MAYOCK, N.C. (AP) -- Private security contractor Blackwater Worldwide is meeting with shipping and insurance companies to describe what the company can do to protect vessels traveling through the volatile Gulf of Aden. Blackwater is holding meetings in London beginning Tuesday. Company spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell said at least 70 companies have contacted Blackwater about protection services, but the Moyock, N.C. based contractor doesn't have any contracts yet.
Erik Prince, a former Navy SEAL and founder of Blackwater, is a Holland, Michigan native.
Piracy has plagued the Gulf of Aden. Somali pirates have increasingly targeted vessels traveling the route and demanded ransom for their release. One of the targets was a huge Saudi supertanker loaded with $100 million worth of crude oil.
(Copyright ©2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
