8 - Privatizing the Fight against Piracy

Summary

[T]he most immediate telling effect on the modern buccaneers may well come not as a result of high-sounding pontifications from international bodies. It may well result from the availability of well trained and equipped commercial marine security forces operating out of North America, Europe, Africa and Southeast Asia — driven as the pirates are by the pursuit of profit.

Frank Hopkins

INTRODUCTION

We live in an increasingly privatized world. Private education, private airlines, private telephone companies, and private health care are only a few examples of the increasing impact of privatization on our daily lives. Designed to stay competitive in the global market, private companies promise cheaper rates and better service for the customer. Today, such companies offer services for every aspect of life, including the security and military sectors. It should, therefore, come as no surprise that so-called PSCs or PMCs (Private Military Companies) are also employed to secure the world's oceans. Indeed, in the last ten years an increasing number of private companies have surfaced and expanded their operations, offering services ranging from piracy response training for law enforcement personnel, to recapturing hijacked vessels and rescuing kidnapped crew members. This new alternative for ship owners, insurance companies, and other businesses involved in the maritime sector to respond to piracy in Southeast Asia is part of — and exemplifies — the increasing privatization of security. By examining anti-piracy services offered by PMCs/PSCs it is therefore possible to understand the role, impact, and shortcomings of the privatized security industry within and beyond maritime Southeast Asia.

This chapter discusses the privatization of security and the emergence of PMCs/PSCs and examines the different types of anti-piracy services provided by such companies in Southeast Asia. It shows that the existence of PMCs/PSCs and their operations in maritime Southeast Asia indicate that there are security gaps and weaknesses in current maritime security arrangements. Furthermore, the chapter highlights some of the crucial problems and controversies associated with the privatization of maritime security and suggests that the existence of PSCs and the services they offer reveal a range of security problems and concerns in and beyond Southeast Asia.