Pirate Attacks Under-Reported

European Union force says private guards protecting merchant ships are concealing details

Pirate attacks under-reported, forum told

European Union force says private guards protecting merchant ships are concealing details

Private armed guards placed on merchant vessels to protect them against Somali pirates are under-reporting attacks, according to the European Union naval force patrol-ling in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean.

Security teams are concealing de-tails even though industry practice is to alert armed forces about any attacks or pirate sightings, Simon Church, EU Navfor’s industry liaison officer, said Wednesday at a piracy forum in London.

“Security teams are shaping this on-board decision-making for reasons of liability, because of the action they may have taken to defend ships against attack,” said Church, who works at a counter-piracy base in Northwood, England.

The number of armed guards stationed on ships travelling through the region jumped this year as pirate attacks soared to a record and countries including the U.K. changed laws to allow…….[access full article]