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.
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