MV Seaman Guard Ohio incident

In October, 2013 the MV Seaman Guard Ohio was intercepted in the Gulf of Mannar by Indian Coast Guard and found to have entered Indian national waters carrying arms without permission. Later, the 10 Crew Members and 25 Security Guards of the Vessel were arrested by the Indian Police.
Ship
The MV Seaman Guard Ohio is a Sierra Leone-flagged fishery patrol vessel (Call Sign: 9LA2125, IMO: 8410691, MMSI: 667004026) owned and operated by AdvanFort, a Virginia (USA) based Private Maritime Security Company (PMSC) that provides commercial anti-piracy protection services to merchant vessels.
The Seaman Guard Ohio is a special purpose vessel for Privately Contracted Armed Security Personnel (PCASP) paid to defend cargo ships in piracy high risk areas (HRA). The vessel is equipped with a wide array of directive and omnidirectional radio-communications sensors including numerous VHF, UHF, HF and satellite communications antennae, maritime radars and satellite navigation systems.
Interception by Indian Coast Guard
The Seaman Guard Ohio was intercepted beyond the 'ICC-CSS High Risk Area' and within the Indian Customs Waters by . The vessel was escorted to the VOC Chidambaranar Port in Thoothukudi. Indian coastal police had been tipped-off by fishermen who reported that the ship was carrying armed guards. Indian newspapers quoted police sources saying that the MV Seaman Guard Ohio was spotted at "10.48 nautical miles from the nearest coastline and 15 nautical miles away from Thoothukudi".
Thomas Chacko of AdvanFort conceded that it had no permission to sail into the Indian waters.
AdvanFort admitted that the vessel entered Indian waters and claimed that the vessel did so partly to avoid the effects of Cyclone Phailin which made land-fall at Gopalpur, Odisha over 1000 kilometers from Thoothukudi. “I want to personally thank the Indian government for offering a safe harbor during this typhoon to the crew of our good vessel OHIO,” said William H. Watson, president of AdvanFort.
Indian maritime authorities refuted suggestions that the Master of the MV Seaman Guard Ohio had obtained clearances to enter Indian Waters. Inspector-General and Commander Coast-Guard (Region East) Satya Prakash Sharma told journalists that the MV Seaman Guard Ohio entered Indian waters intentionally : “One of their intentions was to procure fuel. Transfer of fuel, suspected to be subsidised diesel in this case, within the Customs Waters (24 nautical miles) can amount to smuggling (...) The question of escaping from Cyclone Phailin does not arise as the cyclone had no impact in that area. The crew had full knowledge that the vessel was entering Indian territory”. A senior official at Coastal Security Group Sylendra Babu has been quoted as saying : "When they enter the exclusive economic zone of a country, they should get proper permission to carry weapons. They didn't have documents of authorisation,". “This maritime security providing vessel was entitled to sail in Somalian waters, but had entered the Exclusive Economic Zone without permission."
India's Deputy National Security Advisor opined that the ship was a private 'floating armoury' : "You have had piracy earlier in the Strait of Malacca and now in the Persian Gulf. People who provide such security need a floating armoury. My suspicion is that the boat in Tuticorin is a floating armoury for one of these private security agencies"
Investigation and charges
In the absence of required documentation for the arms, ammunition and guards on-board the vessel, the 10 crew and 25 guards were interrogated by a federal multi-agency joint investigation team comprising of Indian Coast Guard, Indian Navy, Customs, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and the Q Branch of Intelligence Bureau. "We have asked for a detailed report. Since it was carrying arms and bought fuel in India illegally, we have asked the agencies for a thorough probe into the matter," said a spokesperson from the ministry of home affairs.
Coast Guard Commandant Anand Kumar said : "At the moment the documents are still awaited. We have to see how valid are the documents that they do produce towards their entry into Indian waters and carrying arms and ammunitions." Indian authorities have impounded the MV Seaman Guard Ohio as well as 35 weapons including sophisticated semi-automatic rifles along with around 5,700 rounds of ammunition till all the paper-work relating to authorisations for the weaponry to enter Indian waters is received from AdvanFort and examined. Former eastern regional commander of Indian Coast Guard Commodore R.S.Vasan, opined that the investigation should be handed over to National Investigation Agency (NIA) as mandated by Union home ministry protocol adopted after the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai.
Tamil Nadu Marine Police are investigating customs and immigration issues related to the Sierra Leone-flagged ship. Indian media revealed that the Seaman Guard Ohio had previously been repeatedly sighted off the coast of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The vessel had even berthed at Kochi Port from 23 to 26 August 2013.
The MMD headquarters in Chennai told journalists that they are yet to participate in the investigation and have not taken charge of the ship's VDR (Voyage Data Recorder). Maritime safety experts advising central investigation agencies said lack of coordination between different agencies delaying a proper investigation might spoil chances of retrieving crucial communication including its voyage details.
Union Shipping minister G.K.Vasan said : "We are still to find answers to many questions, the probe will bring out the truth. Till then, the ship will not be allowed to move out of Tuticorin port" and added that the MV Seaman Guard Ohio will not be allowed to leave till the completion of the probe by the 'Q Branch' of Tamil Nadu Police.
Coastal Security Group of the Tamil Nadu police filed a FIR based on India's Arms Act 1956, Essential Commodities Act 1955 and Motor Spirit and High Speed Diesel (Regulation of Supply, Distribution and Prevention of Malpractices), Order 2005 against the crew and guards of the ship.
Indian investigations have involved US embassy officials in the probe. The US embassy in New Delhi told media that it had "no comments" on the case.
Between 18 and 19 october 2013, police disembarked all 25 guards and 10 crew members consisting of 14 Estonians, 12 Indians, 6 Britons and 1 Ukrainian. Judge C.Kathiravan of Tuticorin judicial magistrate court remanded the entire detachment onboard the MV Seaman Guard Ohio to judicial custody till 31 October 2013. They are currently detained in Palayamkottai Central Prison in Tirunelveli.
Justifying the arrests, India's Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh stated : "The vessel was stopped by our coast guard in consideration of issues relating to the presence of arms, ammunition, and armed guards on board without the necessary authorization. (...) Cases have been filed with regards to the Arms Act and the Essential Commodities Act. Basic information on this case has been shared in routine course with U.S. Embassy representatives,"
Domestic policies and political considerations
In the aftermath of the 2011 Mumbai bombings, security analysts had called upon the UPA government to reinforce coastal surveillance capabilities to safeguard national security.
India's largest opposition questioned the government's silence on the MV Seaman Guard Ohio case. BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said : "Till date, the legal status of those on board is unclear and the complete papers carrying permissions and licenses are unavailable (...) Floating armouries of this kind and their legal status being unclear, raise a lot of questions. Legal or otherwise, the risk of their falling in wrong hands is very high and raises issues of national security,".
Regulation of Private Maritime Security industry
The MV Seaman Guard Ohio once again raised questions regarding the regulation of armed maritime guards. The incident brought to the forefront issues surrounding the use of flags of convenience by companies to flout international laws and maritime regulations. While supporting global anti-piracy efforts, India has demonstrated growing intransigence to violations of its maritime boundaries.
Speaking in the aftermath of the detention of the MV Seaman Guard Ohio, former Commanding-in-Chief of the Southern Naval Command Vice Admiral (retd) K N Sushil said : "Who authorised them? What are the conditionalities involved? Who pays them? What is the right of passage for the vessel to enter Indian territorial waters? Who sanctioned them the right to operate with armed guards? If no countries have issued such a sanction, they themselves should be treated as pirates,". The former Vice Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral (retd) K K Nayyar echoed : “What was the objective and purpose of the ship in Indian waters ? There is not much piracy near our maritime borders. I think some of the biggest scandals are happening out there, and we have to find out what,”
In the aftermath of the 2012 Enrica Lexie incident, Indian maritime authorities initiated steps to ensure that fishing activities are not disrupted, in response to calls to guarantee the safety of fishermen at sea. Egypt, Oman and India have demanded the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) to review the piracy High Risk Area map to prevent commercial shipping traffic from getting uncomfortably close to the exclusive economic zone which in turn adversely affects fishermen.

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