Armed guards on merchant vessels soon?

NEW DELHI: After clearing new aggressive rules of engagement for naval warships to go on an "all out offensive'' against pirates, the government is now also moving towards allowing armed guards on Indian merchant vessels to keep the sea brigands at bay.

The armed guards, akin to sky marshals deployed on civil airliners to prevent hijacking, are likely to be drawn from retired personnel of Navy and Coast Guard, who are well-versed in maritime as well as security matters, said sources.

Another proposal being pushed by Navy is to make it mandatory for all merchant vessels to have "safe houses or rooms'' by fortifying the bridge or engine rooms. With blast-resistant armour-plated doors, with electronic locks to restrict access, they will have satellite communication devices inside to issue distress calls.

If the crew of a hijacked Indian vessel has barricaded itself in the "safe house'', then naval commandos will get the opportunity to storm the ship without the risk of any collateral damage, said sources. 

These form part of the new "rules of engagement (RoE)'' and standard operating procedures (SOPs), as earlier reported by TOI, which were formally approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security on Tuesday. The bottom line is that Indian warships will now interdict pirate ships in "a far more pro-active manner''. All intervention operations, however, will be based on "necessity and proportionality'', said sources.