Somali pirates release Greek ship
capt-stefanos
The East Africa Seafarers Assistance Program (SAP) issued a statement today confirming that the bulk carrier CAPT. STEFANOS (sometimes spelled CAPT STEPHANOS) was released by its hijackers yesterday.
The vessel was captured by Somali pirates in September along with her crew of 19 in the Gulf of Aden.
“The Greek ship-owner’s company Chartworld Shipping Corporation (Athens) finally [...]
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 [...]
Piracy at ‘Intolerable’ Level, Says Maritime Executive
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The massive deployment of foreign navies to the vital shipping lane off the Horn of Africa and the Gulf of Aden has so far failed to slow the rate of pirate attacks, with new ships taken almost daily, according to maritime executive Christopher Hayman. He said most commentators agreed that piracy was merely the symptom [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Saudi, French Leaders Call For International Efforts To Protect Shipping
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French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Saudi King Abdullah on Saturday called for international efforts to protect shipping in the Gulf of Aden amid a spate of attacks by Somali pirates. The two leaders also discussed the global financial crisis and Middle East peace, during a brief visit by Sarkozy to Saudi Arabia, the official SPA [...]
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 [...]
