Fighting piracy is becoming a private battle

James Brown, Military Fellow at the Lowy Institute, reported, as a part of his research into the use of private military security companies in the Indian Ocean, that fighting the Somali-based pirates is becoming increasingly a private battle. The report titled ‘Pirates and Privateers: Managing the Indian Ocean’s Private Security Boom’ records that there is a rapid emergence of private military security companies engaging themselves in offering protection to commercial ships transiting the Indian Ocean. James Brown notes: “There is a legitimate role for private companies in fighting piracy; possibly half of ships travelling the Indian Ocean are employing them. But private naval fleets are operating in legal vacuum”. He says that there will be about 40 private armed patrol boats soon operating in the Indian Ocean and some of them will have drones and helicopters, ready to escort commercial ships and to protect them from piracy attacks. He strikes a correct warning note to the countries about employing their soldiers and sailors for private ships: “By ceding some authority for military personnel to shipping companies, national militaries risk becoming embroiled in disputes beyond their control. This has the potential to do serious damage to national reputations and cause serious diplomatic incidents”. Aptly, he recalls the Enrica Lexie episode, the two Italian marines shooting down two Indian fishermen suspecting them to be pirates. The report is from the research project, funded by the Australian Civil-Military Centre.

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