International laws of small arms, armed guards, pirates from Intershipmaster Press

Washington, D.C. August 23 2011. A new book, Defending Against Pirates: The International Law of Small Arms, Armed Guards And Privateers was published Aug, 20 by Intershipmaster Press. It extracts the relevant laws of 167 states and analyzes in-depth the problems inherent in carrying armed guards on ships. Dr. John A. C. Cartner, a contributing author and principal author of The International Law of the Shipmaster (2009) Informa and prominent maritime lawyer, believes that the book should be useful to anyone engaged in the maritime industry. The book was written to complement the shipmaster book and also deals with the owner's and master's relationships with armed guards and the liabilities which may arise. The book is not written specifically for piracy in the Gulf of Aden but is applicable to all regions and pirates.

The contracting and carriage of armed guards on unarmed merchant ships is a practice born of frustration that governments are not living up to their traditional role of protecting ships of their flags. Many insurance companies oppose it and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has given it hesitating endorsement. However, of the approximately 25% of the ships transiting the Gulf of Aden, no incidents of piracy have been reported on ships with armed guards. Richard P. Fiske is a contributing author. The lead author is Christian W. J. Cartner. It is available at www.intershipmaster.com for download or in hard copy with bulk purchase discounts available. Intershipmaster Press is a publisher for media directly useful to the ocean shipmaster and officers.