The Moyock, N.C., company has a ship in Hampton Roads ready to begin patrolling the Gulf of Aden to protect merchant vessels against pirates.
The company has spoken to about 10 shipping firms but as yet has no takers, said Bill Mathews, Blackwater Worldwide executive vice president.
“There’s definitely a need and a desire,” Mathews said during a tour of the 183-foot vessel, named McArthur, on Friday. It’s moored at a commercial pier at Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base.
Somali pirates in late September seized a Ukrainian ship loaded with military vehicles in the Gulf of Aden and still hold the ship while demanding a multimillion-dollar ransom. The standoff is being monitored by the U.S. Navy.
In the first half of this year, pirates launched two dozen attacks off the Somali coast, including 19 in the Gulf of Aden, Said the International Maritime Bureau. At least eight vessels reported attacks by grenade launchers and automatic weapons, the organization said.
For anti-piracy operations, the 14-sailor crew would be supplemented with Blackwater security guards, four rigid-hull inflatable boats and helicopters, Mathews said. Security teams could follow a merchant vessel by air and land.
Mathews said the crew and guards are qualified to provide maritime security, noting that the security teams would consist of former Navy SEALs. The force is highly trained in handling vehicle boardings and anti-terrorism missions.
The ship could be overseas within 40 days, pending approval from the State Department and roughly a month long transit across the Atlantic
The use of private companies to protect merchant ships has a long history, said Claude Berube, a former congressional staffer and professor who has written on the topic. The East India Co. employed private convoys about a century ago along the coast of Africa, he said.
I don’t understand the time lapse for reaction in this region. When the fear of terrorism in the airline industry was realized, the immediate response was an agreement between developed nations and rapid placement of armed ‘Air Marshalls’ onboard international flights. The solution to oceanic piracy seems rather simple to me: a well-armed response team onboard to assess threat and aerial force in the vicinity to remove the culprits. Unmanned drones could obliterate a source of danger miles away without detection or loss of friendly forces.
Thanx for the visit Cornelius and you make a good point….I think that Blackwater is looking for a way to keep their contract fees intact, for they will be out of Iraq soon. I agree since the fleet is all over the Horn Of Africa, they could handle this as a training episode to keep the trrops sharp for the next war in the region.