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A CALL TO ARMS....

There is some very interesting debate in the June issue of the 'Telegraph' re arming of ships...the words ‘responsibility' and ‘escalation' being essential to the argument. Here is my take on the subject:

We are not going to stop piracy by discussing issues of responsibility. We have an expensive, reasonably effective force patrolling the Gulf of Aden and that is all we are going to get. At some point in the near future it will disappear for economic or political reasons. When Somalia is sorted out, pirates will move elsewhere.

The ships that feed the consumer world are part of a huge commercial supply chain, which is oiled by profit. Piracy disrupts this essential process but private security can provide a cost-effective solution. If, for example, a town is plagued with a spate of burglaries, the local bobby cannot stand outside every house. We can pay for an extra patrol car, or install cameras. These will only facilitate response to a crime after it has been committed. They do not necessarily prevent it from happening in the first place. They may cramp the burglar's style but they won't stop a determined and well organised criminal gang. So what to do? Put yourself in the pirate's shoes - you have a few old weapons but that's all you need to intimidate and stop a hugely expensive ship. You have no military training and you are no marksman. So what? These big fat ships have no weapons! Not only that but their owners are insured up to the hilt and will readily pay you millions for the safe return of their ship and crew. You make money, the negotiators make even more money, the company gets their kit back. Now ask yourself, with this scenario and with the high volume of traffic transiting the Gulf, what would be the point in attacking a ship with a very visible bunch of Royal Marine types armed with .50 calibre sniper rifles and high-velocity weapons with night-vision sights? None whatsoever!

The question of escalation doesn't even figure here - that has already been initiated by the naval fleet. They started using helicopters, so the pirates went out and bought Manpad ground-to-air missiles. We need to adopt a 'Wells Fargo' approach to ship protection. If campanies want to safeguard their assets they must pay for someone to ride 'shotgun'.

Until the international community regulates security companies offering armed deterrence, shipping companies should choose only those security providers who know the rules and can demonstrate strict standards of selection, training and vetting of their operatives. These companies will provide highly-disciplined and keen-eyed former soldiers who know more about restraint, 'rules of engagement', close-quarter combat and ship protection than the government, IMO and insurance companies put together. They have, after all, been there and done it.

Copyright Jim Cowling 2009 - All Rights Reserved