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Written question asked by Lord West of Spithead (Labour) on Monday, 10 February 2025, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Monday, 24 February 2025. It was answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour) on Monday, 24 February 2025 on behalf of the Department for Business and Trade.


Shipping: Indian Ocean

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of vessels transiting the Indian Ocean with armed guards have UK-licensed firearms onboard.

Answer

The Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) is responsible for licensing Private Maritime Security Companies (PMSCs) which provide armed security guards to protect vessels transiting the Indian Ocean High Risk Area from the threat of piracy. It also licences the vessel-based armouries which PMSCs use to store their weapons.

The licensing process for PMSCs and vessel-based armouries does not require information about where firearms originated, and therefore ECJU has no record of this information.

ECJU does not proactively monitor or record the number of vessels within the Indian Ocean.


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL4914
Session
2024-26
Subjects
Licensing Firearms Shipping Indian Ocean
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk