Parleying with pirates, and then paying the ransom (often by airdrops), are jobs that shipowners regularly contract out to private firms or “risk consultancies”. Other maritime security services are less controversial: fitting ships with kit, such as barbed or electric wires, to make it hard for pirates to clamber aboard. Increasingly, security firms also put armed guards on ships, or offer their own craft as escorts.
Business protecting ships off east Africa has tripled in the past year, says Eos Risk Management, a London firm that says it has fended off at least 15 attacks from Somali pirates since January. Eos usually uses non-lethal defences, but David Johnson, its boss, says new players are rushing into maritime security, taking advantage of the ample supply of weapons in Africa.
Armed escort ships, offering protection for a price, are becoming a lot more common off east Africa. Local coastguards, where they exist, have got used to private-security vessels plying their waters, says Stan Ayscue of Securewest International, a firm based in Singapore and Virginia.
Draconian force is seldom necessary, adds Mr Berra. Attackers often give up when 12.7mm machineguns are fired into the water, creating a big splash. The head of another European security firm says many outfits sidestep bans on weapons in port by tossing them overboard.Yet a show of firepower is increasingly necessary because pirates are getting blasé about “non-lethal” defences like water hoses and sonic blasts, says David Schewitz, whose California-based company, RSB International , helps protect ships.
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