‘To arm or not to arm’ is anti-piracy conundrum

Maritime piracy will undoubtedly remain the biggest threat to shipping in 2012 according to international risk consultancy group Control Risks.
“Somali piracy around the Horn of African continued to increase and expand in 2011, and will remain a major threat to shipping in the region in 2012,” said Dave Butler, Control Risks managing director for southern and east Africa.
And while this area has become renowned for attacks on vessels, piracy is becoming increasingly widespread, affecting both the east and west coast of Africa, a major concern for many especially in the light of the major oil and gas finds in the region.
With piracy patrols now extending as far down as Mozambique, the latest incident along the West African coast has indicated how widespread the piracy issue has become. Pirates operating out of Somalia alone now range over around three million square miles of sea leaving existing navy patrols extremely stretched. But, piracy along the West coast of Africa is also increasing.
In the most recent incident the captain and chief engineer of a cargo vessel were killed when pirates fired on the cargo vessel just off the coast of Nigeria.
According to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) Piracy Reporting Centre this was one of three incidents to have occurred in the area in the space of five days.
The IMB, which is funded by ship-owners, warned in September that the seas off Benin, Nigeria's neighbour, were emerging as a new piracy "hotspot" due to the weak enforcement capabilities of governments in the region.
“Counter piracy measures are not effective, leaving the burden squarely on the shoulders of crew, management and owners to assess piracy threats and implement appropriate vessel and transit-specific counter-measures,” said Butler. “More robust protective measures are needed if piracy is to be addressed.
This, however, remains a topic of heavy debate.
In October last year British prime minister David Cameron announced that all ships sailing under a British flag would be able to carry armed guards to protect them from pirates. The hope will be that armed patrols act as a deterrent, but there are risks with many experts warning of the danger of an escalation in the violence with pirates responding with heavier weapons.
The practicalities around armed security on merchant vessels are also complex with many countries not allowing armed guards in their ports or while sailing in their waters.
And, say the experts, while this kind of measure may help, it is unlikely to deal with the fundamental causes of the piracy problem - ultimately requiring government intervention.