Anti-piracy parallel universe

I think all of us would nod our heads to the usual clear-headed Danish response to piracy.

Danish group Shipcraft said putting armed guards on its vessels travelling through the Gulf of Aden was a deterrent and also a means of protecting its crews despite the risks involved.

"They (pirates) do not like to be there when the guards are there," said Shipcraft's chief executive Per Nykjaer Jensen.

"As long as the politicians don't make up their minds, then we have to act ourselves," he told Reuters.

I did say "clear-headed," didn't I?

Well - get out the woolies.

The debate over whether to allow armed guards on vessels has gathered momentum and the U.N.'s shipping agency, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), has taken it up.

Peter Hinchliffe, marine director with industry association the International Chamber of Shipping, told an IMO meeting on piracy last week there were concerns over the "proliferating private armies of security guards", who were also unregulated.

"These relate to issues of legality and liability for the use of lethal force, collateral damage and shipboard safety," he said.

"There is a danger that the carriage of armed guards in merchant ships may lead to an arms race with criminal pirate gangs who may be able to obtain ever more potent fire power."

What bureaucratic comfy-chair laden parallel universe does this guy come from?

As usual, we have the weak blaming the strong for taking action and blaming others for their own lack of performance in their job. The last part is the same mentality we saw with the SANE/FREEZE gaggle during the Cold War. That type of mentality was wrong in the '30s and the Cold War - and it is wrong now.

I hope Peter drinks.