It has been announced that Manx-flagged vessels will, in line with their UK counterparts, start to carry armed guards to counter piracy.
The Isle of Man has a substantial shipping register with vessels plying their trade globally and Manx registered vessels have faced the same problems as those faced by other nations, particularly in the Horn of Africa/Indian Ocean area (audio clip from the Department of Economic Development (DED) on Manx Radio):
https://www.manxradio.com/newsread.aspx?id=56102
Details of the extent of the Manx shipping register can be found on the DED (link):
https://www.gov.im/ded/shipregistry/
Of course there is nothing new about armed Manx vessels taking to the seas as anyone familiar with the Manx Song `The Cruise of the Tiger’ will be aware. On that occasion the merchants of the Island armed a merchant vessel to support England in its war with the French.
Let us hope that these new military `adventures’ by Manx vessels will be attended by greater success than that which befell `The Tiger’ (see link):
https://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/fulltext/ms1896/p004.htm
(The report compiled for Celtic News by Bernard Moffatt Celtic League Director
of Information)
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ISSUED BY THE CELTIC LEAGUE INFORMATION SERVICE.
14/11/11