A VIDEO has surfaced showing the private security team on board Cordelia Moon (IMO: 9297888), the Panama-flagged crude tanker attacked by the Houthis this week, attempting (and failing) to stop a drone boat from hitting the tanker.

The footage of armed guards firing on the unmanned surface vessel and missing with what looks like every bullet would be somewhat comical, if the consequences of a direct hit were not all too familiar to shipping.

Cordelia Moon was hit by the USV and took on water, but has since resumed its voyage towards Suez.

BIMCO head of maritime safety and security, Jakob Larsen, said the Cordelia Moon incident highlighted the problems in some corners of the private security industry.

“And this is not new. It’s been like that for many years,” he said.

Marisks chief executive Dimitris Maniatis (formerly of Seagull Maritime) said the Cordelia Moon event was a “tragic example of the quality of the training and the understanding of the methodology of response that armed security teams have towards these elevated threats”.

“The quality of services now is not that great. We need to deploy better trained professionals that have a wider understanding of the threat environment,” he said.

According to Maniatis, one of the main reasons for that drop off in quality is pay. When he started as an armed guard in 2010, Maniatis was paid $650 per day. Now, he said, things are different.

“They’re paid peanuts. And when I say peanuts, they’re getting $20, maximum $27 per day.”

Another representative of a private security company said some said the industry was able to command large sums back in the peak years of Somali piracy, and could therefore attract top talent.

“Over the years, prices have dropped and people with a premium background are a lot harder, dare I say impossible, to recruit nowadays,” he said.

But it’s not just about money. Maniatis highlighted the lengthy amount of time guards spend in high stress environments, often transiting back and forth through the Bab el Mandeb for months at a time.

“The levels of stress, of fear, of alertness is extreme continuously. There is no letting down your guard. So imagine doing that for six months, especially if you don’t have incentives.

Incentives also come in the form of proper rest facilities, Maniatis said, preferably on land rather than so-called floating armouries, which emerged as a solution when some countries raised concerns about large weapons caches appearing on their shoreline.

“The conditions on board floating armouries, generally speaking and without any real exception, are absolutely appalling. Too many people not enough food, not enough water,” he said.

But better wages, better rest provision and even better conditions at sea costs money. Maniatis explained that 14 years ago, a transit from Suez to Galle would cost a shipowner anything between $60,00-$90,000. Now, it’s nearer $8,000-$12,000.

Market economics would dictate that bad actors would eventually be weeded out, especially when evidence of their failing can be captured on video and viewed by millions.

It’s up to shipowners to do their homework on guns they hire, Larsen said.

“Obviously, when you have an industry that is in fierce competition, pay is a parameter, and it's the same with shipping. It's the same with rail transport, it's the same everywhere.

“At the end of the day, it's up to the customers to ensure that the service provider they select is good enough, and is up to appropriate standards,” he said.

BIMCO developed GUARDCON, a standardised contract between shipowner and security company, for that reason. One clause of GUARDCON is that the private security company in question should be certified by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO 28007).

The issue boils down to an all-too familiar kernel for shipping. You get what you pay for, whether that’s the shipyard you choose to build your LPG carrier or the armed guards that climb your pilot ladder.

“There are shipowners that only care about bottom dollar on what they're paying so that they can increase their own earnings,” Maniatis said.

“But there are many other owners who not only have an ethical or legal obligation, but make the choice to provide their crew their vessel with the best possible security and also protect their own reputation, name and brand operations by avoiding incidents like what we saw happen to Cordelia Moon.”

“There is a standard out there,” another private security company said. “A lot of it falls on the shipping companies to do their due diligence.

“The advice is out there, I’m just not sure how serious the shipping companies take it.”