The hypocrisy of leaving seafarers defenseless against pirate attacks

About 80 miles off the coast of Tanzania in east Africa, a survey ship runs block patterns at slow speeds in the Indian Ocean. As recent as 18 months ago, this vessel did not have to worry much about the threat of Somali piracy because attacks were primarily taking place well to the north.

Not anymore. With hijackings now happening as far away from the Horn of Africa as Madagascar—well to the south of Tanzania—the survey ship is smack in the middle of an expanding pirate alley.

In late September, the vessel’s crew used up almost all of their distress flares defending themselves in a pirate attack.

Were the flares used for distress purposes or as defense weapons?

“No comment,” said the company security officer, who asked that the names of the company and the vessel remain undisclosed.

By saying “no comment,” he was really saying that a crew has to use anything and everything at their disposal to protect their lives.

Anything and everything, however, no longer extends to distress flares for that crew. In the nearly two months since the attack, they have been unable to obtain replacement flares because international port-state laws and restrictive air freight rules of transporting class 1.4 explosives. Never mind that each vessel is required to carry distress flares under SOLAS regulations.

Firearms are not an option for that ship because providing ammunition deals with the same restrictions that affect flares. Some companies are going so far as to send personnel thousands of miles away to purchase ammo and fly it back with them as custodians to the vessel. International rules allow a person to carry a limited amount of bullets with them on commercial flights.

As an example of the desperate measures being taken to protect crewmembers, an oil and gas company in Tanzania recently sent nine persons to a Mediterranean island just for the purpose of bringing back five kilograms of ammo apiece to one of their ships.

Amidst international laws working against the ability of seafarers to defend themselves, the total of vessels currently hijacked by Somali pirates is approximately 30 with over 500 hostages.

Compounding matters is this past week’s position statement of the EU NAVFOR task force which essentially faulted mariners for being taken hostage because they have not been following so-called Best Management Practices (BMPs).

Not only do sailors have to worry about criminal acts on the water, they have to look over their shoulders at worldwide law enforcement officials who might lock them up for carrying legally registered firearms that they desperately need to protect themselves. For example, Americans have recently been arrested in Mexico even after declaring their registered weapons because they did not apply for a permit from the embassy well in advance. A former Coast Guard captain was arrested by New York police after disclosing his handgun which was legally registered, unloaded and the ammunition was stored separately on a private yacht. Even though he was cleared by the Coast Guard in a safety check, the cops grabbed him for violating New York City firearms laws.

The moral of the story is this: If you’re a law abiding seafarer, you could find yourself defenseless in a pirate attack by criminals with black market assault weapons who, by the way, transform into innocent fishermen when they drop their guns into the water as the military arrives on the scene. Meanwhile, there’s a good chance your company will not pay for armed security guards, you will be blamed for not following BMPs, or you will be arrested for declaring your legally registered weapons.

Surviving all of this, you may have no choice but to follow the lead of the some of the crew members of the Maersk Alabama who have sought legal counsel for being placed in high risk waters without the means to protect themselves.