Following last week’s Intersessional Maritime and Piracy Working Group, the IMO has released new guidance and recommendations on the use of privately contracted armed security personnel.
SAMI believes the new guidance and recommendations are timely, as violent pirate attacks are set to reach record levels as they resume after the lull during the monsoon period and a reduction in scale and operation of the world’s navies.
Commenting on last week’s first intersessional meeting of the IMOs Maritime Security and Piracy Working Group, SAMI Director Peter Cook [who attended the meeting as a consultant to the Marshall Islands] said,
“The IMO is making great progress towards providing a structure for the maritime security industry, importantly the IMO has made recommendations and provided guidance for the use of armed security personnel which is a necessary step towards creating a relevant structure for the industry to work within.”
There has also been praise for the work undertaken by the IMO on facilitating the passage of armed guards and their weapons on merchant ships. It is hoped that the work of the IMO in this regard will remove flag and port State obstructions, thereby clarifying the procedures and rules on the embarkation and disembarkation of armed guards and their equipment.