Suez temporary seizure of guards' guns risks serious delays

THE Suez Canal Authority is enforcing an old, but long ignored, law prohibiting firearms aboard commercial ships transiting the canal, seizing them at one end and driving them to the other where they are returned, said a Maersk official.

But Maersk says the procedure causes eight- to 10-hour delays while ships wait for officials to arrive and take possession threatening schedule integrity for ships using the canal, reports American Shipper.

Maersk Line discovered the new enforcement policy after one of its ships was prevented from entering the canal until it surrendered its weapons to Egyptian authorities, according to company vice president Stephen Carmel.

Mr Carmel said Maersk officials were told that Egypt had started enforcing a weapons prohibition that has always been on the books, reported American Shipper. He said that a number of alternatives proposed by Maersk Line, such as inviting Egyptian officials to board its ships and place seals and extra locks on the weapon cases or stationing a guard onboard, were turned down.

"The ridiculous part of this is we're on some ships that have military hardware and we have to take our little M-4s and 9 millimetres off," said Tom Rothrauff, president of maritime security firm the Trident Group.

Following Egypt's lead is Abu Dhabi which has informed carriers that it plans to confiscate weapons on commercial vessels in its territorial waters, potentially leading to delays of up to six hours as vessels wait outside Port Mina Zayed for a patrol boat to pick up the weapons before entering, and then returning them upon departure, Mr Carmel said.
(Source:www.schednet.com)