GRAY Page and Protection Vessels International (PI V) is urging shipowners to consider deploying armed guards, saying the "response should be robustly proportional to the threat" by pirates in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea.

"It is time for shipping to emerge from its comfort zone and face up to the facts and realities of the threat posed by Somali pirates," said Gray Page managing director James Wilkes, according to Tanker Operator.

Dom Mee, the founder and operations director from Protection Vessels International (PVI), said his company is responding to the "growing demand from the shipping industry to stem the rise in piracy" by providing an armed escort for vessels transiting through established shipping lanes.

"Indeed there is palpable relief from masters and crew to have PVI staff on board during a transit. We employ high calibre individuals from a British military background and use established rules of engagement based upon deterrence and self-defence," he said at a joint company presentation.

Mr Wilkes said his company believes the deployment of armed guards on merchant ships is a "rational and reasonable response" to the threat posed by pirates. "We believe that fewer vessels would be attacked and hijacked if they employed professional armed guarding services," he said.

Said PVI's Mr Mee: "Until a land-based solution is implemented, piracy will continue to flourish leaving shipowners and operators little choice but adopt more robust form of deterrence."