This is cheapskate move if I have ever seen one. Instead of accepting the costs of security, the global shipping industry has cooked up a scheme to get the UN to provide these guards? We are talking about the same UN that effectively stood by while places like Rwanda burned, or the same UN that sent forces into the Ivory Coast, that traded food for sex with starving people. Oh yeah, the UN is a great bargain and idea. There are so many examples of how pathetic the UN really is, and yet these shipping companies want to go this route? Amazing.
But what really kills me is who do you think will pay for such a service? Well the US contributes 22% to the UN budget and is the top contributor of funding, so that gives you an idea of where a good chunk of that money will come from. And of course the cheapest most corrupt country will provide the troops, and that government will swindle most of the money used to pay for that force. The end result will be what you see with most of the UN’s deployments, and that is a under-funded crap military force lead by greedy and corrupt leaders.
How about this. Those companies that cannot afford PSC’s, yet can afford to buy a multi-million dollar vessel and transport millions of dollars worth of cargo, can own up to the idea that contracting with PSC’s is the cost of doing business. Just like banks hire their own guards, or shopping malls hire their own security–the shipping companies can do the same. And like-wise, you don’t see banks or shopping malls calling on the UN to provide guards? Pfffft.
Either way, I don’t see it happening. I also think that the cost of security should be a personal responsibility of these shipping companies and not on the UN. Then those costs can be passed onto their clients that choose to use those services. That is how this is done, and that is the way it should be. –Matt
Global Shipping Industry calls for UN armed force against Somali pirates
September 9, 2011
The global shipping industry (represented by the Round Table of international shipping associations) has called for the establishment of a United Nations force of armed military guards to tackle the piracy crisis in the Indian Ocean, which it says is spiralling out of control.
In a hard hitting letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), BIMCO, INTERTANKO and INTERCARGO demand a “bold new strategy” to curb rising levels of piracy which have resulted in the Indian Ocean resembling “the wild west”.
The letter states: “It is now abundantly clear to shipping companies that the current situation, whereby control of the Indian Ocean has been ceded to pirates, requires a bold new strategy. To be candid, the current approach is not working.”
Regretting the increasing necessity for shipping companies to employ private armed guards to protect crew and ships, the letter continues: “It seems inevitable that lawlessness ashore in Somalia will continue to breed lawlessness at sea.”
The shipping industry organisations – which represent more than 90% of the world merchant fleet – say they fully support the UN’s long-term measures on shore aimed at helping the Somali people but are concerned that these “may take years, if not decades, to have a meaningful impact on piracy.”
Asking the UN to bring the concept of a UN force of armed military guards to the attention of its Security Council, the letter says: “The shipping industry believes that the situation can only be reversed with a bold approach that targets the problem in manageable pieces. We believe that an important element in this approach would be the establishment of a UN Force of Armed Military Guards that can be deployed in small numbers onboard merchant ships. This would be an innovative force in terms of UN peacekeeping activity but it would do much to stabilise the situation, to restrict the growth of unregulated, privately contracted armed security personnel and to allow those UN Member States lacking maritime forces – including those in the region most immediately affected – to make a meaningful contribution in the area of counter-piracy.”
PDF of letter here.
Link to press release here.
It is a poor idea. And this "UN Force of Armed Military Guards" would need to be pretty large to cover the ships travelling through dangerous waters. Another problem I foresee is that a UN guard on board is still essentially a foreign soldier hopping from port to port on a private vessel and might be met with bureaucratic hoops to jump through. Even with a nice blue hat, that will be contentious in certain waters and countries. You're right. The industry is just trying to safe money.
Comment by Morgan — Monday, September 12, 2011 @ 7:05 PM
Excellent points and who knows where this will go. Luckily the UN is so unorganized and bureaucratic that something like this would have a low chance of happening. lol
Comment by Feral Jundi — Tuesday, September 13, 2011 @ 12:25 PM
Hello Matt,
This has been out for a while now and it is obvious that they are not looking at the whole picture. Besides wanting their security for free, they do not understand the threat picture if they were to put soldiers on the vessels in place of PSC's. As of now, with rare exception, merchant ships are targets of pirates with the purpose of kidnap for ransom. Placing UN troops on the ships now makes the troops the target for other groups outside of pirates. So instead of better securing the situation, in effect, you are adding a larger threat. (But maybe they think that is ok as long as it is free).
Comment by M.M. — Monday, September 12, 2011 @ 7:17 PM
Thanks MM for the update. You bring up another great point with this. Would putting these UN troops on vessels, make the vessels an even greater target?
Comment by Feral Jundi — Tuesday, September 13, 2011 @ 12:28 PM