Trade, unions start reacting to increasing piracy off west African coast

News was prepared under the information support of Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and international Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

30 Nov 2009

Last Tuesday’s killing of a ship’s officer while seriously injuring his colleagues aboard an oil tanker off the coast of west Africa seem to have started impacting the shipping industry. The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) Seafarers Section has urged ships not to transit the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia owing to the growing problem of piracy which has now spread to the wider Indian Ocean.
"Save in exceptional circumstances, ships should not transit the (affected) area. The risk of attack is now so great that putting seafarers in harm's way amounts to a breach of the ship owner's duty of care," said an ITF statement that called on the wider shipping industry to support this position and to take all measures to ensure the protection of seafarers.
The exceptional circumstances under which a ship would be allowed to transit these pirate-infested waters are when the ship has "adequate naval escort," or "the ship can be classified as low risk and has a proven level of protection measures in place," the ITF said.
Said the union group: "Seafarers should suffer no detriment from refusing to take ships into these high risk areas. Seafarers have a right to refuse to put themselves in harm's way and the right to be relieved before the ship enters a high risk area."
Meanwhile, French shipping line CMA CGM has announced imposing a surcharge for its containerships transiting the Gulf of Aden will be increased to $41 per TEU just as news of the killing started to spread. "The transit of containerships through the Gulf of Aden in both directions is subject to high costs caused by the prevailing risks of piracy in the area," a statement from the carrier said.
"CMA CGM continues to ensure the safety and the security of cargo carried by its vessels through the Gulf of Aden," said the statement, adding that this is achieved by increased speeds, route deviation and joining protective naval convoys.
CMA CGM's Aden Gulf Surcharge will be levied on all containers transiting the area, with effect from December 15 and applied in addition to any rate agreement, short term or long term. Nigerian pirates killed a ship's officer and injured four other crew members, including one seriously, aboard an oil tanker off the coast of west Africa, 18 nautical miles from Benin, on November 24.
The owner of the vessel, Chemikalien Seetransport, were cited as saying that the pirates shot the first mate aboard the Liberian-flagged Cancale Star when he resisted the attack.

Source: The Economic India Times