British special forces veterans are in particular demand as ship guards because owners believe the Royal Navy will intervene to rescue them – and free their vessels – in the event of a hijacking.The revelation will increase concerns that the Royal Navy is being forced to act as an international police force because other navies are failing to pull their weight off the Horn of Africa.
The US was alerted to the tactic in a cable sent from the American embassy in Tokyo in June 2009, which reported on loopholes in the security cover provided by Japan’s Self-Defense Forces to ships carrying Japanese cargo through waters off Somalia. Because only two escort ships were available, some cargo firms instead employed “services offered by a British crisis consultant firm” to protect their vessels.
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