Private navy to combat piracy looks for investment

   A private navy set up to assist commercial vessels in transiting the pirate-infested waters of the Gulf of Aden said this week it plans to start operations within five months, according to a Bloomberg report Monday.
   The company, Convoy Escort Programme Ltd., is backed by U.K. insurance and reinsurance broking company Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group Plc, and will initially deploy seven former naval patrol boats, each with armed security teams of eight people on board, the report said, quoting Angus Campbell, chief executive officer. The bullet-proofed boats will charge about $30,000 per ship travelling in a convoy of around four vessels over three to four days, he said.
   “We are going to be a deterrent,” Campbell said. “We are not in the business of looking for trouble but if anybody tries to attack a vessel we are escorting, our security teams will deploy force if they have to act in self defence.”
   Campbell said his company is searching for investors to fund the boat purchases to patrol a 490-mile corridor within the gulf. It needs about $30 million in its first phase, with another $20 million required later on, the report said.
   “This is an enhancement to the existing military services, we’re not trying to step on anybody’s toes here,” Campbell told Bloomberg.