Private navy rescue attempts may bolster fledgling piracy liability field

There are whispers coming out of international Intel about attempts to put together a private navy targeting Indian Ocean piracy. It was inevitable the burgeoning maritime security field would move in this direction once ransoms skyrocketed over $10 million a ship and pirates greatly expanded their area of operations. Whichever companies manage to get the finances and the go ahead to launch private intercept and rescue operations may face battles in the courtroom after their battles on the water. That’s because once the first crewmember is hurt or killed by a maritime mercenary you can be sure that the lawsuits will be flying. And the number of potential defendants is long, indeed. They might include anyone who signed off on allowing the private rescue attempt which could be comprised of: the vessel owner and operator, shipping union(s), Master, flag of registry and shipping coalition.

While the international community fiddles over the “armed vs. unarmed” debate, private contractors smell the allure of a $2-3 million dollar payout per successfully rescued ship. So it’s full speed ahead, damn the torpedoes, damn the risk of an “A Team” rescue mission going terribly wrong. Let us hope they heed the lessons of Blackwater. Otherwise our firm may have many more clients joining the crewmembers of the Maersk Alabama who we happen to represent.