Govt considering allowing armed guards on merchant ships

New Delhi, Mar 15 (PTI) Faced with increasing
incidents of pirate attacks, the Indian Government is
considering allowing armed guards to be deployed on Indian
merchant ships to enable them to retaliate in case of an
attempt by sea brigands to take over the vessels.
Sources in the Indian Navy on Tuesday said the
government is considering a Shipping Ministry proposal which
talks about allowing armed guards to man merchant ships in
order to protect them from pirates.
They said a decision on this issue would be taken
after discussions among Ministries of Law, Defence and
Shipping.
The armed guards on the ships would be somewhat
similar to the Sky Marshals deployed on commercial aircraft to
prevent hijacking attempts, the sources said.
Under the current Indian and international laws,
civilian mariners are not allowed to carry fire arms but in
recent times, various countries such as Malta and Yemen have
reportedly allowed merchant ships to deploy armed guards on
board ships.
The proposal, they said, is being supported by the
Navy as it would help in increasing the safety of ships while
operating in high seas against pirate attacks.
"The Rules of Engagement (RoE) and laws in this regard
would be framed in consultation with the Navy only," they
added.
They said in the recent past, there have been various
instances in piracy-prone areas where merchant ships on their
own have thwarted attempts by sea brigands to take over their
ships.
"Having armed guards on board would further help in
enhancing their security," they added.
On the problems while dealing with arrested pirates,
officials said there were no laws to deal with them in the
country and they have to be arrested under charges of attempt
to murder and trying to damage government property.
The government is working on a tough law to deal with
the piracy problem.
At present, piracy is dealt with under the provisions
of the Indian Penal Code and century-old Admiralty law but the
government would like to have a separate statute with
provisions to effectively tackle the problem that takes place
far away from Indian shores.
Ruling out India being part of any US-led task force
to counter piracy, they said: "We would be willing to part of
any joint effort under a UN mandate only."
India is one of the countries carrying out independent
anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea
where several multi-nation groups are also operating to
safeguard the merchant vessels passing from there.