Terror on high seas, now a major worry for ship owners
Plummeting freight rates and shrinking cargo as a result of the global financial meltdown are not the only issues presently gnawing at shipping companies. The recent flare-up of terror on high seas, off the coast of Somalia, has become a sharper concern for ship owners.
Even after the Indian seafarers aboard Stolt Valor, which was hijacked [...]
Defiant Somali pirates await EU navy force
piracy
Somali pirates were undeterred Saturday as a new European Union naval forces readied to launch an operation aimed at curbing relentless attacks that have rattled world maritime trade. The EU’s anti-piracy drive, dubbed Atalanta, was to formally kick off on Monday, increasing the military presence in the Gulf of Aden, which has in recent months [...]
The latest must-have for commercial shipowners: a piracy insurance policy
cargo
A risk consultancy with close ties to the Lloyd’s insurance market is offering the world’s first insurance policy for shipowners covering potential ransom payouts on crew members who have been kidnapped.
Kidnap and ransom insurance is well-established but has traditionally been offered only in respect of individual executives working in commercially sensitive [...]
ITF: New piracy high risk area agreed
itf
Maritime unions and shipowners have reached an agreement to extend the piracy high risk area to cover the entire Gulf of Aden. The designated high risk area previously only covered part of the Gulf of Aden. Members of the International Bargaining Forum (IBF), reached the agreement following a full meeting of the negotiating body in [...]
Weekly Piracy Report ( 25 November - 1 December 2008 )
Suspicious crafts
None reported
Recently reported incidents
26.11.2008: 0430 LT: Lagos anchorage, Nigeria.
Armed robbers in a small craft boarded a chemical tanker at anchor. They stole ship’s property and escaped before the duty A/B raised the alarm. The craft was observed approaching another vessel. The tanker warned the vessel. The craft aborted the attempt and headed back to [...]
EU to launch anti-piracy mission next week
piracy
A European Union flotilla will begin anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia next week, the EU’s foreign policy chief said Wednesday. The six warships and three maritime reconnaissance aircraft will replace a NATO naval force that has been patrolling the region and escorting cargo ships carrying relief aid to Somalia since the end of [...]
IBF Extends “High Risk Area” In The Gulf
itf
Following a full meeting of the IBF in Hong Kong on Friday 21 November and subsequent correspondence, the International Bargaining Forum have agreed to extend the “high risk area” to cover the entire Gulf of Aden*, backdated to 21 November at midnight. The expansion has been agreed because of the number of attacks which had [...]
Legal Hurdles in West Slow Pursuit of Pirates
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Somali pirates firing automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades hijacked yet another ship in the Gulf of Aden on Friday, this time seizing a chemical tanker. A German military helicopter from a nearby warship arrived in time to pull three security guards out of the water, but not soon enough to prevent the hijacking of the [...]
Somali pirates hijack 1 ship, free another
somalia_map
Somali pirates seized control of a chemical tanker in the Gulf of Aden on Friday and a NATO helicopter gunship, too late to prevent the hijacking, picked up three security guards who jumped into the sea. Both France and Germany, which have ships in the area as part of an international anti-piracy coalition, sent the [...]
Steaming under the constellation of Piracy
sarris
Piracy has occurred through the ages together with the presence of the first Ships. People along the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea have been trying to gain control of the trade routes and attacking the competition that was en route by sea. Thus it was common practice for the people engaged in commerce to be [...]
