Maersk says no to guns

Days after the crew of a Mediterranean Shipping Co cruiseship used firearms to successfully repel pirates, AP Moller-Maersk said it was maintaining its policy of not arming crews or allowing armed guards on board its vessels.
“Weapons on board could lead to a dangerous escalation and raise a number of multi-jurisdictional legal issues,” the company said in a statement, as it continued its inquiry into the Maersk Alabama hijack, when US Navy personnel shot and killed three of the pirates who were holding the ship’s captain hostage.
MSC Cruises chief executive Pierfrancesco Vago has backed calls for an industry- wide debate on the deployment of firearms on board cruise ships following last month’s abortive attack on the MSC Melody 180 miles north of the Seychelles as it was heading for the Gulf of Aden.
The vessel’s crew and security guards drove the pirates off using fire hoses and, controversially, live rounds from pistols carried on board.
Mr Vago insisted that MSC ships only carried arms on board under exceptional circumstances, attributing the storage of “just a few pistols” on board the MSC Melody to the recent escalation of pirate attacks off the horn of Africa.
He also claimed that, contrary to some press reports, security guards on board the vessel had no independent access to the weapons.
The pistols were kept in a safe on the bridge and released only at the discretion of the master. At the same time, he admitted that the issue of deploying firearms on passenger ships, which some believe will only lead to an escalation of pirate violence, must be debated.
In the meantime, Mr Vago said MSC would pull its vessels out of east African waters immediately.
AP Moller-Maersk has also changed procedures following the Maersk Alabama hijack earlier this month.
In future, only ships of a certain size will be allowed to enter the area in which pirates are known to operate.
The 1,092 teu Maersk Alabama is small for a containership, with a service speed of 18 knots, whereas bigger, modern vessels would be able to go at 24 knots or more.
While proceeding with its investigation of the Maersk Alabama incident, it had taken action to further boost the security of crews against piracy.
“We have expanded the area off the coast of Somalia where only vessels with a certain freeboard or capable of sailing certain speeds are allowed to enter,” Maersk Tankers chief executive Sren Skou said.
“Vessels should spend as little time in the area as possible, and while in the area sail at maximum speed,” he added.