Elite Indian commandos to guard merchant vessels

[Abingdonboy]

Concern over Indian Ocean piracy -- especially in the vital Gulf of Aden shipping lane – is prompting the government to set up an elite commando unit to protect Indian merchant vessels sailing through the region. The unit will accompany marine commandos of the Indian Navy (MARCOS).


A liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier is seen loading an Indian-bound cargo at the Yemen LNG Balhaf terminal on the Gulf of Aden in this October 2011 file photo. India will deploy elite commandos from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to protect merchant vessels in the Indian Ocean by January. [Reuters/Yemen LNG/Handout]

"The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has decided to train 100 personnel to accompany and protect the Indian merchant vessels in the piracy infested waters, especially in the area off the coast of Somalia," Harendra Singh, CISF deputy commandant and public relations officer, told Khabar South Asia.

Details of the pilot programme, he added, are being finalised and the squad should be operational by year's end.

The September decision follows urgent pleas from India's shipping merchants, who requested the protection after several high-profile piracy incidents in the Indian Ocean. During the period ranging from late March 2012 to early May of this year, 43 Indian seafarers were kidnapped for ransom by Somali pirates.

Armed escort ships

As many as 6,900 CISF personnel will deploy to guard the country's 14 major ports, including Mumbai, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Kolkata, Haldia, Kandla, Goa, Paradip, Mangalore, Tuticorin, Kochi and Ennore. Meanwhile, elite troops will accompany merchant vessels as they sail past the piracy-affected Somali coast.

The commandos, armed with sophisticated long-range weapons instead of standard-issue 5.56mm rifles and pistols, will be fully prepared to counter any incidents of piracy. At least five will be deployed on each ship, Singh said.

The Gulf of Aden shipping lane is critical to the Indian, Chinese and Japanese economies. In response to a written reply to Parliament, shipping minister G.K. Vasan estimated annual Indian imports through the Gulf of Aden at $50 billion, and exports at $60 billion.

Officials: existing measures not enough

Durga Nandan, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Shipping, said the authorities decided to step in because the options currently available fall short of the mark.

"At present, cargo ships belonging to various nations deploy foreign nationals for their security while passing through the Gulf. Several vessels, sailing with Indian flags, depend on security agencies that employ foreign nationals for protection in regions prone to piracy," he told Khabar.

"As all these have proved to be inadequate in dealing with the piracy menace, the government has decided to deploy its own commandos on Indian vessels to guard them," he said.

Pradip Kundu, Captain of the MV Karine Bulker merchant ship, told Khabar the decision was both prudent and timely. "If you go by a recent report of the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), altogether there have been 210 incidents of piracy across the globe since January 1st," he said. "Among these, as many as 70 incidents have taken place in the Gulf of Aden, off the coast of Somalia."

During the same period, Somali pirates hijacked 13 merchant vessels and took 212 hostages, and they now have 11 cargo ships and 118 seafarers in their custody, Kundu added.

At the same time, he said, the presence of armed security personnel on board merchant ships carries its own risks. He cited the February 15th killing of two Kerala fishermen mistaken for pirates by guards aboard an Italian vessel.

Precautions should be taken to protect innocent people like fishermen from being mistakenly targeted, he added.

Elite Indian commandos to guard merchant vessels - khabarsouthasia.com


This article is confusing- so will it be MARCOs or another unit stationed on merchant ships or not?

 

[Gessler]

Elite Indian commandos to guard merchant vessels - khabarsouthasia.com


This article is confusing- so will it be MARCOs or another unit stationed on merchant ships or not?

I believe it will be SPB, its mostly their job to do this kind of role.

MARCOS are SFs and they ain't gonna go standing on merchant ships unless on
special missions.

 

[Abingdonboy]

I believe it will be SPB, its mostly their job to do this kind of role.

MARCOS are SFs and they ain't gonna go standing on merchant ships unless on
special missions.

I was thinking it shouldn't be MARCOs and also if it is SPB then that makes sense because IIRC they recived a lot of training from MARCOs.

 

[joekrish]

Should keep the pirates at bay.

 

[Capt.Popeye]

Elite Indian commandos to guard merchant vessels - khabarsouthasia.com


This article is confusing- so will it be MARCOs or another unit stationed on merchant ships or not?

Not MARCOS. They are combatants. The news item makes it clear, thay they will be a section of the CISF which is a para-military organisation under MHA not MoD.

CISF has been tasked with security of all major installations, like industries, ports, airports etc. At airports there are specialised QRTs of the CISF apart from their usual squads.

 

[janon]

Not MARCOS. They are combatants. The news item makes it clear, thay they will be a section of the CISF which is a para-military organisation under MHA not MoD.

CISF has been tasked with security of all major installations, like industries, ports, airports etc. At airports there are specialised QRTs of the CISF apart from their usual squads.

Maybe they should also provide manpower for air-marshaling, and relieve the NSG from that role?

Is CISF truly a para-military force, in that it is recruits from the armed forces? I thought that CISF is more of a central armed police unit than paramilitary?

 

[Capt.Popeye]

Maybe they should also provide manpower for air-marshaling, and relieve the NSG from that role?

Is CISF truly a para-military force, in that it is recruited from the armed forces? I thought that CISF is more of a central armed police unit than paramilitary?

This needs to be clarified. Para-Military does not mean recruited from the Armed Forces!
All Para-Military forces come under MHA whether BSF, CISF, CRPF or RAF (which is part of CRPF). Even the Assam Rifles comes under MHA though it is operationally controlled by the IA. But that is an exception. Sky-Marshals are also from CISF.

 

[Abingdonboy]

This needs to be clarified. Para-Military does not mean recruited from the Armed Forces!
All Para-Military forces come under MHA whether BSF, CISF, CRPF or RAF (which is part of CRPF). Even the Assam Rifles comes under MHA though it is operationally controlled by the IA. But that is an exception. Sky-Marshals are also from CISF.

No Sky Marshals are exclusively from the SAG of NSG. And this is how it should remain unless prper taining is given-CISF just aren't well trained enough to do it.

 

[janon]

This needs to be clarified. Para-Military does not mean recruited from the Armed Forces!
All Para-Military forces come under MHA whether BSF, CISF, CRPF or RAF (which is part of CRPF). Even the Assam Rifles comes under MHA though it is operationally controlled by the IA. But that is an exception. Sky-Marshals are also from CISF.

From what I have read, over the past two years, the Indian government has changed the definitions of the terms para-military and central armed police forces. Paramilitary has been given a very narrow definition, and only includes The assam rifles, the indian coast guard and the special frontier force. The rest of them are called police forces. This is a recent development, if Wikipedia is to be believed.

Paramilitary forces of India - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Quote:
In March 2011, at the request of the Indian Army, the Indian government authorized the Indian Army to provide definitive terminology. An extremely narrow definition of "paramilitary" was adopted which excluded services now known as the "Central Armed Police Forces" (CAPF)[1] (e.g. the Central Reserve Police Force) and services now known as the "State Armed Police Forces".

No Sky Marshals are exclusively from the SAG of NSG. And this is how it should remain unless prper taining is given-CISF just aren't well trained enough to do it.

And that's what I meant. Since they already have quick reaction teams in airports, train a few of them to do sky-marshaling as well. Why strain the NSG (and by extension, the army) of precious, highly trained manpower?

 

[Tshering22]

Why can't merchant ships be allowed to bear arms and sailors trained in armed combat?

I thought GOI was mulling over a proposal of that kind.

 

[IndoUS]

Why can't merchant ships be allowed to bear arms and sailors trained in armed combat?

I thought GOI was mulling over a proposal of that kind.

International law, since merchants travel around the world and stop at different ports the International law prohibit them for carrying weapons.

 

[chauvunist]

I am sure they are trained hard this time to cope with challenges because they seriously failed during Mumbai attacks....

 

[Capt.Popeye]

International law, since merchants travel around the world and stop at different ports the International law prohibit them for carrying weapons.

Correct. That would be in breach of laws, in fact fire-arms are considered to be contraband in many countries. The other question is that how much training will be adequate for Merchant Seamen to handle armed combat. In fact Merchant Seamen themselves have shown little enthusiasm to be pitch-forked into any combat role, in spite of the numerous attacks taking place. There are enough legal issues as it is wrt application of Laws across the Seas notwithstanding International laws like UNCLOS and the SUA (Suppression of Unlawful Activities) Convention that Merchant Seamen have to contend with.

 

[Vasily Zaytsev]

I am sure they are trained hard this time to cope with challenges because they seriously failed during Mumbai attacks....

like those highly trained mard e momins who successfully protected mehran and kamra ... tsk tsk

 

[chauvunist]

like those highly trained mard e momins who successfully protected mehran and kamra ... tsk tsk

Because your so called Commandoes could nt tackle single militant in taj hotel for 72 hours....So you had to take the help of foreign commandos