Private Maritime Security Contractors and Use of Lethal Force in Maritime Domain

Abstract

2 For more information, especially with regard to the soft-law bottom-up approach to the regulation of private maritime security companies, see: Mudrić (2015a), pp. 53-55.

Are Private Maritime Security Companies or Naval Assets the Preferred Means to Address Maritime Piracy?

“…Apart from being expensive and difficult to maintain, naval forces are politically complicated -the minority of countries enjoys the presence of foreign warships in their territorial waters. Marin et al (2017) highlight, that "following the plight of individual coastal states (most notably, the United States) and certain parts of the shipping industry, more and more nongovernmental actors became reliant on the private maritime security services within a short period of time. .…”

“…Violent incidents with murder at sea have been reported to be on an increasing rate. Marin et al (2017) concluded that "growing number of reports indicate possible excessive behaviour of individually armed security guards" (p. 195). This tendency throws a shadow on the general credibility of private maritime security contractors.…”

“…The international community has started to develop the standards of conduct for the privately contracted military actors. According to Marin et al (2017), several guidelines and recommendations were created particularly for the maritime domain, i.e., the IMO Guidance, the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO) Guidance, the 100 Series Rules, the IAMSP Rules on Use of Force, the ISO/PAS 28007:2012 and the ASIS/ANSI PSC (p. 191). Although internationally recognized, none of these documents is mandatory or legally binding, thus they require to be accompanied with the State's domestic criminal and civil laws and regulations, especially those regarding the issue of self-defence.…”

A Human Rights View of Maritime Piracy Law: Exploring the Gulf of Guinea

“…116 Nonetheless, the issue of human rights at sea also views the phenomenon of private maritime security contractors as a "possible insecurity factor, leading to an increased level of violence and increased insecurity of people and goods at sea." 117 The 2007 Nisour Square massacre incident provides a perspective for consideration. In this incident, a private military company (then known as Blackwater Security Consulting) contracted by the US government to protect US diplomats in Iraq was escorting a US embassy convoy, which led to the shooting of Iraqi civilians: killing 17 and injuring 20 in Nisour Square, Baghdad.…”