Feral Jundi

In India, the proposal under consideration is to seek retired navy officers from the pool maintained by the Directorate of Resettlement under the Ministry of Defence. Each vessel can have a group of five armed personnel – one officer and four others. The shipping companies have to bear the cost of hiring the guards.

Already the IMO ruling is helping nations to realize the most logical path towards protection of ships. Put armed guards on boats!

It is interesting that the only folks they will allow to be on these vessels is retired naval officers? And that these guards will be drawn from a ‘pool maintained by the Directorate of Resettlement under the Ministry of Defence‘. India has a huge population and I am sure this pool of retired naval officers is pretty substantial. I am sure they will be happy to make the extra income as well.

With that said, there might be a chance that the demand ‘could’ outweigh the supply of qualified manpower. Or the Indian government might change it’s mind and allow private companies to choose whomever they want to contract with, as opposed to being forced to only draw from one source. The market of force is pretty extensive these days, and if retired Indian Naval Officers are not cutting the mustard, there are other sources.

The other thing here is that there was no mention of licensing?  I would think that the Indians would develop a licensing mechanism for this guard pool? And with that license, I would be curious if there would be any legal provisions dealing with the taking of prisoners or rules of engagement that would be ‘productive’ and not counter-productive? It’s little things like that, that could mean all the difference. We can either have a resource sapping ‘defense industry’ floating around out there or a piracy destroying machine called ‘offense industry’, and licensing and the legal authority backing that action is key.

I am all about ‘Expulsis Piratus, Restituta Commerica‘. With piracy growing at an exponential rate and with no end in sight, this is the kind of ‘thinking’ about the problem that needs to be done. It is not enough to just defend vessels, and eventually an offensive mechanism needs to be created to eradicate this problem. –Matt

Govt to deploy armed guards on board cargo vessels
N. K. Kurup
May 24, 2011
The Government has decided to allow deployment of armed guards – preferably retired naval officers – on board Indian cargo vessels sailing on the pirate-infested waters of the Indian Ocean, a top government official told Business Line on Tuesday.
Detailed guidelines on the number of guards that each vessel can have will be issued shortly, he said.
In the wake of rising incidents of piracy on the high seas, Indian shipping lines have been seeking government permission to deploy armed guards on board their ships.

The plan is to give preference to retired naval officers, said the official who has just returned from the meeting of the Intentional Maritime Organisation (IMO) which discussed the guidelines on allowing armed guard on board the merchant ships. The Maritime Safety Committee of IMO has endorsed the use of armed guards.
Draft guidelines
In India, the proposal under consideration is to seek retired navy officers from the pool maintained by the Directorate of Resettlement under the Ministry of Defence. Each vessel can have a group of five armed personnel – one officer and four others. The shipping companies have to bear the cost of hiring the guards.
A draft guidelines prepared by the director general of shipping is being vetted by the defence, shipping and the law ministries, he said.
The government is not in favour of allowing private security guards on board national flag-carriers, because of concerns regarding their screening. The guards themselves should not turn out to be a threat to the national carriers. “As far as possible we want to go in for navy personnel,” the official said.
The IMO meeting last week also discussed the use of private armed guards and issued draft guidelines.
In India, seamen’s unions, shipowners and other maritime stakeholders have been seeking government intervention to find a solution to the growing incidents of piracy and targeting vessels with Indian crew.
Growing piracy cases
Welcoming the government decision, Mr S. Hajara, President of Indian National Shipowners Association and Chairman and Managing Director of the Shipping Corporation of India, said: “We are positive on the government decision. This is crucial as the incidents of piracy have been growing and we are concerned over the safety of men and material on board our ships. We, shipping companies, have been requesting for use of armed guard on board. There will be an additional cost and we will have to bear it for the safety of our men on board,” he said.
Some of the other flag carriers are already employing armed guard on their ships sailing close to the pirate- infested Somali coast. Some international carriers have been deploying private security guards.
Last week, the IMO issued guidelines to member-states on the use of private armed guards on board ships. The guidelines noted that the flag state jurisdiction and any law and regulation imposed by the states concerning deployment of private guards should be applicable to the shipping lines.
“If the sourcing of armed guard is restricted to the pool of retired navy officers, there could be one problem, You may not get enough hands,” said Mr Arun Sharma, head of technical advisory group at INSA on the matter. “For a ship, the time is very important. Charters are ready to pay the cost of armed guard, but if you don’t get them on time, there will be problem,” he said.
In 2010, more than 480 incidents of piracy and armed robbery were reported which is 20 per cent higher than that of 2009. In the last five months, over 200 cases have already been reported.
Story here.