400 seamen still held captive by pirates

There are more than 400 seamen held under captivity by Somali pirates and this number is expected to increase without a stronger solution from the governments and the shipping industry, industry experts say.

“Piracy is a major problem particularly in this region and we need to raise the profile, do something about it, solve the problem and not let the pirates occasionally drop their weapons in the water and attack again the next time,” Scott Jones, CEO of Abu Dhabi-based Eships said.

“There are more than 400 seamen being held today in Somalia. When the Chilean miners were freed after 69 days, we saw what jubilation. Now imagine the families of the 400 sailors that have been kept in Somalia up to six months. It’s a horrible problem,” he said.

Piracy persists despite the increase of security deployed by shipowners and ship operators. National Iranian Tanker Company ship management director Jamal Mayahi said 28 of the company’s vessels have been under piracy attacks. NITC is only using high-speed ships in piracy-prone areas.

“We have a lot of experience in fighting against these pirates, 28 of our vessels have been attacked since 2008 or in less than two years. Some of our ships have been hit by some kind of missiles, RBGs and guns,” he said.

Waleed Al Dawood, chief operating officer of United Arab Shipping Company said pirates have been speeding up their technology to match shipowner’s security measures. “Certain measures have been taken  like increasing the speed but pirates have found ways to deal with it as well.”

Jones said the industry - which has just come out from its worst recession - is furthermore crippled by the piracy issue. And reports that the governments providing military vessels plan to cut services due to budgetary constrains is all the more worrying.

“In addition to that, the American congress has passed a law that ransoms will be illegal if the receiver of the ransom is related to or in any way tied to a terrorist organisation,” he said. “How are we, as shipowners, expected to know whether the other person at the other end ofthe telephone is  related to a terrorist organisation? This puts us in a very difficult situation.

“This is a problem being dumped on our shoulders. I could see a scenario where shipowners get to a point where they say, ‘Okay we’re not going to the Somali region if you’re putting this all on us.’”

Nabil Bourisili, chairman and managing director of Kuwait Oil Tanker Company, noted: “We are taking all the pre-caution and the expenses associated with that. But somebody has to do something, whether it  is UN or anyone, we have to overcome this problem. It’s a continuing nightmare to us.”

The Middle East players’ plea echo global concerns on piracy. Earier this year, shipping associations, marine insurers and unions joined forces to demand "concrete action" from governments to end Somali piracy. Somali pirates have stepped up their attacks, making tens of millions of dollars in ransoms from seizing ships, including tankers and dry bulkers, in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden.

The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), an umbrella association of 760 global unions, together with world shipping and marine insurance bodies, said the chances of economic recovery were "being jeopardised by this threat to world trade".

Spyros Polemis, president of the International Shipping Federation, which represents 75 percent of the global seaborne industry, said more than 1,800 seafarers had been kidnapped in the past two years in increasingly violent attacks.

Foreign navies have boosted activities off the Gulf of Aden since 2009 and have operated convoys, as well as setting up a transit corridor across dangerous waters.

But their forces have been stretched over the vast area, leaving ships vulnerable.

An estimated 7 percent of world oil consumption passes through the Gulf of Aden. Ship brokers have said some tankers are travelling as far as Madagascar or even around the Cape of Good Hope to avoid seaborne gangs.

Peter Swift, Managing Director of Intertanko, says 40 per cent of ships operating today either have been captured or intercepted . “These ships were subsequently released not just once, twice but sometimes three times,”he said.“This problem will not go away tomorrow and may persisit for couple of years and who knows beyond that.
 
We need partnerships with the government and insutry. We are all relyant on governmenents to keep international highways open because that is not the job of mercant shipping. As owners and operators, it is our job to be sensible in best practices. When we do our part then we have a legitimate case to make to the UN, or governments. We need to have governments do their part.”

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