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Piracy Special: An inside look at a fledging problem |
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Tuesday, 21 April 2009 |
 More than 18 months from the first incidents in the Gulf of Aden and the “Somali piracy problem” seems stronger than ever. Despite ongoing efforts, pirates have proved rather resilient, constantly adapting their methods and proving more aggressive than ever. By now it’s more than obvious that the solution of a joint navy task force isn’t enough. Hellenic Shipping News offers you an insight to the problem and its impact on the global shipping industry, listing a series of recent updates and news
stories.
Somali pirates hold hostages for months
Ruel de Guzman seemed destined for a life at sea.
Several relatives have served in the U.S. Navy, and growing up in the
Philippines, he envied the nice houses neighbors were able to buy on a
seafarer's salary, much more than he could make on land.
For 20 years, the sea was good as De Guzman married, then started a
family. He had risen to second mate on the MT Stolt Strength, a
chemical tanker, sending home nearly $2,000 a month to support his wife
Vilma, their four children and his 81-year-old mother.
''In the province, people flaunt their wealth, and so he wanted a nice
house, too. His father was a tailor and his mother was a teacher. He
was the first to finish school,'' Vilma de Guzman said.
''He became a seaman to help his family.''
Then on Nov. 10, Somali pirates swarmed aboard as the tanker sailed
through the Gulf of Aden while hauling a cargo of phosphoric acid
destined for Japan. Since then, the 46-year-old De Guzman and 22 other
Filipino crew members have languished for months with scant rations,
little water and constant threats as negotiations for their release
drag on.
For them, a military rescue like the one that freed American Capt.
Richard Phillips is unlikely because the Stolt Strength is anchored in
a pirate stronghold. Their only hope is that a ransom will eventually
be paid.
While sailors from richer countries get freed relatively quickly in
exchange for multimillion-dollar ransoms, those from poorer countries
like the Philippines, Bangladesh and Indonesia often wait for months,
stuck in the middle because the companies they work for can't afford to
make a big payoff.
Almost half of the nearly 300 seamen currently held by Somali pirates
are Filipinos – a Greek-owned ship was snatched Tuesday with 22
Filipinos on board, starting a fresh ordeal for a new group of families.
Vilma de Guzman was at the shipping company with other hostages' wives
when her husband called last Friday for only the second time since the
pirate takeover and talked with their three daughters, ages 15, 10 and
7, and their 9-year-old son.
''He told them, 'Take care of mommy, take care of your siblings, love
each other,''' Vilma de Guzman told The Associated Press. ''He was
saying goodbye to his kids just in case he does not come out of this
ordeal alive.''
''I know when you are a seaman, it's really a high risk. But to say
that you'd be taken hostage by pirates, we never imagined that would
happen to him. We continue to receive his salary. He gets a big salary,
but what will we do ... if we lose my husband?''
In a sign that the on-again, off-again negotiations between the pirates
and the Stolt Strength's owner, Sagana Shipping Inc., might be picking
up again, De Guzman called again last Saturday, trying to track down
the phone number of the Philippine company's general manager.
''He said the pirates asked them to call to put pressure on the company
to pay ransom,'' Vilma de Guzman said, adding that her efforts to get
more details were met with a chilling reply: ''Don't ask too many
questions because we can be heard on the speaker.'''
Relatives of the hostages say that during the five months their loved
ones have been held, the pirates have lowered their ransom demand from
$5 million to $2.2 million. But there's no sign any payoff will come,
despite the pirates' threat to haul the tanker further out to sea and
use it as a mother ship to seize other foreign vessels.
Relatives blame Sagana Shipping, saying they have been misled about
efforts to free the captives, and their complaints have spurred a
Philippine government inquiry into the handling of the case, according
to a report last month on the Web site of the maritime industry
journal, Lloyd's List.
Capt. Dexter Custodio, the spokesman for Sagana Shipping, denied
suggestions the company hasn't been doing enough to free the hostages,
saying it has tried to negotiate with the pirates but that has proven
difficult.
''They don't want to talk to us. They would just slam the phone...The
main thought is it's a business and discussions will go to that – how
much ransom do they want?'' Custodio said.
A spokesman for the ship's London-based charter company, Stolt-Nielsen,
said arguments between different factions of pirates holding the vessel
has hampered efforts to free it. ''These disputes have made
communication with those holding the ship and crew more difficult,''
spokesman Martin Baxendale said Wednesday.
And while the manpower companies that contract the seamen have to pay
double-pay for hazardous duty in pirate zones and carry insurance for
payouts to their families in case of injury or death, it's unclear
whether that is enough for a multimillion-dollar ransom, said Nelson
Ramirez, president of the United Filipino Seafarers union.
As the months drag on, the crew has been kept confined on the ship's
bridge with little to eat or drink and wearing only the clothes they
were seized in, according to relatives.
Anything of value – including clothing, her husband's wedding ring and
all the money he had saved to send home – were grabbed by the pirates,
Vilma de Guzman said.
''They take a bath but can't change their clothes,'' she said.
Source: Associated Press
Cost of piracy hits shipowners hard
Piracy in the Gulf of Aden is estimated to have cost the Danish
shipping industry upwards of one billion kroner, according the Danish
Shipowners’ Association.
Jan Fritz Hansen, head of trade and shipping policy with the
association, said that the spiralling costs are not just associated
with ship owners having to pay ransoms.
‘That’s the least of it. It’s the insurance, advice and expenses of
sailing south around Africa that comprise most of the bill, which
collectively is running to a billion figure amount,’ said Hansen.
It costs 40 to 50 percent extra to sail south around the African continent rather than via the Suez Canal.
In the first three months of the year, more than 48 ships were attacked
off the coast of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden and five vessels hijacked.
The association has urged the government to send a military vessel back
to the Gulf as part of the international fleets patrolling the area.
The Danish Absalon warship recently returned from a tour of duty there.
Source: Copenhagen Post
Crew members urging stronger security for ships
An emotionally drained but celebrative crew of the Maersk Alabama told
gripping stories of captivity at sea Thursday while urging stronger
protection for ships operating in treacherous Horn of Africa waters.
Just a few hours after arriving in the rain early Thursday to a
victorious greeting at a Maryland military base, the crew of the seized
commercial ship ship awoke to sunny skies and even sunnier families,
but also lingering doubts about the safety of the seas.
"We need more security and more patrols in the waterway," crew member
William Rios told interviewers. While he said he wasn't afraid of going
back to sea there, Rios said that "it would be better to be armed."
The crew itself was still very much in victory mode, transformed from
agony to adulation. It basked in the kind of celebrity treatment that
only the capital city can offer. Hordes of reporters and camera crews
descended on newly arrived 19 crew members who were staying at a
suburban Maryland hotel.
The crew's captain, Richard Phillips, remained behind in Kenya, although his flight back home was nearing.
The seamen's words could best be summed up as a mix of relief and
resignation, gratitude for newfound freedom coupled with declarations
of determination not to be grounded by threats of piracy.
"I'm just so relieved and overwhelmed that it's over," third engineer
John Cronan said. "I'm home now. The greatest country in the world."
It was a week ago that pirates seized the Maersk Alabama briefly before
Phillips surrendered himself in exchange for the safety of his
19-member crew. Phillips was freed Sunday after five days of being held
hostage in a lifeboat when U.S. Navy SEAL snipers on the destroyer USS
Bainbridge killed three of his captors.
The crew earlier had scuffled with the pirates, wounding one of them
with an ice pick, in taking back control of their ship. The bandits
fled the ship with Phillips as their captive, holding him in the
lifeboat in a high-stakes standoff until the SEAL sharpshooters took
action.
On Thursday morning, crew member Zahid Reza described a nightmarish
incident in which he and ship mates lured a pirate named Abdul to a
darkened engine room. During a noisy struggle, Reza said, he stabbed
the hostage-taker in the hand.
"I held him, I tied his hands and tied his legs. He was fighting me," he said.
"There was a lot of yelling shouting and screaming. I was attempting to
kill him. He was scared. He said he was planning to ask for $3 million.
I told him, 'You're a Muslim and I'm a Muslim.' "
Crew member Miguel Ruiz said that when the pirates boarded the ship he
grabbed a flashlight and a knife, went to a secure area while alarms
were going off everywhere. He said he originally thought "if i die, I'm
going to take someone else with me."
But he said the captain gave orders to the crew not to do anything to
the pirates. "We got orders to do nothing." He said they gave the
captured pirate water and food and said "he didn't control us. we
controlled him."
Ruiz recalled one conversation he had with a pirate.
"I said to him, why do you do that?" Ruiz said. He said the pirate
responded that "we've got 20 million people in Somalia who are poor,
that don't have education. We don't have no food."
Second mate Ken Quinn acknowledged that he would worry about sailing
again through pirate-infested waters. "It would be good to be armed ...
but if we start shooting at them they might start killing more seamen,"
he said.
The crewmen initially were greeted at Andrews around 1 a.m. EDT by
several dozen family members who crowded onto the wet tarmac near the
arriving plane, waving small flags in the unseasonably cool air.
Shipping company employees erected a banner near the runway adorned
with yellow ribbons, reading "Welcome Home Maersk Alabama."
The crowd erupted in cheers and whistles and applause as the crewmen,
carrying bags and belongings, climbed down a ramp from the plane to
hugs and kisses from family members. After they disembarked, one
crewman, carrying a child toward the terminal, shouted, "I'm happy to
see my family."
Another exclaimed, "God bless America."
Robert Vaughan of Dallas, a brother of 3rd Mate Colin Wright, said of Colin: "He'll be back out there. That's his job."
Asked how his brother felt about security for crews, Vaughan said, "Something needs to be done to protect the crews."
Quinn told ABC's "Good Morning America" that the hero's welcome was
unexpected. "I was just a worker doing my job," he said. "If you're a
movie star or something you expect that stuff every day, but just Joe
Blow on the street, it doesn't happen to us."
Sitting on a couch at the hotel here, Myra Ruiz, Miguel's wife,
recalled how she felt when she heard the Alabama had been taken
hostage. Speaking through a translator, she said, "My daughter answered
the phone. She wasn't talking, but her eyes were full of tears. I felt
nervous and couldn't control myself."
"We felt very happy" when they found out that he had been freed, she said.
"I got emotional and cried," said Ruiz' son Miguel, 16.
Source: Associated Press
Insurers Quick To Respond To Piracy
Where merchant seamen see danger off the coast of Somalia, insurance
companies see opportunity. Pirate attacks are on the rise, and
companies including Warren-based Chubb Group have raised premiums and
stepped up marketing efforts for ransom insurance and other products
and services that reduce shippers' financial risk when sailing through
the Gulf of Aden.
Premiums on policies that provide coverage for piracy liabilities have
risen tenfold since October for shippers plying the Gulf of Aden,
insurance broker Aon Risk Services said.
Ship owners whose vessels sail in the Gulf of Aden -- the waterway
between Somalia and Yemen -- could pay as much as a $30,000 premium for
$3 million of coverage for one journey through the dangerous shipping
route, the broker said.
The risks are real.
The International Maritime Bureau reported 293 piracy incidents
worldwide last year, up 11 percent from 2007. The Gulf of Aden, known
as "Pirate Alley," was the worst area in the world, with 111 incidents.
The April 8 attack on a U.S. ship in that shipping lane brought
worldwide attention to the problem. The Suez Canal, via the Gulf of
Aden, is the main route for ships headed from Asia to Europe and the
East Coast of the United States.
The growth of piracy in that heavily traveled shipping lane is "an
international embarrassment," said Edward Kelly, executive director of
the Maritime Association of the Port of New York and New Jersey, a
trade group representing ship owners, freight brokers and others. "We
are horrified that nothing has been done to prevent these situations.
The shipping industry should not have to deal with what sovereign
states or the United Nations should take care of. The payment of
ransoms becomes an operating cost."
Insurers have been quick to act.
Gregory Bang, a vice president and global manager of crime, kidnap and
ransom insurance at Chubb, has been flying around the world in recent
weeks to pitch a new piracy insurance product to ship owners.
Chubb started offering a standalone kidnap and ransom policy for piracy
liabilities about six months ago when piracy incidents started
increasing. The product is sold separately from traditional maritime
policies.
Bang said many so-called hull policies exclude acts of terrorism, and
courts have been unclear about whether pirates are terrorists. Coverage
includes payment of ransom, hostage and ransom negotiation services and
corporate legal and liability expenses if a crew member is killed or
injured. The cost is "commensurate with the risk," Bang said.
Ransoms paid to pirates have exceeded $3 million, he said.
The product was "extremely well-received" by a group of ship owners he
recently spoke to in Korea, he said. "Piracy has been on everybody's
mind," said Bang.
Brokers such as Chicago-based Aon Corp. and London's International
Security Solutions Ltd. have recently introduced insurance plans
tailored to cover losses caused by run-ins with pirates, including
ransom payments and cargo-delay costs.
The increase in attacks has Michael Rubin, president of Magellan
Shipping Inc., a freight forwarder in Englewood, evaluating his
insurance coverage. He said he was unsure if ransom is covered in the
cargo policies he arranges for his clients. "As part of our service we
provide insurance coverage," he said. Mostly he arranges shipments
between the United States, India and the Middle East.
William Skinner, a customs broker and freight forwarder in Lodi, whose
customers are U.S.-based importers, said he expects shipping companies'
increased insurance costs -- and additional fuel costs for those that
skirt the problem areas -- will add to his clients' expenses and
ultimately to prices consumers pay for goods. "The steamship line is
going to incur costs and those costs are going to be passed down," he
said.|
Source: Record
India: Shipping companies buy ransom cover for piracy-prone routes
Insurers owe this to the pirates of Somalia. All top shipping lines in
India, including Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), Great Eastern
Shipping Co and Essar Shipping, are buying kidnap & ransom
(K&R) policy for virtually every voyage on piracy-prone maritime
routes like the Gulf of Aden, off the Somali coast.
“Somalian coast, South China Sea, Indian Ocean and Bangladesh’s
Chittagong coastline have seen piracy jump manifold, forcing local
shipping lines to buy K&R covers for their crew every time their
vessels navigate through these waters,” said a top executive of a
private general insurer, who did not wish to be named.
Somali pirates operating in the Gulf of Aden - linking Suez Canal and
Red Sea with the Indian Ocean to make the shortest sea route from Asia
to Europe - are the most notorious. They were in the news early this
week for attacking a US cargo and holding its crew hostages until
French troops freed them. They are believed to be holding more than 280
crewmen on 15 ships.
“Somali pirates often demand ransoms in excess of $2-3 million,” said
SCI chairman and managing director S Hajara. “Every time one of our
ships need to pass the region, we take the cover,” he added. Essar
Shipping Ports & Logistics CEO Anup Sharma and Great Eastern
Shipping spokesperson Anjali Kumar, too, confirmed they buy K&R
covers for crew whenever their ships pass through the Suez Canal.
“The cover is always for a definite period and the sum assured can go up to $5 million,” said Essar’s Capt Sharma.
About 15-20 SCI vessels and 5-7 Great Eastern ships pass through the
Gulf of Aden every month, said the company officials. “An alternative
route through the Cape of Good Hope would take nearly 15 extra days
leading to cost escalations,”explained Ms Kumar.
While officials in shipping companies and insurers refused to share
premium charges and other commercial details citing confidentiality
clauses, KPMG director Shashwat Sharma feels the premium for a sum
assured for $2 million would be anywhere between $100,000 and $150,000.
However, if companies go for, say, a year-long cover for an entire
fleet, the premium would be lesser at 3-5% of the sum assured, he
added. At present, all the Indian shipping lines get their K&R
covers on a per voyage basis. Nearly every general insurer, private and
public, offers K&R cover. Globally, American International Group
(AIG) is a leader in K&R cover. Back home, Tata AIG General
Insurance has been selling K&R cover at a furious pace.
Source: Economic Times India
Concerted action against sea piracy is key
The rise in sea piracy off Somalia coast and the great threat to
seafarers came into sharp focus at a seminar held at Kochi on the
occasion of National Maritime Day recently. Last year there were as
many as 239 incidents involving 49 hijackings, and 889 crew members
being held hostage. Interestingly, all this happened during a period
largely marked by an acute shortage of seafarers. The experts who
addressed the seminar expressed concern over “the growing threat to the
seafaring profession.”
With organised gangs now operating with sophisticated weapons, the
threat is far more serious now. Weak maritime regulations, radical
political activity, poverty and the rise of crime syndicates are cited
as reasons for the increased piracy in these areas.
Range of measures
According to Mr M.V. Ramamurthy, President (Shipping), Reliance
Industries Ltd, the roots of piracy, being land-based, cannot be
elimiated just with maritime regulations and guidelines. Ships and
seafarers ca be better protected if the maritime states concerned had
the will to intervene and protect the sea lanes.
The International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) and similar
organisations suggested a range of measures, emphasising the need for
international assistance, particularly to those states keen to combat
piracy but lacking the means to do so even as piracy remained a real
threat in their respective territorial waters.
After all, international shipping, accounting for more than 90 per cent
of global trade, cannot stop because of piracy or war. The confidence
of seafarers must be ensured through protection of ships and seafarers
in the international waters through the concerted efforts of all
nations.
A joint working group of the IMO and ILO recently expressed concern
over long detention of seafarers and issued guidelines to port state
authorities, flag states, the seafarers’ states and ship-owners
suggesting how to mitigate the problem, he said.
Interestingly, prosecution of seafarers would often take place due to
considerations not strictly related to violation of law or due to
political matters. There are instances to show that many governments
would prosecute seafarers citing violations with the sole objective of
collecting money by way of fines.
The maritime industry in general, and seafarers in particular, welcome
the adoption, in 2006, of new IMO/ILO Guidelines on the Fair Treatment
of Seafarers. Maritime bodies must persuade the EU and the US and other
such countries to keep their local laws in line with the Guidelines and
a simple negligence by the seafarer or an unintentional human error
should not trigger criminal liability, it is felt.
Legal aspects of piracy
Capt S. Pullat of Aumni Shipping Consultants, Chennai, said seafarers
booked under criminal procedures would often be fined, detained and
finally abandoned. No seafarer would recommend seafaring as a career
any more, given the negative effect of such moves.
Detaining the accused unless found guilty was against the general principles of trial, he said.
Referring to the legal aspects of piracy, Ms Thushara James, a
practising lawyer, suggested modification of the definition of piracy
under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS)
to include acts of violence motivated by political objectives too. In
the context of maritime terrorism, this would facilitate UNCLOS to
jointly address the problems of piracy and terrorism.
Source: Hindu Business Line
Battling piracy a thriving industry
Graeme Gibbon-Brooks knows a thing or two about boarding ships.
During 16 years with Britain's Royal Navy, he served in the Middle East
and East Africa as a deep-sea diver, gunnery officer, underwater
saboteur, and counter-sabotage specialist.
These days, he offers his knowledge of piracy and terrorism as part of
a thriving industry that is deeply rooted in Britain's heritage of
merchant trading and naval dominance. In London, the business capital
of the world's maritime industry, dozens of maritime law firms and
insurers have a tradition that stretches back hundreds of years.
Such firms provide services from security and legal advice to
negotiations and handling of ransom situations - and demand has been
steadily growing.
"More often now, we are being asked by shipping companies to provide
analysis of private security companies," says Gibbon-Brooks, whose
firm, Dryad Maritime Intelligence, consults on security arrangements
for shippers.
Two recent high-profile rescues - one by US forces of the captain of
the US-flagged Maersk Alabama, and one of hostages held on a French
yacht - have underscored the increasing threat from pirates. Already
this year, pirates have attacked at least 80 vessels.
The French Navy captured 11 pirates who had failed in an attack on the
Liberian-flagged Safmarine Asia. The French frigate is part of
"Operation Atalanta," a European Union antipiracy effort.
In response, companies are taking a variety of measures. Many opt to
employ unarmed guards on ships navigating the Gulf of Aden. But taking
more assertive measures is complicated by the laws governing the use of
force and the carrying of weapons.
Ships are governed by a variety of regulations - those of the ship's
owners, for example, as well as the laws of the country whose flag the
ship flies. They are much more stringent in relation to the carrying on
board of automatic weapons than shotguns. Shotguns are more common,
says Gibbon-Brooks - but similar to "using a dagger in a swordfight".
"You are waiting for [pirates] to get extremely close before you use
it," he says, explaining that Somali pirates typically shoot into a
ship's bridge, intimidate the crew, and then climb on board.
Dryad Intelligence sells nonlethal equipment like the long-range
acoustic device (LRAD), which emits an almost ear-splitting noise when
fired at targets.
Gibbon-Brooks explains that equipment such as the LRAD have to be seen
in the context of naval strategy, which is about "layers" of defence.
While unpleasant, its noise is largely intended to let the pirates know
that they have been spotted at an early stage, suggesting that the
"cavalry" could soon be on the way to a ship's rescue.
Once a ship has been taken, a lengthy process of negotiation begins.
Here's where companies such as Holman Fenwick Willan, which has been
representing clients in shipwrecks and collisions since it was founded
in 1883, come in.
One of the most prominent legal firms, its staff operate around the clock in response to calls to an emergency hotline.
"It's a 24-hour business, because, as you can imagine, there are
underwriters here in London but then we have negotiators out in the
Middle East and we have to correspond with them," says lawyer and
partner Toby Stephens. The firm has had approximately 30 cases
involving piracy since July last year; currently, it is handling more
than four involving vessels still being held.
In many cases, companies want to know first if it is even legal to pay
a ransom. British law permits this, although it is not so
straightforward everywhere.
Ransom demands are commonly in the range of $1 million to $2 million,
although pirates demanded as much as $25 million in the case of the
Sirius Star, a Saudi oil tanker taken earlier this year with a cargo
estimated to be worth more than $100 million.
That case illustrated the difficulties for all sides in the actual
delivery of the payment. At least five pirates drowned trying to
collect part of the ransom reportedly between $3 million and $3.5
million - after it was dropped close to the ship by parachute.
Maritime firms, of which there are dozens, are quick to deny that they
are exploiting the situation off the coast of Somali. But Simon Beale,
a marine underwriter, admitted to the BBC that fees for firms whose
vessels have been hijacked can cost just as much as the ransom itself
when the services of lawyers and others are employed.
Source: The Christian Science Monitor
Nato foils Somali pirates' attack
An attempted attack by Somali pirates on a Norwegian tanker was foiled
by Nato warships and helicopters after an overnight pursuit in the Gulf
of Aden.
Nato said a Canadian warship caught the pirates before releasing them after the gang attacked the MV Front Ardenne.
The alliance said the pirates had been released because they could not be prosecuted under Canadian law.
On Saturday, Dutch commandos serving with the Nato anti-piracy operation freed 20 pirate captives from Yemen.
In that incident, too, the raiders were released.
American forces joined in Sunday's pursuit of pirates who used
rocket-propelled grenades in an attack on the 80,000-tonne MV Front
Ardenne.
Portuguese Lt Cdr Alexandre Santos Fernandes told AP news agency the
raiders only stopped after repeated warning shots were fired.
He said the gang was interrogated and disarmed before being released.
A spokesman aboard the Canadian warship, the Winnipeg, Michael
McWhinnie, said they had switched off all lights to hunt the fleeing
pirates through the night.
"We blocked their path. We were faster and surprisingly more
manoeuvrable than the pirate skiff," Mr McWhinnie told Reuters news
agency.
Pirates have intensified attacks on shipping in recent weeks in one of
the world's busiest sea lanes, despite patrols by the foreign navies.
In another incident on Saturday, Somali pirates seized a Belgian ship and its 10 crew, including seven Europeans.
Nato's success this weekend is the latest in a string of recent Western military operations against the pirates.
French and US troops have both taken action against pirates in recent days.
The French rescued three people from a captured yacht in an assault which saw one man killed.
Last week US troops killed three pirates and captured another as they rescued the American captain of a tanker from captivity.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently unveiled a plan to
tackle piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean off Somalia.
Source: BBC
Ships must be rebuilt
The increased piracy in commercial shipping lanes and the build-up of
China and Russia's navies demand that the U.S. maintain a strong naval
presence for national security and to protect global commerce.
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have also created strains in manpower
and ship deployments the Navy did not foresee. The U.S. Navy presently
numbers 284 ships, which is 29 ships below the minimum required force
structure needed to satisfy current and emerging missions. In order to
rebuild the fleet to the documented 313 ship force level, 12 new ships
must be procured each year.
Recently, the Obama Administration and Congress has been trying to make
decisions that will determine the future naval capabilities of the
United States. On April 6, Defense Secretary Robert Gates laid out FY
2010 budget recommendations that he said aims to reshape the priorities
of America's defense establishment.
"My decisions have been almost exclusively influenced by factors other
than simply finding a way to balance the books or fit under the top
line, as is normally the case with most budget exercises," Gates said.
"Instead, these recommendations are the product of a holistic
assessment of capabilities, requirements, risks and needs for the
purpose of shifting this department in a different strategic direction."
On March 3, U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), Chairman of the House Armed
Services Committee, addressed representatives of the U.S. shipbuilding
industry at the American Shipbuilding Association's Industry Day in
Washington, D.C. During his remarks, Skelton stressed the need for the
Navy to make a final decision this year as to how many and what kinds
of ships it wants in its future fleet.
"The debate about the future Navy needs to end this year," Skelton
said. "A decision needs to be made. After a decision is made that both
the Department of the Navy and Congress can support, we need to fund
the construction program at the level necessary to restore the fleet.
Whether that number is 313 ships or 340 ships, we need to get there."
The Chairman stated it is essential that this country build "at least
10 ships" and that it is important that the "right 10 ships" are built.
"There are some very new threats out there to our Fleet," Skelton added.
On shipbuilding programs, Gates said that the procurement of Littoral
Combat Ships (LCS) would be increased from two to three ships in FY
2010. He called the LCS "a key capability for presence, stability, and
counterinsurgency operations in coastal regions" and said "our goal is
to eventually acquire 55 of these ships."
To improve the nation's inter-theater lift capacity, Gates said an
increase in the charter of Joint High Speed Vessel (JHSV) ships from
two to four will commence.
The news on other shipbuilding programs was more sobering.
"The healthy margin of dominance at sea provided by America's existing
battle fleet makes it possible and prudent to slow production of
several major surface combatants and other maritime programs," declared
Gates.
Gates announced the shift of the Navy Aircraft Carrier program to a
five-year build cycle placing it on a more fiscally sustainable path.
This will result in 10 carriers after 2040.
The Navy CG-X next generation cruiser program will be delayed so
officials can revisit both the requirements and acquisition strategy.
Gates said the budget request will include funds to complete the buy of two navy destroyers in FY10.
"These plans depend on being able to work out contracts to allow the
Navy to efficiently build all three DDG-1000 class ships at Bath Iron
Works in Maine and to smoothly restart the DDG-51 Aegis Destroyer
program at Northrop Grumman's Ingalls shipyard in Mississippi," he
said. "Even if these arrangements work out, the DDG-1000 program would
end with the third ship and the DDG-51 would continue to be built in
both yards."
Skelton warned, however, that to forget the maritime history of America
would ultimately lead to its losing a power base at sea it has fought
for since its birth.
"We forgot that we are a maritime nation," said Skelton. "We forgot
that lesson of history that only the nations with powerful navies are
able to exert power and influence, and when a Navy disappears, so does
that nation's power. I submit that we are on a bad glide slope, but not
so far committed that we cannot recover. I believe that we can and we
must rebuild our fleet."
Source: Meridian Star
RP seamen banned in ships passing Somalia
Malacañang has banned the deployment of Filipino seafarers to ships
sailing the pirate-infested coast of Somalia while government works to
free 105 Filipino seafarers still held captive by pirates in Somalia.
Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said the government has banned the
deployment of Filipino seafarers to ships that violate United Nations
security measures against pirates in Somalia which among others call on
vessels to stay on a “security corridor” through the Gulf of Aden near
Somalia.
Remonde said the Philippines supports the efforts of the United Nations
to stop the spate of hijackings by pirates in Somalia, and will send a
naval liaison officer to the United States 5th Fleet in Manama,
Bahrain, as its “contribution” to the UN-approved offensive against
pirates in Somalia.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said there are still 105
Filipino seafarers held captive by pirates in Somalia, and the
government coordinates with foreign governments, local manning agencies
and foreign shipping companies for their release.
Although the government does not negotiate with the pirates, it is
aware that the negotiations between the pirates and the foreign
shipping companies involve ransom money.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the practice of negotiating
ransom money should stop because it only encourages terrorism and
piracy.
Since 2006, 227 Filipino seafarers had been held hostage and released by pirates in Somalia.
The problem of piracy in the Gulf of Aden near Somalia is traced by the
international community to the fact that there is no strong government
existing in Somalia, a largely impoverished nation.
Nations being affected by the threat of piracy have banded together to
work out a common security arrangement to increase naval patrols in the
international sea lanes. These include China, Japan, South Korea, and
the United States.
Source: Manila Bulletin
Kidnap and ransom policy costs have risen 10-fold
Pirate raids on shipping off East Africa have already pushed up
insurance and business costs and threaten greater harm to trade if the
tactics are copied elsewhere, Munich Re said on Friday.
"The Somalis have discovered a more efficient model," said Dieter Berg,
head of Marine division at Munich Re, the world's biggest overall
reinsurer and marine reinsurer.
"It's easier to make money if you kidnap people. And the danger is that
this technique spills over to other countries, which would be a much
more serious threat to world trade," he told Reuters.
Somali pirates have grabbed headlines for years with spectacular
attacks on ships, from supertankers and passenger liners to yachts, but
fears of violence have grown after U.S. snipers killed three pirates
who had been holding an American ship captain hostage last weekend.
Attention in recent months has focused on three hot spots for pirate
attacks - the Gulf of Aden, the East coast of Somalia and the Indian
Ocean as far as the Seychelles.
Many shippers have begun buying kidnap and ransom policies -- which
cover costs for ransom payments generally up to 3 million pounds ($4.5
million) -- and hiring security firms which may conduct hostage
negotiations and arrange ransom payments, Berg said.
"The costs for kidnap and ransom policies have risen 10-fold over the last year as a result of increased attacks," he said.
Crew ransoms and the considerable cost of negotiating with and
transferring cash to pirates pose the highest cost for insurers, with
damage to goods and ships relatively less.
SHIP SINKING NIGHTMARE
Hijacked ships are frequently stuck for two to three months off the
Somali coast while negotiations drag on, ruining cargoes and disrupting
ship hiring schedules, further adding to costs.
Some companies already choose to travel around the Cape of Good Hope in
South Africa, rather than risk the Gulf of Aden, which adds nearly two
weeks to their travel time, fuel, charter and crew costs.
Estimates for the broader economic damage of piracy range from $3-$16
billion per year, but the frequency of incidents is on the rise, with
74 attacks off the coast of Somalia so far this year compared with 107
in the whole of 2008.
Loss claims linked to piracy have been limited so far for reinsurers
like Munich Re or Swiss Re, which help their insurance company clients
shoulder risks, but the sinking of a container ship or tanker could
trigger an environmental disaster and prompt claims in the hundreds of
millions of euros.
Pirates using "mother ships", from which speedboat attacks can be
launched, are extending the range of activity well into the Indian
Ocean from Somalia.
"This creates new dangers for example for ships heading around the Cape of Good Hope," Berg said.
Other pirates may learn from the Somalis, Berg said, noting that 40
attacks had been registered off the coast of Nigeria this year, with
the actual number probably closer to 100-150.
Pirates have also become increasingly innovative, attacking a freighter
with 5-10 small boats simultaneously or using feints to distract
military escort ships, Berg said.
Security experts say that multi-million-dollar superyachts could be the next high-profile targets.
Navy ships from 20 countries have taken up positions to fend off the
Somali pirates, whose expansion into the Indian Ocean leaves the
military patrolling an area as big as western Europe.
Navy ships typically have a window of only 15 minutes to stop a pirate
attack and there has been no international agreement on what to do with
any pirates who do get caught.
"The piracy problem has to be solved on land. As long as there is no
functioning government in Somalia, we won't be able to stop the
piracy," Berg said.
Source: Reuters
Pirates Steer Seized Belgian Ship Toward Somalia
A Belgian ship captured by pirates in the Indian Ocean is being steered
toward Somalia, while a separate attack on a Norwegian tanker was
foiled, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization said.
The Belgium-registered vessel, the Pompei, “is heading toward the
Somalia coast with pirates on board,” Lieutenant Commander Alexandre
Fernandes, a NATO spokesman, said by telephone today from the
Portuguese frigate Corte Real in the Gulf of Aden. “We assess that they
are Somali” pirates who seized the ship.
The cargo ship, which is owned by Dredging Environmental & Marine
Engineering NV and Jan de Nul Groep NV, was captured yesterday north of
the Seychelles Islands with a 10-man crew that includes two Belgians,
one Dutch, four Croatians and three Filipinos, Fernandes said. The
vessel is “being closely monitored by Operation Atalanta,” the European
Union’s anti- piracy operation, Fernandes said.
Atalanta is stepping up air patrols in the Indian Ocean as pirates
refocus their activities away from the Gulf of Aden amid heavy
surveillance by international forces, the organization said on April
10. The European Commission, the EU executive in Brussels, will host an
international aid conference this week to help Somalia combat piracy.
“This sea is like a highway,” said Hubert Fiers, a spokesman for DEME,
one of the ship’s owners, adding that the area has become “very
unsafe.” Anti-piracy measures “will have to be intensified,” he said.
Civil War
Eighteen years of civil war have reduced Somalia to lawless chaos,
allowing bandits to thrive. Doctors Without Borders said today that two
aid workers with its Belgian unit have been kidnapped in the east
African nation, without providing more details. Agence France-Presse,
citing an unidentified humanitarian source, reported that the workers
were taken in the south of the country by gunmen today.
At least 80 vessels have been attacked in the waters around the Horn of
Africa this year, 19 of them seized with the help of rocket launchers
and automatic weapons, according to the International Maritime Bureau.
The increase in attacks is linked to the pirates becoming better armed
and organized, Rear Admiral Philip Jones, who is in charge of six
warships for the EU Naval Force for Counter Piracy, told Britain’s
Sunday Telegraph today.
The Canadian frigate Winnipeg thwarted a separate attack in the region
against the Norwegian tanker Front Ardenne, owned by Frontline Ltd.,
the world’s largest operator of supertankers, NATO’s Fernandes said.
With help from U.S. warship Halyburton, the Winnipeg captured seven
pirate suspects, all believed to be Somali, after about “seven hours of
hot pursuit,” he said.
Front Ardenne
Mikhail Stinov, the Front Ardenne’s first mate, spotted the armed
pirates in a speed boat yesterday as they approached the 80,000-ton oil
tanker, and sent a distress signal to warships in the area, Norwegian
newspaper VG cited Stinov as saying. The pirates took off when the
Winnipeg approached, he told the newspaper. The ship with a crew of 22
Russians and Filipinos was en route to China from Libya, according to
VG.
The 1,800-ton Pompei, whose home port is Bruges, was heading to Durban,
South Africa, when it was hijacked 150 nautical miles (278 kilometers)
north of the Seychelles Islands and 700 nautical miles east of Somalia,
according to Atalanta, which describes the ship as a “stone carrier.”
Since then, the empty vessel has been “straight on the way to the
Somali coastline,” Atalanta said.
Crisis Center
Jaak Raes, director general of the Belgian Crisis Center, told
reporters in Brussels today that the Pompei has traveled about 270
kilometers since being hijacked and, at its speed of seven knots, is
expected to reach the Somali coast around noon Brussels time on
Wednesday. The situation is “being closely monitored” by the center, he
said.
“We tried to establish contact” with the ship, Raes said. “We didn’t realize any contact. We don’t have any contact at all.”
Aerial photos released by the crisis center show the Pompei being
trailed by a small boat, which is believed to have been used in the
attack, Raes said. He said Belgian authorities have initiated a
criminal investigation, without giving any details.
Representatives from the Belgian government and the ship’s owners met
this afternoon at the crisis center in Brussels. Dirk De Backer, Prime
Minister Herman Van Rompuy’s spokesman, referred questions to the
crisis center.
‘No Clear Rules’
The legal systems in many ship operators’ nations lack the necessary
laws for dealing with pirates. Dutch marines yesterday had to release
nine Somalis suspected of piracy who were found aboard a Yemeni fishing
vessel in the Gulf of Aden because “there are no clear rules,” Robin
Middel, spokesman for the Dutch Ministry of Defense, said today in a
telephone interview.
The pirate suspects were seized after the Handytankers Magic, a tanker
sailing under the flag of the Marshall Islands, sent a distress signal.
The Dutch frigate De Zeven Provincien, dispatched by NATO to
investigate, found the suspected pirates and 16 hostages on a fishing
dhow, Middel said.
“The NATO commander then ordered to set the suspects free,” Middel
said. The Dutch ship “operated under the NATO rules of engagement and
in that context no clear rules exist on the arresting of pirates.”
The seven suspected pirates captured today by the Winnepeg also were released, NATO’s Fernandes said.
Fiers, the spokesman for DEME, said the European Dredging Association
will urge the European Commission for more “coordinated action” to
combat piracy in the region. “We need joint action now,” he said.
The commission will host a conference on April 23 to discuss ways to
help Somalia fight piracy. Representatives from the EU, the United
Nations and the African Union will attend, Amadeu Altafaj, a commission
spokesman, said by telephone today.
Between 22,000 and 24,000 ships sail through the Gulf of Aden each
year, most of them also navigating Egypt’s Suez Canal to the north to
travel between Europe and Asia.
Source: Bloomberg
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