Floating armouries: danger to national security?

by Dhaneshi Yatawara

Courtesy : Avant Garde Maritime Services website

Armed maritime security has become a money spinner in today's pirate plagued world. Private security firms that lead the trade are not only powerful but also invincible. Though Sri Lanka is a key country along the East West sea lane the trade remained new to the country until the Police detected a floating warehouse of weapons that belonged to the private company Avant Garde Maritime Services in the Galle Harbour in January this year.

Investigations on the controversial floating armouries by the Criminal Investigation Department is reaching its final stages. As the day of reckoning gets close, the huge loss of foreign exchange to the country and the illegal nature of the business will be brought to light soon.

On an information that reached the Police Southern Range DIG office, container loads of weapons and ammunition were recovered from seven containers on the naval ship 'Mahanuwara' which was the floating warehouse of the Avant Garde Maritime Services. The ship was in the Galle Harbour. Investigations revealed that the armouries were operating under the license issued by the Ministry of Defence.

Courtesy : Dailynews

The Avant Garde Maritime Services operates to date. "The CID is currently conducting investigations to ascertain the legality of the permit for the company to operate a floating armory," Police spokesman ASP Ruwan Gunasekera said. Arms dealing is a lucrative business. "However, since the company has obtained a permit there is nothing to stop it from operating an amoury," Gunasekera said.

The weapons in the floating armoury belonged to Private and Maritime Security Companies, according to the preliminary investigations and statements made by the Avante Garde.

These weapons were stored in the armouries in the Navy camp in Galle before Avante Garde entered into a joint venture with the Government Owned Business Undertaking of the Rakna Arakshaka Lanka in 2012.

Before the Avant Garde Rakna Araksha Lanka joint venture, weapons used by the Private and Maritime Security Companies for the security of merchant vessels were stored in the Sri Lanka Navy's two armouries in Colombo and Galle. Vessels plying the East West sea lane route would stop over at Galle or Colombo to load in weapons from the Navy armouries to be taken to their destinations.

Sri Lanka Navy has charged 1,000 US Dollars per movement and on an average there had been 500 movements per month, according to a high positioned retied naval officer.

The floating armoury was set up while the officer was in service. Accordingly when it was handed over to Avant Garde the charge per movement was raised to 3500 US Dollars and the number of movements were increased between 750 to 800 a month.

Apparently, the Sri Lanka Navy has lost income due to the new business venture. Whether the due charges are paid to Sri Lanka Navy for these services is yet to be revealed.

Yet another question arises as to whether the Navy can carry out such an operation?

The Galle Harbour is a well known service hub for ships that sail the East-West shipping route. About 200 to 50 ships sail on this route which is about 10-12 nautical miles off the Galle Harbour. Most of them are large merchant vessels with cargo amounting to over billions of dollars.

Courtesy: Maritime Security Review

A number of private services that operated from the Galle Harbour, had dealings with these ships. They supplied not only spare parts, tools such as ropes, lubricants but also fresh and canned food, water and beverages.The Galle Harbour is the only service harbour in Sri Lanka that operates beyond the Malacca Strait.

Piracy has been a threat to international shipping in the East and West sea lane that lies South of Sri Lanka, being one of the busiest sea routes.

It has a substantial international trade implication.

International Maritime Organisations requested the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to raise the issue of Somali piracy at the Security Council to compel the Somalian Transitional Federal Government to address the issue.

Piracy is not only a threat to security but also economic stability of countries.

Yemen, controlling the Southern entrance of the Red Sea and Egypt the northern entrance via the Suez canal are affected by the problem.

Arab countries suffer a major loss. Since oil from Arabian countries coming from the Persian Gulf must be transported to Europe and the US via the Suez canal, any disturbance on the sea routes could pose a serious security and economic threat to the world.