The NASDAQ news service has reported that Spain has officially allowed its vessels to employ private security guards to protect the ships crew and cargo while sailing the pirate-ladden waters off the coast of Somalia.
Spain’s ministry of the interior granted permission for this measure after numerous news reports about the escalating problem of cargo ships being hijacked in the Gulf of Aden.
Though countries such as the U.S., China, India, Russia and Turkey have stepped up their anti-piracy regime, the sea-faring scoundrels refuse to back down.
The private radio station Cadena Ser said one Spanish vessel, a cable-laying ship, Teneo, has already benefited from the decision and is traveling with 10 private, armed security guards on board.
In other, related news, just this weekend, security forces aboard a cruise ship with 1,500 on board used guns and water hoses to fight off encroaching pirates.
The dramatic confrontation was sparked when six men in a small skiff sped up to the MSC Melody late on Saturday, firing their AK-47s and trying to fix a ladder to the side of the ship. A team of Israeli guards hired by the vessel’s owners immediately began firing back with pistols and spraying the attackers with fire hoses. ‘It felt like we were in a war,’ said Commander Ciro Pinto, the Melody’s captain.
For a more humorous, yet factual, blurb about this serious issue, check out The Wall St. Journal‘s 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Somali Pirates.