There is an ongoing debate in maritime circles about the best way to guard against the troublesome Somali pirates off the eastern coast of Africa. Should ships carry armed guards or should they rely on the current practice of states and navies providing for security on the high seas?

This debate was fueled to greater intensity recently when an American
ship, the Maersk Alabama, repelled a pirate attack with “evasive
maneuvers, small-arms fire and a Long Range Acoustic Device, which can
beam earsplitting alarm tones.”

The ship used an on-board security team to thwart the attack, according
to the Associated Press. That has stirred the flames of this debate. It
got added attention when Vice Adm. Bill Gortney of the U.S. Naval
Forces Central Command, said the Maersk Alabama had followed the
maritime industry’s “best practices” in having a security team on
board. Gortney’s praise of the American ship’s use of armed security
raised the bar on this debate.

The use of armed security is at the core of the issue. The
international shipping companies still are overwhelmingly opposed to
the idea of armed guards through past tradition. It also increases the
overall shipping costs of the shipping companies, and some say the
practice would force shippers to hire people who don’t have maritime
experience.

We wish there were simple answers to these complex problems. We wish
the piracy trade could be ended once and for all because it’s ludicrous
to think piracy on the high seas is still an option in the
technological age of satellite imagery, security improvements and years
of knowledge of the militaries of the world and the shipping industry.
But that is another debate altogether.

In this particular debate, we see no current recourse but to arm
American ships well enough to ward off attack like the Maersk Alabama
did. That is the most prudent and cost-effective way to protect vessels
sailing off the African coast.

As far as we know, there is no military option on the table to go to
war against the pirates. And Navy ships cannot protect every vessel
near Africa. With those facts in hand, you basically have to be
prepared to protect yourself.

We don’t like the idea of arming our private shipping vessels any
better than most in the international community, but the reality and
danger of shipping in African waters leaves no other choice. We must
allow any ship the power to protect its crew and its cargo.

Source: MywesttexasNews

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