Piracy – Weapons in South African ports can cause problems
BIMCO has learned that the South African authorities are taking an extremely hard line on weapons on board vessels calling South African ports, and members are advised to pay close attention to procedures. In addition, members should be aware that these procedures reportedly are a little contentious.
Somali pirates continue to attack shipping in the high risk areas the Red Sea, Bab el Mandeb Strait, Gulf of Aden and Western Indian Ocean. As a consequence, the use of private armed guards has become a practice for some ship owners. There are, however, many issues tied to the practice of employing private armed guards.
BIMCO continues to advise against the use of private armed guards, primarily because of the liability issues associated herewith, and because of the risk to the collective shipping industry of escalation on the side of the pirates. The recent reports on the South African authorities hard line on weapons on board ships calling South African ports only serves to substantiate BIMCOs position on the question of private armed guards on ships.
Below please find a bulletin from UK P&I Club with further details.
Source:BIMCO