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 [...]
Shipping insurance costs may double due to rise in piracy
insurance-premiums-for-ships
The escalation of piracy activities off the coast of Somalia is threatening to greatly increase insurance costs for ships sailing along the Gulf of Aden, said insurance and maritime experts.
The more than 10-fold increase in insurance premiums witnessed on the same route this year is likely to increase by another 60 per cent in December, [...]
Protests against piracy, detention of seamen
Lack of response from government authorities towards increasing incidents of piracy attacks and criminalization of Indian seamen have found expressions last week when concerned individuals and unions went to the streets at multiple locations across the country.
Chennai witnessed a flag march on Sunday, (October 5), protesting against detention of two mariners in [...]
EU lawmakers clear tougher safety rules
European Union lawmakers approved a series of proposals to strengthen shipping safety and prevent oil spills but the package still faces tough negotiations with the bloc’s governments.
The European Parliament’s package will clearly define tougher duties for states under whose flags ships operate and will clarify vessel owners’ liability and insurance obligations.
The proposed rules would also [...]
Somali pirates threaten use of Suez Canal: analysis
There is growing concern that the free passage of the Suez Canal, one of the great breakthroughs in international trade, is under threat from the spread of piracy off the coast of Somalia.
The flow of millions of pounds, derived from ransom payments, into groups linked to fundamentalist Islamic movements in Somalia has triggered warnings that [...]
Indian crew on Jordanian ship recruited illegally?
MUMBAI: The 10 Indians aboard the hijacked Jordanian vessel MV Victoria may have been recruited illegally. As negotiations continued for the release of the crew aboard the vessel, a top Shipping official on Thursday said details of the Indian workers haven’t been received.
The ship was last reported as being traced to Murgane, [...]
Indian on hijacked ship calls for help
MUMBAI: Even as there is no news of a breakthrough in negotiations with Somali hijackers of Japanese vessel MT Stolt Valor more than a week after the incident, the captain’s wife in Dehradun said she received a call from one of the crew members who said the crew was being ill-treated and kept under poor [...]
Shipping insurance cost soars with piracy surge off Somalia
A dramatic increase in piracy off the coast of Somalia and a ten-fold increase in insurance premiums has sent the cost of sending ships through one of the world’s busiest transport routes, soaring, shipping experts said yesterday.
The warning came as pirates hijacked the latest cargo ship off the Horn of Africa yesterday. The South Korean [...]
MISC ATTACKS PRESS COVERAGE
MALAYSIAN shipping company MISC has criticised the press coverage of the hijacking of two of its tankers, the Bunga Melati Dua and the Bunga Melati 5. Specifically MISC has denied media reports based on a reported phone call from a crew member on one of the vessels that the crew were running out of food.
A [...]
