"The Blackwater of the High Seas" Topic

The end of the modern piracy?

"Beware, pirates of Africa. You may have outlasted years of patrols from the world's navies. You may have driven fear into the hears of shipping magnates and sent insurance rates skyrocketing. But now you'll have to contend with a dapper British investor who is seeking to privatize the fight against seafaring brigands.

Anthony Sharp, a 50-year-old veteran of tech startups, grew up with a love for ships. On February 7, he'll turn that boyhood affection into what might be the first private navy since the 19th century. Sharp's newest company, Typhon, will offer a fleet of armed ex-Royal Marines and sailors to escort commercial ships through pirate-infested waters. In essence, Typhon wants to be the Blackwater of the sea, minus the stuff about accidentally killing civilians.

Sharp thinks the market is ripe for Typhon, a company named for a monster out of Greek myth. Budget cuts are slicing into the wallets of the militaries that provide protection from pirates. The conflicts and weak governments that incubate piracy in places like Somalia persist. "Maritime crime is growing at the same time that navies are shrinking," Sharp tells Danger Room by telephone from the U.K. "The policemen are going off the beat." Sharp thinks that creates a potent opportunity for the fleet he's buying.

But he might be too late. Without much notice, piracy actually declined in 2012, bringing down the high insurance rates that send shipping companies running for armed protection. Meanwhile, the market for such security is being filled by companies that station armed guards aboard commercial ships to deter or combat pirates. That practice, known as "embarked security," follows years of security firms, including Blackwater itself, trying and mostly failing at amassing fleets to escort commercial ships — Typhon's model.

Sharp says he's heard the objections and is undeterred. "We've got personnel. We've got clients," he insists. And when Typhon launches on February 7 and begins operations in April, Sharp won't just take a gamble on a market much different than the ones he made his money in. He'll reintroduce the world to the forgotten concept of a private navy. And the U.S. Navy is watching, with much curiosity
It used to be that when navies needed aid on the high seas, they would hire private warships as auxiliaries. The auxiliaries, known as privateers, would fly the flag of the nation that hired them, and were thereby empowered to do the rough nautical business of raiding and plundering commercial ships from hostile nations. During the War of 1812, for instance, America hired a privateer fleet of more than 517 ships; the U.S. Navy had just 23 vessels at the time. But by the mid-19th century, the notion of private navies seemed like a threat to a stable economy. "A privateer coming across a wrongly flagged ship could become a pirate very quickly," recounts Kevin McRainie of the U.S. Naval War College.

So in April 1856, most western nations (with the important exceptions of Spain and the United States) signed the Paris Declaration Respecting Maritime Law. "Privateering is, and remains, abolished," it reads…"
Full article 4 pages here.
link

Hope so.

Amicalement
Armand

I was not aware that the UK allowed weapons on UK-flagged merchant ships. And yes, Typhon's ships are merchants, not warships, because only governments have warships according to law.

Yep, a bit late, and no doubt, a few dollars short.

I guess he could try West Africa, and/or on the continent itself.

Seems there are still plenty of Islamists about, and growing in strength (despite propaganda to the contrary), if he wants to try taking them on, but that will be a lot more dangerous.

I like it … Independent Contractors/Mercs vs. Pirates … Works for me …

If Typhon stays strictly to defending ships (an extension of the guards that many ships transiting the area already carry), then there shouldn't be a problem. If they go cowboying off chasing pirates, then you got problems galore. BTW, even though the US did not sign the 1856 accord, they have always accepted it (and benefited by it). Additionally, the Law of the Sea Accords specifies that NATIONS have the responsibility of dealing with high seas pirates (nothing about non-governmental agencies). So that raises the question: exactly whose national authority is Typhon operating under? Lots of potential problems here…

Additionally, the Law of the Sea Accords specifies that NATIONS have the responsibility of dealing with high seas pirates (nothing about non-governmental agencies).

The problem is that many nations have abdicated that responsibility by either failing to maintain an adequate naval force to deter piracy or lacking the intestinal fortitude to use it.

Some may have for any number of reasons. Regardless, the potential downside of 'private navies' stooging around the open sea lanes far outweighs the upside.

Agreed coastal.

1) What happens when the real pirates go away? No contracts. So, it seems the contractors need the pirates to maintain some minimal level of trouble. Seems they would even support them.

2) What happens when some shipping company decides the pirates are cheaper extortionists than the contractors?

I eagerly await the creation of the first Somali naval PMC, one that will safely escort "escort" merchant convoys through dangerous waters for a daily fee. T'would probably be a lot cheaper than Typhon… <G>

Competition is good for business in the long run; it imposes discipline. ;-)

"I was not aware that the UK allowed weapons on UK-flagged merchant ships. And yes, Typhon's ships are merchants, not warships, because only governments have warships according to law."

The vessels used to carry nuclear waste from Barrow to Japan carry Bofors and perhaps also Oerlikons, IIRC, with service crews and armed police onboard as well. So my bro tells me, he is their Marine Superintendent. They, however, are a special case. The guns are mounted only when a cargo is ready, and are dismounted once the cargo is discharged.

They also sail in pairs, one carrying the nuclear fuel, the other as escort. They sail out of sight of land, outside territorial waters from departure to arrival. The armed people are "policemen".

Didn't realize that SAS or SBS got 'loaned' out to Scotland Yard! :P

(and where the devil do you find people still trained on Bofors 40mm guns?)