Seized US ship Crew of US maritime security company yet to produce documents that authorise them to carry weapons in Indian waters

Seized US ship crew yet to produce proper papers

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Reuters

Tuticorin:  The crew and guards of US ship, which was detained by Indian Coast Guard off Tutirocin on Friday, have still not been able to explain satisfactorily why they entered Indian waters.

The Coast Guard detained the armed ship, operated by a US maritime security company, with 35 people on board. The ship’s had failed to produce papers authorising it to carry weapons and ammunition in Indian waters.

Coast Guard Commandant Anand Kumar said the ship was being held in the Tuticorin port along with its 10-member crew and 25 armed security guards until required documentation is submitted.

The crew and security guards include British, Estonian, Indian and Ukrainian nationals, Kumar said.

"At the moment, documents are still awaited," Kumar told a news agency. "We have to see how valid are the documents they do produce towards their entry into Indian waters and carrying arms and ammunitions."

The Sierra Leone-flagged ship Seaman Guard Ohio belongs to Virginia-based AdvanFort, a maritime security firm that specialises in anti-piracy operations.

AdvanFort and the US consulate in Chennai were not immediately available for comment.

Kumar said authorities had been assured they would receive documentation within an hour of the detention, but that 24 hours later the ship's master had still not produced them.

In February last year, two Indian fishermen were allegedly shot dead by two Italian marines serving as security guards on an Italian-flagged oil tanker off the Kerala coast. The marines are currently being prosecuted in India. The incident highlighted the loosely-regulated practice of placing private and military armed guards on ships for protection against pirate attacks.

Pirate attacks cost billions of dollars every year - as much as $5.7-6.1 billion in 2012, according to The Oceans Beyond Piracy advocacy group.