firearms on ships, but serious concerns remain as to whether the existing private security industry is yet adequately trained or regulated, to provide safe and reliable services. Insurance and liability questions remain unanswered. In December, the Department for Transport
issued interim guidance to UK flag shipping on the use of armed guards to defend against the threat of piracy in exceptional circumstances. The exceptional circumstances under which
all circumstances, under the majority of conditions their use has been shown to save lives and ships. The shipping industry developed a high degree
of confidence in the large coalition military operation that was conducted during 2011. At its peak, counter-piracy operations were being supported by more than 30 warships. It is essential that these force levels are maintained in 2012. Military resources were also required to be
shared with the humanitarian obligation to provide escorts to World Food Programme (WFP) deliveries. In the latter part of the year, the drought afflicting much of East Africa required the aid programme to be redoubled. The unfortunate knock-on effect of this tasking was to divert scarce resources away from the protection of merchant shipping in other parts of the Gulf of Aden. Efforts have been made by the international shipping associations to establish a dialogue with WFP and to encourage the wider use of military Vessel Protection Detachments.
Armed guards and private armed security personnel One of the most noteworthy policy shifts in 2011 was the UK government’s decision to allow the employment of private armed guards on UK flag ships. The UK shipping industry has long been opposed to the concept of arming civilian ships, but Somali piracy has challenged these conventions. The Chamber supported the government’s move to a more neutral stance on this contentious issue. The legal position in relation to the carriage of
firearms on UK flag ships was unclear at the outset. There was general support for a more permissive regime, which would decriminalise the carriage of
24 DEFENCE AND MARITIME SECURITY
ONE OF THE MOST
NOTEWORTHY POLICY SHIFTS IN 2011 WAS THE UK GOVERNMENT’S DECISION TO ALLOW THE EMPLOYMENT OF PRIVATE ARMED GUARDS ON UK FLAG SHIPS
guards can be employed, all of which must apply, are when: l A ship is transiting the high seas throughout the High Risk Area – bounded by Suez and the Straits of Hormuz to the North, 10S and 78E;
l The latest BMPs are being followed fully but, on their own, are not deemed by the shipping company and the ship’s master sufficient to protect against acts of piracy; and
l The use of armed guards is assessed to reduce the risk to the lives and well-being of those onboard the ship.
The UK arrangements allow the Home Office and the police to take responsibility for issuing Firearms Act 1968 Section 5 authorities to Private Maritime Security Companies (PMSC). The Chamber has called for legal clarity to
allow shipowners to make their own decisions on whether or not to carry armed guards. Many Chamber members now do so, while all have reservations about this trend.
Capacity building The Chamber and the wider shipping industry have long recognised and argued that the solution to Somali piracy will only be finally delivered when the requisite institutions and structures for governance ashore have been established in Somalia. Substantial progress has been made in 2011 to recognise the need for a comprehensive approach in the fight against piracy, which will tackle both the symptoms and the root causes of the problem. Capacity-building is fast becoming the single most important long-term objective in the counter-piracy effort.
Other piracy hotspots Attacks by pirates also endangered lives and jeopardised oil and gas exports in West Africa and
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