Indian Prison News

Maritime security company Advanfort said several of its guards have been freed from Indian Prison after several months of negotiations. The bail order excludes the vessel’s captain and the TDO, and the release comes with conditions. Advanfort said it will make more details available when the bail order is received. The detainees were arrested in the Indian Ocean while working on the company's vessel, the Seaman Guard Ohio, for entering Indian territorial waters. The vessel’s master maintains that they were in international waters. It was argued that a vessel might have drifted due to winds factor, as there was a cyclone storm at the time, but this should have been treated as force majeure.

The International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots (MM&P), says 35 U.S. anti-piracy ship crew members are being treated unfairly, following the arrrest of their ship, 'Seaman Guard Ohio', describing it as 'an outrage' that they are being subjected to inhumane conditions in an Indian prison. MM&P inform that officials are withholding proper medical treatment, bathing facilities and adequate food and, additionally, the courts have denied bail three times since the men were arrested four months ago on charges of illegally carrying weapons and straying into domestic waters.

New report reveals boom in private military security forces fighting Indian Ocean pirates. Research into the use of private military security companies in the Indian Ocean has found the fight against Somali-based pirates has become a private battle as global defence cuts reduce naval counter-piracy deployments. The report, 'Pirates and Privateers: Managing the Indian Ocean's Private Security Boom'  sheds new light on the serious problem of Somali piracy and highlights new problems…