THE Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence has deployed a floating armoury off the coast of Galle and all land-based naval armouries will cease to operate, causing concern over rising costs and problems with regulation for UK private maritime security companies.PMSC weapons must be held offshore from next month

Plans for the floating armoury were first revealed by Lloyd’s List in August and it will now launch operations on October 15. The MoD said it had made the move due to national security concerns. It has entrusted the running of the floating armoury to commercial firm Avant Garde Maritime Private.

All PMSCs have been advised that any weapons held onshore need to be removed before October 15 and vessels entering the port ofColombo will retain their weapons as bonded stores on board.

The decision has generated confusion in the private maritime security industry, not least perhaps because of the regulatory grey area surrounding the use of floating armouries.

The port of Colombo is largely considered as an essential port in the high risk area of the Indian Ocean, especially for Asian trade routes. As India has strict laws surrounding commercial weapon export, using any viable alternative in this area could involve costly detours.

Security Association for the Maritime Industry founder Peter Cook said the concern of members had prompted him to travel to Colombo in the next two weeks in an effort to firmly establish what the situation was for PMSCs. “It is difficult to get clarification on floating armouries,” he added.

When Protection Vessels International president Dom Mee first raised the issue with Lloyd’s List, he said that Sri Lanka was trying to bully PMSCs and that PVI would set up its own floating armoury. However, after discussing the problem with Avant Garde and the Sri Lankan MoD, he said his firm would be using the government-backed floating armoury.

“After reaching out and speaking to the relevant parties involved we understood the situation. We have the relevant authorisation and we now think the government’s decision is achievable.

“There are still a lot of aspects that need to be firmed up, though,” Mr Mee added.

On the concern of legalities coming from other PMSCs, Mr Mee said: “They don’t understand the situation and have put their heads in the sand. It’s a fairly straightforward revolution and it is down to PMSCs to make their choices. No doubt they will follow our lead.”

Source: Lloyd's List