Dubai: With piracy off the Horn of Africa and the Gulf of Aden reaching "intolerable" levels, senior executives of the Middle East maritime sector are to debate the challenges for ship operators at a special industry seminar this month.
"There have been nearly 100 hijackings, attempted or successful, and around 300 seamen are being held by pirates, making the waters off Somalia the most dangerous in the world," said Christopher Hayman, Chairman of Seatrade, organisers of Seatrade Middle East Maritime 2008 - the region's leading maritime event (14-16 December 2008). "The level of hijackings has clearly reached an intolerable level and we have introduced the special seminar on the second day of this year's event to examine the enormous challenge which piracy now represents for ship operators in the region. In particular, we will be addressing the risk of injury to crew, the damage or loss of vessels or cargo as well as loss of earnings," Hayman added. Seatrade Middle East Maritime at Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre is under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai. Among the estimated 300 seamen currently being held by Somali pirates are the 25 crew of the Saudi Arabian-owned supertanker Sirius Star, the largest ship taken by pirates. The Seatrade Middle East Maritime exhibition and conference, held every two years in Dubai, has evolved into one of the world's fastest-growing maritime events and now ranks among the industry's top 10 largest.
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