Company: Industrial Shipping Enterprises Corp.
Agency: Cubitt Jacobs & Prosek Communications
Timeframe: November 29, 2008- January 24, 2009
On Nov. 29, 2008, the tanker ship MV Biscaglia was hijacked by Somali pirates using AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades while sailing through the Gulf of Aden. From the start, the situation was tense—and life-threatening. Three crew members, hired as onboard security, managed to escape the vessel during its capture by jumping overboard—they were rescued by helicopter. But 28 other crew members (25 Indians and 3 Bangladeshis) remained onboard.
Halfway around the world, in Stamford, Conn., James Christodoulou, president and CEO of Industrial Shipping Enterprises Corp. (ISEC), the ship’s owner, received the jolting news. “Did we have a crisis plan in place for this type of situation? Yes and no,” says Christodoulou. “In some ways it’s like being a parent: You have a good plan on what to do about your kids, but it’s never quite that simple.”
To its credit, ISEC did prepare ships and crew in advance when sailing through dangerous waters, reviewing defensive maneuvers and security protocols. The company also gave MV Biscaglia crew members the chance to opt out of the voyage before the ship sailed.
But once the event began to unfold, it was drama almost beyond comprehension. “I can tell you we grossly underestimated the intensity, energy and emotion involved with this situation,” says Christodoulou. “When we think of piracy, we think of looking for treasure and Johnny Depp, but in reality it’s a hostage situation—a human crisis.”
To deal with the human element, one of the first steps Christodoulou took was to call a good friend, Tom Rozycki, SVP at Cubitt Jacobs & Prosek Communications, based in New York. CJP is experienced in maritime communications efforts and Rozycki and his team would put all of this experience and more to work during the crisis.
Why turn to PR? There were several stakeholders that needed addressing, says Christodoulou: the crew, their families, the media, governments and maritime unions. “Gaining their trust, communicating with them, getting control of emotions and getting focused and aligned would be a major undertaking, and this is where Tom and CJP came in.” Ultimately, the agency would manage all external communications—both strategic and tactical—for ISEC on the hijacking.
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| When Somali pirates forcibly boarded the MV Biscaglia in November 2008 and took 28 hostages, it created a communications challenge of epic proportions for the team at Cubitt Jacobs & Prosek. Photo courtesy of Cubitt Jacobs & Prosek Communications |
THE MISSION
With the main objective of a safe and speedy release of the 28 crew members, the agency set to work laying a communications foundation around the crisis. A key concern was the families, says Rozycki.
“We needed to ensure that the families of the captives would assist in the rescue effort by cooperating with the crisis communications team,” says Rozycki. He goes on to explain that any wavering by the families would give the hijackers extra bargaining chips in the negotiations. “Contrary to popular belief, the Somalis have a business model and an intelligence network,” says Rozycki. “If families are angry, if they feel that they’re not being paid attention to, that can be added leverage for the hijackers.”
TRUST AND TRANSPARENCY
Rozycki and Christodoulou agreed that the best way to mitigate any frustration on the part of family members was through continuous transparency and the knowledge that ISEC would not rest until the crew was back safe and sound. But that was easier said than done, given the language barriers and time-zone differences
In fact, the first few days were extremely trying, says Rozycki. After an initial debriefing from the management team, the first order of business was to immediately open the lines of communications with the executive team, the hostage counselors, corporate internal and external legal counsel and the vessel’s external technical manager. “These lines of communication were not established to create complete transparency into the crisis to external audiences,” says Rozycki. “Rather it was imperative that the team understand the full scope of the crisis to help determine what needed to be disseminated and what needed to be held back.”
With the lines of communication open, the crisis communications team worked quickly to determine the key audiences that would need to be addressed and managed throughout the crisis. The team quickly identified that this situation did not simply affect the 28 men on the ship—it also affected 28 families and the 28 communities where they lived.
MESSAGE & MEDIA
Controlling the message would be paramount in assuring the safe and timely release of the hostages. Often in long-cycle crises, the playing field does not change dramatically on a day-to day-basis, says Rozycki. In fact, during the Biscaglia crisis, there were often stretches of five to seven days where there was nothing to report. In the absence of any “real news,” the media reached out to other constituencies for details and comment.
“One of our biggest concerns was errant leaks or misrepresentations to the media,” says Rozycki.
Any information not sanctioned by the company might have derailed the ongoing discussions with the pirates. The hostage negotiation experts enlisted by the company had made it very clear that media pressure was a tried-and-true tactic employed by the pirates to maximize their position, he says.
Protecting against leaks and working within the other key stakeholder groups—families, seafarers union, governments, hostage negotiators—the team evoked the same unified messages.
FAMILY OUTREACH
A key goal was to constantly remind the families that they were part of the process and path to their family members’ safe return. Their feedback, concerns and criticisms would help to shape the way that the communications program evolved over the duration of the crisis, says Rozycki.
As the drama played out, and a month went by without resolution, the team began to worry about the families of the hostages. At that point, communications were constant between ISEC and the families. Outreach included:
• Daily contact from the ship’s technical manager in Mumbai, India, in their native languages providing whatever information was available.
• A weekly letter penned by Christodoulou that was hand delivered to the families, providing them with assurance that he was working around the clock on the issue with his team.
• A special e-mail address for the families to reach the company. This also served as two-way communication for breaking news.
• A special U.S.-based phone number for the families to directly reach the company.
While no families had broken ranks and offered comment to the media on their own, the crisis team was fearful that it might soon happen. “Time wears down on people,” Rozycki says. So the decision was made for Christodoulou to fly to Mumbai and meet directly with the families.
“The families were getting exasperated—they wanted their loved ones back,” says Christodoulou. “They had to see the CEO in from of them, look them in the eye and feel a trust and confidence that we were doing everything we could.”
Once in India, Christodoulou met with the families for over five hours, answering their questions, calming their fears and further opening the lines of communications.
For both Rozycki and Christodoulou, the meeting was the turning point in the entire ordeal. And it was successful. “James’ ability to meet with the families bought us the time that we needed,” says Rozycki.
NEARING THE END
As the 50-day mark approached, and contrary to the team’s initial assessment, Rozycki actually felt a sense of heightened resolve among the families. A sense of team spirit had developed between the crisis team and the families—and they became the biggest cheerleaders.
On Jan. 24, 2009 the crisis was over. ISEC paid a ransom to the Somalis for the release of the hostages, a sum that has not been revealed. “For those guys [the pirates] it’s a business, and they understand marginal profit,” says Christodoulou. “So they weren’t maximizing profit by dragging it out.”
The ultimate objective was reached, though not as speedily as they had hoped. The one regret during the ordeal? A simple statement that Christodoulou had made in his first letter to the families: the average number of days the pirates held their hostages was about 60. “Families put an “X” on day 60,” says Rozycki. “Day 52 came and there was no agreement and they started to get nervous. If we had to do it all over again, we wouldn’t put that number out there.”
Christodoulou is convinced that PR played an critical role in the ultimate outcome, “because we were dealing with human drama and emotion,” he says. “Communications to maintain support and stay on message was absolutely important.” PRN
CONTACT:
Tom Rozycki, [email protected]; James Christodoulou, www.industrialships.com.