Media Coverage

Private Security Teams Are a Gray Area in the Fight against Pirates

John Kimball, maritime partner at Blank Rome, provided insight to Bloomberg News regarding the recent pirate attacks off Somalia’s east coast and in the Gulf of Aden.  These attacks have created a flourishing market for security companies that promise to protect ships from speedboat-borne brigands armed with AK-47 assault rifles and grenade-launchers. 

In addition to increasing the possibility of violence, armed guards on ships carry legal risks, said Mr. Kimball.

A warship from any sovereign nation has the right under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea to kill pirates in international waters. But “when a private security firm does it, you are in a gray area,” he said. “Putting a security force on a ship raises all sorts of issues I think that ship-owners should want to avoid.”

“Mercenary Guards Jump Ship as Somali Pirates Remain Undeterred” by Gregory Viscusi appeared in Bloomberg News on December 18, 2008.  For the full article, please visit www.bloomberg.com.