Piracy crisis spiraling out of control

Groups representing ship owners and seafarers have made what they characterized as a a crisis call to the United Nations and its International Maritime Organization requesting real and immediate action against brazen acts of piracy, kidnapping and armed robbery, carried out with increasing frequency against ships in the Gulf of Aden, by pirates based in Somalia.

The groups say piracy is in danger of spiraling completely and irretrievably out of control, with nearly 40 hijackings taking place in the Gulf of Aden so far this year, and 133 kidnapped seafarers still being held hostage.

Pirate attacks are happening not even weekly or daily, but sometimes up to three times within hours.

They are asking Efthimios Mitropoulos, IMO secretary general, to use his organization's influence to ensure UN backing for a larger naval force in order to protect the lives of seafarers and passengers as well as ships and cargoes.

The request to the UN was made by the so-called round table of international shipping associations -- BIMCO, Intercargo, International Chamber of Shipping/International Shipping Federation and INTERTANKO, along with the International Transport Workers' Federation, a global federation of trade unions in the transportation sector.

They said already some carriers -- including Malaysian carrier MISC Berhad -- are avoiding the Gulf of Aden and routing ships around the Cape of Good Hope rather than through the Suez Canal to avoid the piracy hot spot. This despite the fact that a voyage from, say Rotterdam to Tokyo, is 23 percent shorter if the Suez Canal is used.

According to the Egypt State Information Service, about 7 percent of world trade passes through the Red Sea, and shipping experts say about the same percentage transits the Gulf of Aden.

Peter Hinchliffe, marine director of the International Chamber of Shipping, said that there has been a rapid escalation of pirate incidents in recent weeks, and said the industry is upset that naval ships have not used more forceful rules of engagement against the pirates.

But Hinchliffe had high praise for a Danish warship that this week seized two suspected pirate vessels off the Horn of Africa and detained 10 suspected pirates. A helicopter from the Danish Navy's Absalon    located the boats and a search party from the Absalon boarded the two vessels and detained 10 persons found with what were described as objects used to hijack civilian vessels.

Authorities have identified three fishing trawlers that are being used as mother ships for pirates in launches attacking shipping in the Gulf of Aden. But Hinchliffe said naval ships protecting merchant shipping seem not to have been given rules of engagement to stop the pirates.

While the word pirate may still conjure up romantic images among the general public, he said Somali pirates plying the Gulf of Aden are dangerous criminals who are heavily armed with everything from automatic weapons to rocket-propelled grenades.

The International Maritime Bureau, the lead recording body for piracy, estimates that more than 1,200 Somalis and at least six major groups are involved.

Ten ships are currently being held and the industry fears for the seafarers on board. Hinchliffe said that as pirates have apparently met success in extorting ransom for vessels and seafarers, their numbers seem to be growing and they are investing in better weapons.

Seafarers are civilians and are entitled to protection as they go about their lawful profession. The current situation is threatening their right to life," the group said.

On June 2, the UN Security council passed Resolution 1816, but the industry said, There is currently a lack of political will on the part of governments to give military forces the clear rules of engagement they need.

The resolution permits states cooperating with Somalia's transitional federal government, for a period of six months, to enter the country's territorial waters and use all necessary means to repress acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea, in a manner consistent with relevant provisions of international law.

When attacks are being mounted over 200 nautical miles from the coast by heavily armed pirates using ocean going vessels, the standard advice being issued to ships -- to avoid the area, keep alert and maintain speed -- is rendered redundant.

Some major shipping companies are already refusing to transit the Gulf of Aden while many others are understandably considering similar steps, going on to warn that continued inaction against these violent acts could prompt ship owners to redirect their ships via the Cape of Good Hope, with severe consequences for international trade, including increased prices for delivered goods, the group said.

A variety of nations have sent warships to patrol the Gulf of Aden, including Denmark, Great Britain, Canada, France and the United States.

On Monday, Danish Royal Navy Commodore Per Bigum Christensen assumed command of Combined Task Force CTF 150 from Canadian Commodore Bob Davidson. The task force conducts Maritime Security Operations (MSO) in and around the Strait of Hormuz, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. 

Source: American Shipper