The club’s risk management executive Colin Gillespie cited existing standardised contracts for armed security, with specific reference to Bimco’s Guardcon, which “has been drafted specifically in response to the piracy situation in the Indian Ocean, and the circumstances found in west Africa are quite different.”
Private armed guards cannot legally operate inside territorial waters in many of West Africa’s coastal states. “Local laws require that armed guards should be from the local security forces. This introduces potential safety, security and political issues with the use of such guards, particularly if a vessel needs to operate in the territorial waters of more than one coastal state in the region.”
Further to this, cases have been noted of local agencies recruiting off-duty guards at lower cost. “Operators should therefore seek to ensure that the agency they use is employing local security forces that are on duty, and as such are an informed and legitimate part of local intelligence and military networks,” said Gillespie. “All shipowners should seek expert legal and technical advice before entering into a contract to engage armed guards to protect their vessels in West Africa”.
Scrutiny of pirate activity on the West African coast has intensified after a number of cases of ships being hijacked off Nigeria and Liberia – notably, tanker Gascogne, which is now free having been attacked on Monday, causing the injury of two crew.
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