Anti-piracy navies fade as budgets cut, warns marine security start up

Anti-piracy navies fade as budgets cut, warns marine security start up

ANTI PIRACY operations are likely to fall away as defence budgets of leading countries are cut, according to the American Journal of Transportation of Massachusetts, quoting the CEO of Typhon, a new Abu Dhabi-based maritime security start up.

The US could be the latest country to cut anti-piracy spending, meaning a further reduction to the forces patrolling Somali waters, said the report.

Although there has been a decline in attacks, it is estimated that 40 per cent of this decline can be attributed to the presence of warships. But others argue that the presence of armed shipboard guards is the main factor.

Typhon CEO Anthony Sharp, an ex-French Legionnaire, plans to convoy ships through dangerous waters from a company mothership while dispatching armed skiffs, called ribs (rigid-inflatable boats), to scoot about the convoy and confront pirates they encounter.

Said Mr Sharp: "While some claim there has been a reduction in piracy in recent years, pirates are opportunists and any that have previously been deterred will soon see opportunity renewed as deterrents disappear."