The international shipping industry - represented by BIMCO, ICS/ISF, INTERCARGO and INTERTANKO and the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) - is dismayed by recent comments attributed to leaders of the Coalition Task Force operating in the Gulf of Aden, that it is not the job of navy forces to protect merchant ships and crews from increasingly frequent attacks from pirates operating out of Somalia.
Pirates are currently holding more than 200 seafarers hostage.
In the most recent high-profile shipjacking, pirates seized the Ukrainian-operated Faina off the coast of Somalia last week as it headed for Kenya with its cargo of Russian-built T-72 tanks and ammunition reportedly destined for Sudan. The pirates are demanding $20 million for the safe release of the ship and crew.
The US navy deployed vessels to surround the ship, in an effort to ensure that the cargo is not offloaded "into the wrong hands" while negotiations take place. According to a Sky News report, the pirates are unable to agree among themselves, and yesterday three of them were killed during a shootout on board the Faina.
The international shipping industry accuses governments of indifference, saying that if civil aircraft were being hijacked on a daily basis, the response would be very different.
The international shipping industry has spent billions of dollars to comply with stringent post-9/11 security requirements. Yet when merchant ships - which carry 90% of world trade and keep the world economy moving - are subject to attack by violent pirates, the response of many governments is that it is not their problem and that ships should hire mercenaries to protect themselves.
The arming of merchant ships, as suggested by the Task Force, will almost certainly put the lives of ships' crews in even greater danger and is likely to escalate the level of violence employed by the pirates. It would also be illegal under the national law of many ships' flag states and in many of the countries to which they are trading.
While naval forces are patrolling these pirate-infested waters, they are, to all intents and purposes, impotent and ineffective, and the industry has urged governments to not only commit the necessary navy vessels, but also give them the freedom to intercept and take appropriate action against the pirates and the vessels from which they operate, as permitted by UN Security Council Resolution 1816, of 2 June 2008, and existing international law about the rights of States to repress criminal acts on the high seas. Governments must also ensure that these pirates are brought to justice in a court of law.
The shipping industry says that a repeat of the early-1970s crisis, when the Suez Canal was closed and shipping was diverted around the Cape of Good Hope, must be prevented. However, major shipping companies are already negotiating with charterers to avoid transiting the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea/Suez Canal altogether, preferring to redirect their ships via the Cape of Good Hope. Not only does this add several weeks to the voyage, it also adds to costs and affects those countries for which cargo is destined.
The international shipping industry recognises that the United Nations' International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has acknowledged the severity of the piracy problem, and has similarly implored the UN and the UN Security Council to ensure that appropriate action is taken. However, governments and their navies, particularly those in the Coalition Task Force who are in the best position to restore security to this critical trade artery, need to take urgent action, instead of standing idly by saying it's "not their job".
[Information supplied by the ITF]
