The UK is preparing to give formal legal backing to the use of private armed guards on British merchant vessels to protect against piracy. At present, the government "strongly discourages" the practice and anyone doing it could be in breach of the law. But Foreign Office Minister Henry Bellingham said companies should be free to decide on their own security…Piracy in the Indian Ocean…has become a growing problem in recent year[s]…Many companies have been forced to pay large ransoms to secure the release of hostages and cargo...Mr Bellingham said…there had not been a single recorded hijack of a vessel with private security and a lot of shipping lines had been "pressing very hard" for a change in the Department for Transport's guidelines.