activities to secure alterrative revenue sources. occurred around the Cox's Bazar coastal district and the Port of Chittagong-making it the world's most dangerous port. Situation Ba ngiade Problem Excelerate geo-po litical and ships. Mo re than 2,000 piracy incidents have been expect to can encounter significant piracy activityd ue to the proximity of the Mo heshkhali terminal in rebtion to pirate staging socio-economic conditio m not only support, but ma ke re po rted in Bangadeshi waters in the past two years. piracy a viable alternative for rural people seeking employment. Although the number of piracy attacks wo rld-wide has declined over the past two years, piracy Acco rding to the Cox's Bazar District Fishing Trawler Owners Associa tion, pirates seized over 1,000 fishing boa te, kidnapped more than 3,000 fishermen, m urde red areas and the contract length. Excelerate Energy's LNG import terminal will be lbcated offsho re near over 45 of them a nd collected mo re than $1.28 million Mo heshkha li lsla nd. The terms of the project call for a 15-year, lo ng-term charter for the design, constructio n, and operation of the terminal. Moheshkhali lies between Chittagong and Cox's Bazaar on the coast, less than 40 miles south of Chittagong port and 20 miles north of Cox's Bazaar. Additio nally, the targeting of high profile ma ritime infrastructure, like Excelerate's FSRUS, is continues to plague Ba ng b desh. The ICCC's Interrational Ma ritime Bureau reports that Ba ngladesh's territo rial wa ters are at high risk for armed robbery aimed at in ransoms. The majo rity of these attacks occurred aro und the Cox's Bazar coastal district and the port of Chittago ng-ma king it the world's most dangerous port. Pirate activity k centered on theft, kidnapping and extortion of mo ney from fishing trawlers and cargo barges transiting the region. Most pirates live in coastal vilages, under the guke of fishermen a nd la unch fro m staging areas supported by local com munities. Due to the lack of governance and high levels of corruption in these a rea, the majority of anti-piracy initiatives have been ineffective. Additio nally, the Ba ngladeshi Coast Indonesia 47% Malaysia 9% pro mpted by local grieva nce. Adding to piracy challenges, Excelerate can expect to Nigeria 10% encounteranongo ing low-inte nsity guerilla war between the Ba ngladesh government a nd the indigenous Jumma tribes of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). The CHT is home to cleven different ethnic tribal gro ups, has suppo rted the insurge ncy for the past two decades a nd is conside red the most turbulent area in Ba ngladesh. Compo unding this pro blem are the estimated 100,000 Burmese refugees (Rohingya) living in Bangladesh near the Burmese bo rder. Approxima tely 29,000 of them live in Kutupalo ng and Naya para, two squalid ca mps just south of Coxs Bazaar near Teknaf. In both cases, the government failed to provide basic services a nd de liver humanita rian assistance, which elevates temions in the region. Both the CHT nd refugee ca mps a re located in close proximity to the LNG termiral gro und site. with no immediate reso lution in sight, they have the potential to further desta bilize the already fragike security environment. Singapare Guard lacks the capacity to effectively co unter piracy Straits 6% due to manpo wer and equipment sho rtages. Eight its vessek are over 30 years old and cannot operate during mo moon season. One local fisherman described the situation by saying, "whe n we urge the po lice to act Bangladesh 10% against the pirates, we have to bribe the m. But, from the pirates, they ta ke double thata mo unt in bribes to refrain from taking any action against them." 70% of 116 totalled incidents: January - June 2014 Solution Adopt a proactive community engagement strategy, shifting from traditional risk management to risk mitigation. De pendence on the national government to provide security aga inst the myriad of land a nd sea-based threats that can negatively impact Exceleratet o peratio m is notaviable o ptio n. The go vernment is viewed as illegitima te, fa ils capacity to safegua rd operations. The refo re, properly planned and executed development initiatives that engage communities directly are required to create the pockets of security to safegua rd o peratio m. A recent study suggesta "a la rge part of current anti-piracy effo rts in the Bay of Bengalincludes the active enga ge ment of coastal communities." However, "the potentia l of these communities to counter piracy remains far from fully utilized." Excelerate can address the problem at its root and significantly mitigate potential threats before they beco me persiste nt problems by implementing comm unity engage ment strategies carly in the lifecycle of its o peratio m. 100 + Бо -— deliver basic services, suffers from endemic corruption and lacks the ca pability or Niger ia 60 Ba ngladech Singapore Stailtc Malaycia 40 Indonecia 20 2009 D14 20 10 2011 2012 2013