66 Companies Contact Blackwater as US Navy Says Private Sector Must Fight Pirates

At least 66 shipping and merchant companies have contacted Blackwater for help in protecting vessels from Islamist pirates off the coast of Somalia.

The US Navy says it's overburdened, and that private companies must ensure their own security. "The coalition does not have enough resources to provide 24-hour protection for the vast number of merchant vessels in the region," says the US Fifth Fleet Commander, Vice Admiral Bill Gortney. "The shipping companies must take measures to defend their vessels and their crews."

Blackwater spokesman Anne Tyrell says that the company will offer seaborne and helicopter escort services but will not place private security guards aboard the tankers, freighters, and other ships. The firm's 180-foot helicopter carrier, McArthur (pictured), is reported to be in the area.

"Shipowners are irked by the suggestion they should be protecting themselves," the Toronto Globe and Mail reports. '[What] we are talking about is the fundamental obligation of nations to provide safe passage for world trade,' said Peter Hinchliffe, marine director for the London-based International Chamber of Shipping."

US Navy Encourages Private Security Companies to Protect Ships from Piracy

The United States Navy has praised the rise of private security companies to protect private shipping from pirates as a "great trend."

Media commentators have been generally skeptical of Blackwater's dispatch of its 183-foot ship, the McArthur, to the Gulf of Aden to provide security for private ships that the United Nations and the world's navies are leaving vulnerable to Islamist criminal gangs.

However, a US Navy spokesman has praised the move and encourages more private security companies to follow Blackwater's example. British security companies are already active in protecting ships, but Blackwater plans to provide McArthur, which can carry two special operations helicopters complete with doorgunners, to escort civilian ships that the UN and government navies can't or won't protect.

"This is a great trend," a spokesman for the US Navy's 5th Fleet tells the Associated Press. "We would encourage shipping companies to take proactive measures to help ensure their own safety."

Insurance companies also like the idea. "Pirate attacks have driven up insurance premiums tenfold for ships plying the Gulf of Aden, increasing the cost of cargos that include a fifth of the world's oil. But some insurers will slash charges by up to 40 percent if boats hire their own security," according to AP.

A senior official of Somalia, off whose coast much of the piracy is taking place, says private security companies are welcome in Somali waters. Somalia's 1,800-mile coastline is difficult to avoid for ships traversing the Suez Canal.

Finally: A Solution to the Somali Pirate Problem

Governments around the world dither once again about what to do about unconventional threats, and once again, a private company offers a solution.

More than 70 ships have been attacked off the Somalian coast so far in 2008, with 11 ships and 200 crew still being held for ransom as of yesterday.

"The dramatic increase of pirate attacks on merchant vessels in the Gulf of Aden has led to parallel cost increases for the shipping industry," Blackwater says in an October 16 statement.

"Shipping insurance rates have risen tenfold this year alone. With the added danger pay offered to crews willing to make the journey, pirate ransom demands that reach into the millions, and lengthy negotiations for hijacked ships, if left unaddressed the cost of the piracy boom to the shipping industry - and consumers buying their goods - will only increase."

"We have been contacted by ship owners who say they need our help in making sure those goods get to their destination safely," Blackwater Executive Vice President Bill Matthews says.

Blackwater says it's making its 183-foot ship, the McArthur (pictured), available to assist the shipping industry fight piracy. While some shippers arm their crews or hire private security to ride aboard their vessels, they can hire the McArthur "to accompany a ship and deploy helicopters to patrol the area" as "a safer option for the shipping industry."

The McArthur has a helicopter landing deck and a large helo fuel capacity; Blackwater's aviation affiliate can supply the helicopters, pilots and maintenance required to support escort missions.