Pirates once again the scourge of the seas

The rescue of two French hostages who had been held by Somali pirates at the end of last month courtesy of the French military is a small victory in a war which is raging in the waters off the horn of Africa and threatens to severely impact world trade.

The increasingly brazen actions of gangs of Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden since the start of the year has seen over 50 vessels attacked and hi-jacked in the first nine months of 2008 with 340 seafarers taken hostage, and it is a situation which shows no sign of abating.

The problems reached such levels that the US has led a task force to create a 50km wide corridor which has naval vessels patrolling around the clock along the length of the gulf as vessels seek to use the Suez Canal.

The waters along the Malacca Strait so long the most dangers waterways in the world for global maritime trade have been eclipsed by the Somali pirates many it seems which have links to terrorist organizations including the Islamic Al Qaeda network.

What makes the current situation more perverse is that the increasing grip of the Islamic forces in the south of Somalia has forced the pirates north and therefore into the Gulf of Aden.

The International Maritime Bureau, which operates a global piracy watch centre says it has identified at least four vessels which are being used as ‘mother ships’ for the pirates from which they travel into the heart of the gulf to launch their assaults.

They use small fast speedboats to approach the target vessels and are extremely heavily armed.

The task force which patrols the Maritime Security Patrol Area (MSPA) to the south of Yemen has pledged to respond to piracy alerts within 30 minutes. At present the average time has been just 20 minutes but it is still not enough with one vessel captured and stolen back into Somali waters from the heart of the area on September 16.

However it was made clear when the task force came into being that it cannot be viewed as a long term solution to the problem as the US and its allies are still battle to halt arms shipments in the gulf to resupply Islamic insurgents in Iraq.

ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB) Director Pottengal Mukundan commented: “We commend the actions of the French military in helping to end this incident. In our view this is exactly what should be done when a vessel is hijacked and the coastal state, by its own admission, is unable to control this crime. We call upon the international community to use this intervention as a springboard for a more proactive approach to protecting shipping in this region.”

The IMB’s Piracy Reporting Centre has so far reported over 50 attacks on vessels this year in Somali waters, predominantly in the Gulf of Aden. Of these there have been over 20 successful hijackings. Over 340 seafarers have been taken hostage.

A recent attack saw a Hong Kong registered tanker hijacked on 16 September 2008, along with 22 crew. This ship was reportedly in the Maritime Security Patrol area, a safe corridor for shipping that was set up by coalition forces in the Gulf of Aden.

Mr Mukundan continued: “If we do not respond robustly against the pirate gangs, these incidents which are now occurring with an alarming frequency are only set to further increase. The coalition navy units in the Gulf of Aden are playing an important role in the prevention of attacks, despite their numerous other duties. We call upon the governments with naval vessels in the area to give greater priority in protecting shipping in this major waterway.”

According to the Piracy Reporting Centre, ten vessels are currently held captive by the pirates. Aboard the ten vessels are 221 crew members who remain hostage.

Mr Mukundan added: “The situation in this region is extremely serious. We have not seen such a surge in pirate activity in this area previously. These pirates are not afraid to use significant firepower in attempts to bring vessels under their control. Over 260 seafarers have been taken hostage in Somalia this year. Unless further action is taken, seafarers remain in serious danger whilst navigating the Gulf of Aden.”

David Hunt, head of research and development at Exclusive Analysis which provides intelligence information to several Lloyd’s syndicates and the market’s Joint Cargo Committee explains the situation is now at the point where the safety of vessels cannot be guaranteed in the longer term despite the efforts of the task force.

“Vessels that transit outside of the Maritime Security Patrol Area (MSPA) to the south of Yemen do so at their own risk although vessels inside the corridor are not given a complete guarantee that they will be totally secure,” he said

Mr Hunt said the issue remained one where the moves by the Islamic factions in Somalia to increase their hold on the south of the country were forcing the gangs out into the gulf.

“Piracy is not condoned by the Islamic factions which are now in control of the south of the country and it has seen these groups forced ever northwards and into the Gulf of Aden.

“They are becoming more sophisticated and operating from mother ships which allow them access across the Gulf of Aden.”

It seems as the pirates have greater success by becoming ever more daring and has been proved in the last month the threat of the naval task force is not deterring them from attacking ships in the heart of the MSPA.

While the cargo is readily stolen and sold the gangs have also branched into kidnapping and hostage taking with owners forced to pay for the return of the vessels and more importantly the safety of the crew.

As one underwriter said; “The average hostage negotiation in the area is taking around 100 days and with day hire rates of $100,000 and above it is a huge cost to the owners and the charterers if the vessel it not returned not to mention the hundreds of crew which are still held hostage.”

Mr Hunt adds that German vessels have become the major target as pirate gangs believe that German owners are more willing and able to pay ransoms for the return of the crew and the vessel.

Lloyd’s insurer Hiscox has also stepped into the breach by offering additional kidnap and ransom cover to owners with vessels using the area as standard marine policies will often not provide access to trained negotiators and support in hostage situations.

The issue has become so acute that there are some owners who are contemplating sending vessels the “long way round” in order to safeguard the vessel cargo and crew.

IT will add 4,500 miles to the journey and a heap of additional costs because it will be weeks at sea but there are those who are balancing this against the capture of the vessel and the costs of a ransom and protracted negotiations to recover the crew along with the also of the cargo,” said one ship broker.

Marine insurance rates are rising steadily in the area with some estimates that the premiums have increased ten fold for vessels using the route.
 
Brendan Flood Marine Underwriter at Hiscox explained. "This is a risk which is still not under control. We are telling our policyholders to take every common sense precaution and have passed on the recommendations from the Joint War Committee as to the areas to avoid."

He adds: "There was another vessel taken at the end of September and these gangs are becoming ever bolder in terms of where they are operating and have gone deeper into international waters to seize ships and get them back into Somali waters as soon as they can.

"Clearly the risks have increased and therefore so have the rates for insurance cover. This is vital route for world trade and the option of going the long way round is one which is really not open to vessels."

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