Merchant Marine shares his story with Navy League members

It was Christmas night, 2003. Capt. Kelly Sweeney of the Merchant Marines was settling in for duty on what he expected to be a nice easy job.

Of the 20-member crew on board the Asphalt Commander that night, five were on duty, including Sweeney. There were also two armed guards patrolling the deck. The vessel was in lock-down mode and there was only one entrance onto the ship.

“I walked out of the control room and one of the armed guards ran past me with his gun raised,” described Sweeney. “Then the other armed guard came running after him. I knew right then we’d been boarded.”

Sweeney, from Greenbank, is a Master Mariner and was the guest speaker at Tuesday’s Navy League meeting at the Officers’ Club on Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. He has more than 30 years of experience and holds the highest license issued by the U.S. Coast Guard to commercial mariners. However, being boarded by pirates was a new experience.

“Merchant Marines are civilians,” he said. “I’m thinking to myself, ‘What do I do?’ ‘How do I protect myself?’ I grabbed a two-inch pipe wrench we use on sticky valves in one hand and a radio in the other.”

As Sweeney was inching his way down the starboard side to check out what was happening, he heard gun shots.

“I wasn’t sure who was shooting, so I hid in the shadows. After a while a light shone in my face — lucky for me it was one of the guards,” Sweeney said.

One of the pirates was killed in the exchange, but because of the armed guards, the rest left the ship. But not before they’d been able to steal a lot of equipment, Sweeney said.

“That night I came face to face with the Merchant Marines of the modern world,” he said. “It changed my view forever.”

According to Sweeney, piracy and armed attacks (attacks that take place in territorial waters) are a world-wide problem. With approximately 80 percent of consumer goods moved via ships, merchant vessels are a prime target.

“Merchant ships are easy targets,” Sweeney said. “They’re big, slow and low to the water. We don’t have crews of 5,000 like you would have on a carrier. Our ships are built for economy, and as a result, they are easy targets.”

According to the International Chamber of Commerce, which tracks pirate attacks around the world, there were 445 attempted pirate attacks in 2010. Pirates were able to board vessels in about half of those cases. However, like the ICC, Sweeney believes that figure represents a fraction of actual pirate attacks, saying many don’t want to report them because it could affect the cost of their insurance.

Another issue facing Merchant Marines is that because of cost, only about 20 percent of companies provide armed guards such as the ones on board the night his ship was attacked.

Sweeney thanked the Navy League for its unwavering support, especially of the Jones Act, which allows injured sailors to obtain compensation from their employers for the negligence of the owner, the captain or fellow crew members.

Because the face of the Merchant Marines is changing, Sweeney said the kind of personnel needed has changed as well. People with prior military experience often have good luck finding work in the Merchant Marines after separating from the service. Sweeney has started his own company, Maritime Headhunters, LLC for that purpose.

“We need people with prior military experience,” he said. “You have experience with weapons and tactics. We share the high seas with aircraft carriers. We are subject to many of the same rules. People with prior service understand.”

As for early detection, Sweeney said it’s a good idea that doesn’t always work, due in part to the transportation used by pirates. Their boats are hard to pick up on radar he said, because they’re low to the water and quite often made of wood.

In the end, fighting piracy may be a political problem.

“Until Somalia in particular has a legitimate government that doesn’t rely on piracy, it’s not going to end,” Sweeney said.