This is surprising, because from what I can tell, Indian ship owners are able to contract with whatever PSC they want. Which means Indian ship owners could tap into the already vibrant maritime security market. This is great news if true. I posted the guidelines in my Scribd if anyone is curious, and I could not find anything in them that said these PSC’s had to be Indian owned.
A couple of months back I posted a deal about the Indian government warming up to the idea of allowing their ship owners to use armed guards. But I got the impression in that article that they would only allow retired Indian naval officers to work on these vessels? Now I am sure Indian shipping companies would probably prefer contracting with Indian PSC’s, but hopefully with these new guidelines, this will help them to realize they have a choice–that’s if they would like to go outside of the market of Indian PSC’s.-Matt
Ships with Indian crew can have armed guards
Aug 30 2011
The ministry of shipping on Monday issued guidelines allowing ships with Indian crew to deploy armed guards in a bid to combat piracy in the Gulf of Aden. The move comes on the back of recommendations from the inter-ministerial group (IMG) of officers constituted to handle the hostage situation on hijacked ships and also suggest preventive measures.
It has been found that about 35 per cent of the ship transiting in these waters deploy armed security guards and that the pirates generally don’t attack ships with armed guards on board, an official release said on Monday. So far, 120 Somalian pirates have been apprehended by India as on date.
As per the new guidelines, ship owners are allowed to engage private maritime security companies (PMSC) through a proper selection procedure. In line with these, all Indian ships visiting Indian ports are to furnish details of security personnel on board, the firearms carried by them and the details of licence issued, etc, to the port authority, customs, Coast Guard and the Navy. Foreign merchant vessels visiting Indian ports with security guards are also required to follow similar procedure, as per the guidelines.
The government may also contemplate amending the Indian Merchant Shipping Act as it does not include provisions for dealing with incidents related to piracy. Such issues are dealt under other legislations including Indian Penal Code and Suppression of Unlawful Acts, etc.
An anti-piracy law for tackling piracy on merchant vessels is also in the offing, which seeks to empower the government to prosecute and punish hijackers even if they are caught outside the maritime boundaries of the country. The government may also consider extradition to make the law more effective.
In the recent past more than 60 Indians have been held hostage aboard eight hijacked ships in Somali waters. Since January this year Indian crew have been held hostage on foreign ships including Panama-flagged MV Asphalt Venture, MV Iceberg and MV Suez; Italian vessel MV Savina Caylyn; Malta-based MV Sinin and UAE-owned MT Zirku.
In 2010 alone, more than 45 ships were hijacked by Somali pirates. This year, about 14 ships were hijacked till March.
To seek release of hostages on ships, the Indian government has been contacting the owners and flag administration of the hijacked vessels through Indian missions abroad asking them to ensure safety and early release of the hostages.
Story here.