In 2012, the longitudinal marking for high-risk areas for piracy was moved from 65 degrees east to 78 degrees east in the Arabian Sea by the International Maritime Organization. What impact does this have on India’s maritime security concerns?

Context

In 2012 the International Maritime Organization, on the recommendation of the shipping industry, extended the eastern boundary of the piracy High Risk Area (HRA) in the Arabian Sea from 65°E to 78°E. This brought the zone right up to India's western coastline and Exclusive Economic Zone, converting waters near Indian ports into a designated risk area.

Impact on India's maritime security

• Armed guards near Indian waters: Merchant vessels began carrying Privately Contracted Armed Security Personnel and "floating armouries" close to the EEZ, weakening India's control over who bears arms near its coast.
• Jurisdictional friction: Incidents such as the Enrica Lexie case (2012), where Italian marines shot two Kerala fishermen, and the MV Seaman Guard Ohio detention (2013) exposed gaps in enforcing Indian law within the zone.
• Economic cost: War-risk insurance premiums, convoy charges and re-routing raised freight costs for a country importing most of its crude through these lanes.
• Fishermen's livelihood: Trigger-happy armed guards endangered thousands of Indian fishing crews operating in the same waters.

Response

India objected diplomatically, strengthened Coast Guard patrolling and coastal radar chains after 26/11, and the HRA was finally shrunk in 2015 and abolished in 2023. It underlines that India, not distant industry bodies, must define security thresholds in its own maritime neighbourhood.

Conclusion

The episode showed how private commercial decisions can compromise a coastal state's sovereignty, reinforcing the need for a robust national maritime security architecture.