Weapons on Vessels? States, Private Security and Responsibility for Responding to Maritime Threats

Recent reports document a proliferation of contracted maritime security models to protect commercial vessels in territorial and international waters. These are especially prevalent in areas with heightened threats of piracy and armed robbery off the coast of Somalia, in the Gulf of Guinea and in parts of South East Asia. With rising industry demand, traditional models of contracted security have increasingly been interchanged with models offering unregulated commercial guards, as well as government forces providing security for a fee. This has raised concerns about ensuring oversight and use-of-force policies, and some of these models challenge the responsibility or authority of littoral states in providing a safe environment for maritime commerce. In a worst-case scenario, lack of training, control and accountability could put lives at risk and result in the unregulated flow of weapons.

At this event, the speakers will discuss different models of contracted maritime security, the responsibilities for accountability and possible oversight mechanisms which could be used to address this issue.