Guns for hire
August 18, 2011
Germany may soon authorize shipping companies to hire private armed guards to defend vessels from Somali pirates. Ships sailing near the Horn of Africa are at high risk of attack from pirates, who often hijack ships for ransom.
Currently one third of German ships are estimated to be sailing in the western Indian Ocean with guards on board, but the practice is only semi-legal. If a pirate were to be killed in self-defense, the guard can be punished under German laws.
The idea of deploying naval escorts for ships has been sidelined by the government, as it would be unaffordable. Failing to gain naval support, shipping companies have been angry at a policy stalemate lasting years. The pirates are frequently armed with a automatic weapons and bazookas, and often target German ships carrying chemicals and oil.
World consensus
Berlin officials said Wednesday that there was a shift in opinion in favor of allowing armed guards to defend ships.
On Wednesday, Hans-Joachim Otto, the government's coordinator of maritime industry policy, confirmed that officials favored changes to the law that would allow guards to use lethal force, but said no decision had yet been taken.
"The traffic lights for deployment of security forces have gone from red to amber, but are not yet at green," Otto said. He said world opinion was "moving towards private security guards."
He said Germany should wait for an International Maritime Organisation (IMO) vote next month. "It's a world problem and we should get a world solution," he said.
Hans-Peter Uhl, a legislator with Chancellor Angela Merkel's government coalition told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung that government parties had "basically agreed."
Human rights objections
Otto is a member of the Free Democrats (FDP), who earlier raised objections to using guards on human rights grounds. They said the guards would be in a sense mercenaries.
Police trade unions are also hostile to what they consider a "privatizing" of lethal force.
"It's a function of the state alone," said Bernhard Witthaut, chairman of the Police Union. He called for Germany to set up a marine police unit manned by 500 former German soldiers. "That would be the first step," he said.
Witthaut is supported by the interior minister of Lower Saxony, who also says it is an issue for the state. Uwe Scünemann told Financial Times Deutschland that federal police and the army should act "within their means" and they can then be "flanked" by private security forces.
Pirate attacks on ships near the Horn of Africa rose by nearly two thirds to 163 in the first half of 2011, with 21 vessels hijacked. According to Financial Times Deutschland, the price for a team of five armed guards is 100,000 euros ($144,000) per trip. According to the newspaper, these 'mercenaries' mostly come from the UK or Israel.
Author: Catherine Bolsover (dpa, Reuters, AFP)
Editor: Susan Houlton