Security firm warns against arming crew to fight piracy

Security firm warns against arming crew to fight piracy Global maritime security specialist Securewest International on Wednesday urged caution by the maritime community following the recent spike in piracy incidents in Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia.
   The spate of attacks led to recent suggestions by the senior Royal Navy commander in the Gulf, Commodore Keith Winstanley, that commercial shipping companies should consider using armed private security personnel to secure safe passage through high risk areas.
   'Whilst in full agreement with commodore's view that security companies have a role to play, Securewest International believes that it is vital that action against pirates is undertaken by those who have proven experience in the field of commercial maritime security, and that it is hugely important that crews that are not simply handed weapons, thus putting themselves at risk,' the company said.
   'Calls for crew to be armed is fundamentally unreasonable, placing undue strain and responsibility on those working on merchant vessels,' said Stuart Flynn, vice president business development at Securewest International, in a statement. 'Many ports around the world will not permit vessels to berth with weapons on board, and we would always recommend other proven preventative methods to clients in order to deter such activity by pirates in the first instance. Non-lethal sonic devices, better use of radar, video cameras, thermal imaging technology, and high intensity directional lighting must be the first consideration before firearms.'
   Flynn said shipping companies are caught in 'a no man's land,' with many lacking the knowledge of what constitutes proper security.
   'On the one hand they know extra security is required but they don't have the numbers or crew time to cover such duties, and so they turn to the experts in the field of maritime security,' he said. 'But in doing so they have no yardstick or measurement to qualify each security company's level of performance and remain acutely aware that they could actually be making the situation worse by employing groups whose first action is to deploy armed men onboard.' ' Eric Johnson