Global shipping chiefs focus on piracy

The Round Table of international shipping associations, which comprises BIMCO, ICS/ISF, Intercargo and Intertanko, and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) have launched the SOS Save Our Seafarers campaign which aims to highlight the plight of seafarers and bring pressure on governments to “show more political will and less legalistic excuses in dealing with this situation”.

The Round Table says that it is not feasible for ships coming from the Middle East to avoid the Somali pirate gangs in the Indian Ocean, but with greater political will, governments can resolve this growing crisis. It says that over 800 seafarers are currently held hostage in poor conditions by armed pirates; subjected to physical and psychological abuse for months at a time, they are held ransom for large sums. The problem area has spread from Somalia itself to 1,500 miles out to sea, almost to India’s coast. For tankers coming from the Gulf and the Middle East there is no longer an optional route to avoid the pirates – and a hijacked tanker with 2 million barrels of oil represents 20% of daily oil imports to the USA.

SOS is specifically asking for governments to recognise the threat, and take the necessary steps to eradicate piracy at sea and ashore by:

• Reducing the effectiveness of the easily-identifiable pirate motherships.
• Authorising naval forces to detain pirates and deliver them for prosecution and punishment.
• Fully criminalising all acts of piracy and intent to commit piracy under national laws in accordance with their mandatory duty to co-operate to suppress piracy under international conventions.
• Increasing naval assets available in this area.
• Providing greater protection and support for seafarers.
• Tracing and criminalising the organisers and financiers behind the criminal networks.