Private firms charging between US$5000 to US $20,000 per soldier
Private military security companies are making a boom in the Indian Ocean in the fight against Somali-based pirates, as global defence reduce naval counter-piracy deployments.
In the battle to fight piracy, private armed patrol boats have increased and are operating in the Indian Ocean with plans to escort commercial shipping and intercept suspected pirate attacks.
Some of the boats are equipped with drones and helicopters to counter the attackers.
A new report, Pirates and Privateers: Managing the Indian Ocean’s Private Security Boom’ sheds new light on the serious problem of Somali piracy and highlights new problems with the rapid increase in private military security companies protecting commercial ships transiting the Indian Ocean.
In the report, James Brown, a military fellow at the Lowy Institute, states that there is a legitimate role for private companies in fighting piracy and almost half of ships travelling the Indian Ocean are deploying them.
Mr Brown says the private security firms have boosted safety at sea, making commercial shipping business to continue in the pirates-infested areas.
“The entering of the private armed guards on ships seem to have been effective in reducing piracy but already shootings at sea have led to accidental deaths and international disputes”, Brown said.
The report also outlines the rapidly growing use of vessel protection detachments, armed teams from national militaries placed on board commercial ships and paid for by the shipping industry.
Seafarers Union of Kenya Secretary (SUK) Andrew Mwangura admits that there is an increase of more than 200 private military security boats in the Indian ocean that are fighting piracy.
“With the presence of these private military boats, piracy is on the decline after the companies took over to counter the crisis,” he says.
Mr Mwangura, who is also the Seafarers Assistance Programme coordinator, says the venture to escort ships through the pirates prone area in the high seas was a lucrative venture to the private firms since they were charging between US$5000 (Sh 400,000) to US $20,000 (Sh1.6 million) per soldier.
“For a fishing boat to be escorted, at least four to five soldiers are hired on board to escort the ship to its destination. This is a goldmine to the firms,” he said.
According to the latest report from the Seafarers Assistance Programme, the latest armed robberies and pirate attacks was an attempt on a US-owned Philippines flagged bulk carrier Tuscarora Belle.
She, however, managed to evade and sailed safely to Mombasa port to discharge 36,600 tonnes of bulk cement clinker.
Before this attack, a Korean flagged LPG Tanker DL Zinnia managed to escape from piracy attack On August 27 and sailed safely to Mombasa port.
Source: Business Daily
