Ince & Co welcomes FAC Report into Piracy

The House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee Report on “Piracy off the coast of Somalia”, published today, sets out the findings of the Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) enquiry into the efforts of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the UK Government to combat increasing levels of piracy off the coast of Somalia.

As part of their enquiry, the FAC invited Ince & Co partner Stephen Askins, who has provided legal advice to the owners and underwriters of a number of vessels hijacked by pirates, to appear before the Committee and provide evidence in connection with some of the legal issues that arise in dealing with the threat of piracy. Among other things, Stephen's input related to the (i) use of private armed security guards (PASGs) and the (ii) payment of ransoms.

(i) Use of PASGs

The report concludes that “the evidence in support of the use of armed guards is compelling” but that the “Government must provide clearer direction on what is permissible and what is not”. The FAC recommends that, following the Government’s recent announcement that PASGs would be permitted on UK-flagged vessels, clear and unambiguous guidance on the use of armed force should be issued and that this should include provisions that the use of force should be proportionate, necessary and graduated. The report also concludes that a national regulatory structure should be introduced so as to provide a level of quality assurance and ensure that an appropriate approach is followed in all UK-flagged vessels. In respect of the carriage and transfer of weapons by PASGs, the report recommends that agreement be reached with those coastal states through which weapons were likely to need to pass in order to support the use of PASGs.

(ii) Ransoms

The report expresses its concern regarding the growth of the payment of ransoms and the escalating costs of piracy to the maritime industry but concludes that, given the commercial realities and the lack of viable alternatives, the Government should address this through the recovery of ransoms and prosecutions rather than making it more difficult for companies to secure the safe release of their crew. In particular, the report concludes that the Government should not criminalise the payment of ransoms.

Stephen Askins commented: We welcome this wide-ranging report and it would be great to see the UK government taking a lead in this area. A number of the proposed initiatives and recommendations are aimed at protecting commercial vessels and importantly the crews who so often bear the brunt of the piracy attacks. That must be a good thing.

About Ince & Co

Ince & Co is an international law firm with over 600 people including close to 100 partners and over 180 other lawyers worldwide.

The Ince & Co network includes offices in London, Dubai, Hamburg, Hong Kong, Le Havre, Monaco, Paris, Piraeus, Shanghai and Singapore. We practise English, French, German, Greek, Hong Kong and PRC law. Ince & Co Singapore has entered into a Formal Law Alliance, the Ince Law Alliance, with local law practice Incisive Law LLC. Members of Incisive Law provide Singapore law advice and represent clients in both the Singapore Courts and in domestic and international arbitrations.

Lawyers in the firm advise in the core business areas of insurance & reinsurance, aviation, business & finance, commercial disputes, energy & offshore, international trade and shipping. Teams regularly use knowledge of one sector to advise clients in another.

About Stephen Askins

Ince & Co London partner and head of our piracy practice, Stephen Askins, has worked with SAMI (The Security Association for the Maritime Industry, an independent regulatory trade association for maritime security companies) to produce MARSEC 2011, a standard form agreement for the provision of maritime security services.

Stephen was ranked number four in the Top Ten Law Personalities in the recently published Lloyd’s List Top Ten 2011, which is a review of the most influential people in shipping.