Security firms led by G4S are providing armed guards to ships sailing pirate-infested Somali waters, with one start-up kitting out a gunboat to lead World War II style convoys, as ship owners step up their response to constant attacks.
G4S, which provides services ranging from airport and sports event security to prison management and cash transportation, has been in the vessel security market since 2003, but only recently switched to using armed guards.
“We’ve been doing it at an increasing level basically as a response to customer demand because of the threat posed off the coast of Somalia and the Indian Ocean generally,” a G4S spokesman told Reuters, adding that the FTSE 100 firm sees combating pirates as a big commercial opportunity.
G4S, currently serving two large Far Eastern ship owners, said it may also offer armed protection to shipping off the west coast of Africa and the Strait of Malacca, off Malaysia, both scenes of increasing pirate activity.
The switch in favor of armed vessel security comes after Britain and the United States last month reversed their opposition to it amid growing acceptance that weapons could be the best deterrent to Somali gangs who have been seizing ships and holding their
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