The Background
Our client is a market-leading offshore engineering company, delivering innovative services to the telecommunications, offshore renewables, utilities, and oil & gas industries. They were contracted to run cables from Oman to the Somali coast and into the city to bring fibre optic technology to the citizens of Somalia.
The Challenge
These operations extended outside of the city’s controlled area, in a non-permissive environment which meant their three specialist engineers were at risk of danger from hostile groups. In order to ensure the safety and security of their personnel, the client required a trusted and experienced security solutions provider who could be relied upon to provide an end-to-end service throughout the duration of the three month project.
The Solution
We meticulously planned the journey for the client’s specialist engineers from their home country to the project location, assured their safety and security during project execution, and returned them home safely on project completion. We delivered visas, transport, accommodation, and sustenance across multiple Somalian jurisdictions. RMI partnered with local police and navy officers. During this collaboration, we provided security training to upskill the local nationals.
RMI coordinated two security teams for this project, one on land and one on water. The land team comprised local drivers, two medic-aware team leaders (expatriates) and a security-aware medic. The land team supported the engineers throughout the project. We chartered a private aircraft to transport the engineers between two coastal cities, where they met the dive team who brought the cables onshore. The marine security team was made up of ex-military personnel and a doctor with police training. The marine team was stationed permanently on the vessel. Clear protocols were in place should the defence of the vessel be required, with a tiered approach to protecting the vessel and its crew should they encounter any hostile force. RMI also had a flight crew and private aircraft on standby and a low-level flight plan to provide safe medical evacuation to the nearest diver decompression chamber, in the event of any decompression illness.
Our strength lies in planning and assessing security requirements at every level of the supply chain. All our security personnel are experienced and highly qualified, most often with a military background. By considering all possible eventualities, RMI can mitigate risk and respond should the need arise. Each stage of the project had multiple plans in place, with secondary resources in place should they be needed.
RMI has the knowledge, experience, and expertise to work in hostile environments. We plan for any eventuality and implement ridged procedures with a focus on safety and agile responsiveness to a multitude of situations. Our supply chain is heavily vetted, and we partner with agents to coordinate all logistics, risk assessments and necessary training, thus alleviating pressure, time, and manpower for our clients. On contract award, we embed ourselves with our clients to fully understand their challenges, gain their trust and provide bespoke solutions to their problems.
