LOGBOEK - JOURNAL DE BORD

Navies ‘release’ 400 Somali pirates

 

There is a complete lack of political will to prosecute pirates caught in the Gulf of Aden with naval forces in the region estimated to have released as many as 400 without charge, SMI can reveal.

Up to time of writing, it was understood that of this total, the British Royal Navy had released 66 pirates, the Dutch had sent pirates packing with food and water and there were unconfirmed reports that Kenyan authorities had not detained any pirates since September last year. Nairobi is known to want to renego­tiate the agreements it has with the European Union, UK and US navies and as such was believed to be refusing to take any more pirates until the situation had been sorted out.

Stephen Askins, a partner at Ince & Co in London, said the trend showed that while the rewards for hijacking ships continued to grow “almost unchecked – and many of the pirates can’t believe the sums of money they are receiving”, the risks involved in attacking a ship are getting smaller.

Mr Askins said there was a steady rate of attrition in the area with statistics pointing to a 50% drop in attacks on ships in the Gulf of Aden. Owners had to remember that if an attack on a ship was unsuccessful there was every chance the pirates would remain in the region. Ransoms being paid were also increasing, he said, with one vessel reported to have been recently released for $7.4 million and another for between $5.5m and $7m.

“There is a problem at the heart of this with the responders and negotiators - some are good and some are not but none have an innate under­standing of shipping. You have an example of a responder sitting across the table from an owner who doesn’t know the difference between a voyage charter and a time charter and doesn’t think it matter,” Mr Askins said.

New Somali pirate security force launched

 

A ‘non-profit’ organisation that promises to solve the problem of inade­quate naval protection of ships transiting the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden by offering all vessels armed escorts has been set up by a Russian ex-Master in Cyprus.

Known as the International Law Enforcement Agency, it said its plan is to be funded by IMO member states while allowing individual ship owners and managers the opportunity to ‘purchase’ custom-made security solutions for their individual vessels.

Nikolay Khovrin, a director of the agency, said that while 157 flag states had pledged to work to fight piracy on the high seas, “the majority of flag states do not have naval assets and qualified manpower to meet their counter-piracy obligations under UNCLOS.

“That is why it is our aim to offer such capacity to ship owners on behalf of his flag state and without undue cost. Our primary task is to provide sea marshals and ship security details onboard armed RHIBs.”

He added: “As we forecasted last year the piracy in Somali basin has proved to be a long-term problem. Failing nations of the region are steadily becoming criminal states with piracy as their major revenue. There is no any sign from the developed countries that they can seriously tackle the problem. Regional politics signal more violent conflicts and therefore threats to navigation in the area for years to come. This points to a full scale war at sea that ship owners, operators and flag states can hardly imagine.”

Mr Khovrin said the use of RHIBs meant that no weapons would be carried onboard any of the ships being escorted and that any use of force at sea would be limited to the self-defence of the members of the vessel protection detachment (VPD) or visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) teams.

“Generally the use of force is restricted to the time when the VPD/VBSS team is on patrol at sea and not onboard the target vessel. It can be expressly agreed with the flag State and the ship owner that no firearms are used or carried or loaded for use onboard the target vessel and within less than 500 m from the target vessel,” he said.

 

 

ITIC reimburses cash stolen by Somali pirates

 

THE International Transport Intermediaries Club (ITIC) has paid out a claim in respect of a sum of money stolen from the safe on board a ship managed by one of its members after the ship had been boarded by Somali pirates.

           

Under the terms of ITIC’s cash on board insurance, money can be covered when kept in a locked safe on the ship. ITIC also provides a range of cover for managers and agents in respect of money carried temporarily in their care while in transit to a ship. The cover can be extended to money, including petty cash, kept in the manager’s office or at his home overnight.