Sea piracy: Govt mulling CISF troops onboard merchant vessels

The government is mulling deploying armed CISF guards onboard Indian merchant vessels in order to thwart any piracy attempt.

Once a decision in this regard is taken, the CISF personnel will travel with the vessels in the Indian Ocean region up to the tip of Somalia, which is prone to piracy incidents, and then re-board an incoming vessel to get back to their base in India.

"The government is desirous of giving the responsibility to us. However, no decision has been taken and nitty gritty are being deliberated at present," CISF Director General Rajiv told reporters while interacting during the annual press conference of the force here today.

"Once we are entrusted with the new responsibility, we will need to train our personnel with the Indian Navy to acclimatise them for long-haul travelling on sea and we also will have to see how will they operate as the CISF is an armed force," he said.

The DG said that while the CISF is guarding a number of sea ports, some more port-related duties can be entrusted to his men in the future.

Last month, Union Shipping Secretary K Mohandas had said in Kochi that India was contemplating utilising services of armed guards from paramilitary forces for security duty on board merchant vessels.

At present several vessels, sailing with Indian flags, were currently relying on security agencies employing foreign nationals in piracy infested waters.