Private company Typhon will be working alongside the world’s navies in the fight against piracy at sea. The company is preparing to offer valuable protection to cargo vessels transporting goods around the horn of Africa. The unique factor about Typhon’s offer is that it will be using its own ships and won’t be putting its security staff on other people’s vessels.

The chief executive of Typhon, Anthony Sharpe, says the plan is to rendezvous with cargo ships that sign up for its protection and form a convoy.

The company says it will establish “an exclusion zone of one kilometre around the ships”.

Three boats are currently being fitted out in Singapore. Each boat will have up to 40 former British Royal Marines and have a crew count of 20. Machines guns will be fitted to the boats and each staff member will be armed with a rifle.

The hope is that these measures will deter the pirates from even attempting to hijack the ships – prevention, rather than treatment.

It is a pity it has come to this, but paying a private security firm for ocean protection might just be the turning point on piracy. Transport World Africa hopes that more private security firms will offer this service. Just the fact that lives can be saved is reason enough to support this endeavour, let alone the cost of cargo being stolen.