Liberty boss calls for US to allow arms on ships after attack

The head of the company that operates the Liberty Sun, the 1986-built, 65,273 dwt US-flag bulker that was fired on by pirates off Somalia on April 14, said there is a US statute dating back to 1819 that “makes it clear that all US-flag ships have the right to self defence”, but modern-day US law has in effect neutered this statute.
The US Government’s official advice to shipowners against paying ransom would only exacerbate the dangers faced by US mariners who would face a far greater risk of violence if they were seized as hostages, Mr Shapiro argued.
He declared that measures to deter piracy mandated by the International Maritime Organization and the US Coast Guard, which Liberty Maritime has followed to the letter, “are no longer adequate on their own”.
Mr Shapiro urged the US Congress to provide a new legal framework for shipowners to arm their crews.
Noting that such a new law would take months to come into force, Mr Shapiro said Washington in the meanwhile should urgently provide government security teams or naval escorts for all US-flag vessels on high-risk voyages.
Testifying last week before a sub-committee of the US Senate, he said: “Private industry cannot switch from a no-firearms regime to an armed protection regime overnight. Our ships need protection now, not six or nine months from now.”