EuropeMiddle EastOperations
Maritime security firms pull UK guards from ships bound for the Gulf
The Financial Times is reporting that maritime security firms are pulling British guards off transits through the Gulf over fears they could be targeted for capture by the Iranians.
Two well known maritime security companies, Ambrey and Maritime Asset Security and Training (MAST), are known to be among those to have replaced UK citizens with guards from other countries as tanker tensions between Iran and Britain remain high.
The UK-flagged Stena Bulk product tanker Stena Impero and its 23 crew were seized on July 19 and remain detained in Iranian waters, as retaliation for UK armed forces detaining an Iranian VLCC off Gibraltar at the start of last month.
MarSec operatives are not on board vessels to counter any approaches from sovereign forces and they are not there to become embroiled in any active dispute.
The purpose of MarSec operators is to dissuade and repel piracy attacks from individual criminals but, if the attack is sustained, the MarSec operatives are not supposed to directly engage and certainly not to kill attackers.
The current situation in the Gulf with Iranian State forces effectively arresting merchant vessels (whether justified or not) is not a situation where MarSec operatives would be either present on board nor appropriate.
Martyn
your comments are very ill informed if you believe MarSec operatives are not supposed to directly engage and certainly not to kill attackers.
The intent is to stop the attackers taking control of the ship.