The Coast Guard this week issued new regulations that require U.S.-flagged commercial ships to post guards when they are passing through the pirate-infested waters of the Gulf of Aden; ship owners can now decide whether or not their guards will have guns. The Pentagon, as well, is studying the feasibility of bringing private security firms on board U.S. vessels.

Sounds like a job for Blackwater Xe. Only problem is, the company doesn't seem to be in the pirate-fighting business at the moment. They're too busy getting sued by their guns-for-hire, for racial discrimination and for false imprisionment. One of the crew members, you see, dared to speak with a reporter.

Last fall, as the piracy problem reached crisis proportions, the company then known as Blackwater stepped forward to offer its pirate-fighting services to the shipping industry. The firm announced that its 183-foot ship, the McArthur, was standing ready to provide convoy escort. The ship, a former oceanographic research vessel, was reconfigured to haul two Little Bird helicopters, rigid inflatable boats, and security team. One had to give points to founder and CEO Erik Prince points for the vision thing.

But in practice, those plans didn't seem to work out. As Virginian-Pilot reporter Bill Sizemore reports, the McArthur's recent cruise to the Middle East did not go smoothly, and the company is facing lawsuits from former crew members. Writes Sizemore:

One former crew member says that on the orders of the captain, he was thrown to the deck and handcuffed in retaliation for speaking to a newspaper reporter. He is suing for false imprisonment, saying he was unlawfully detained by being 'placed in irons.' Another crew member, who is black, says that he was subjected to racial epithets from the chief engineer and that when he complained, the captain did nothing about the harassment and retaliated by giving the seaman a poor evaluation. A third man, the ship's chief steward, says he was fired after he submitted a written statement to his superiors documenting the hostile work environment and racial harassment aboard the vessel.

Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell did not comment direct on the litigation, but she said one of the employees was terminated for cause. Regarding the discrimination suit, she told Virginian-Pilot the company "does not condone and will not tolerate discrimination of any kind and takes allegations to the contrary very seriously." But she also disclosed that the company is no longer doing counter-piracy work.

[PHOTO: Virginian-Pilot]

ALSO: