The Mozambique Channel is expected to become the new pirate hotspot for piracy this year, said Richard Mcenery, operations director with Ocean Protection Services, one of the companies currently offering security services onboard vessels.
In a special interview with Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide, Mcenery stated that the only long-term and viable solution to the plague of piracy is a land-based one, as this is where each pirate is “born”. He also said that more and more countries will allow armed guards onboard vessels, following the example set by the UK, Norway and Germany.
“The new hotspot will be the Mozambique Channel,” Mcenery added, “but I also feel the pirates will possibly start to realize the embarkation and disembarkation point of armed guards, and they will start to use that to their advantage. So possibly the entrance to the Persian Gulf could also be a new hotspot this piracy season.
“Piracy is hard to stop because the navies don’t have the de-restriction they need and want. But I don’t think the pirates will ever be stopped by navies patrolling the ocean. The only solution to piracy is a land based one.”
