PCASP (Privately Contracted Armed Security Personnel)

Privately Contracted Armed Security Personnel are embarked armed guards placed aboard merchant ships transiting high-risk piracy waters. Their use is governed by flag-state authorization (a Letter of Authorization), the carrier’s rules for the use of force, IMO interim guidance, the ISO 28007 standard for private maritime security companies, and the ICoCA voluntary code. Weapons are typically drawn from and returned to floating armories outside territorial seas to avoid breaching coastal-state arms law.