Ship owners and governments confront piracy crisis

The Somali pirates in control of the Saudi supertanker Sirius Star become frustrated in negotiations over their ransom demands.

They pump 50,000 gallons of crude oil into the water - a tiny fraction of the tanker's load - and they threaten to leave the pumps running until their demands for $15 million are met. To reinforce their message, they toss a crew member over the side, and he drowns in the oily muck. This kind of nightmare scenario - horrifying but plausible - has shipowners, insurers, seafarers and naval officers in something of a panic, given a sharp increase in ever-more brazen pirate attacks. In the Gulf of Aden alone, the huge expanse of water between Kenya and Somalia, 14 ships are currently being held for ransom, including the Sirius Star and a Ukrainian ship, the Faina, with 32 battle tanks aboard. Rumors are swirling in the region that both ships could soon be released. hip owners and governments are desperately seeking successful countermeasures to address what has clearly become a crisis situation. On Monday, the European Union began a yearlong naval operation in the pirate-infested gulf, the EU's first maritime mission ever. Eight countries are participating in the new flotilla, code-named Operation Atalanta (www.mschoa.eu), which will be backed up with three airplanes. Ground-based personnel are at Northwood Headquarters in Britain.Javier Solana, the EU foreign policy chief, said the mission would have "robust rules of engagement" while coordinating with other navies already operating in the region, including those of the United States, India and Russia. Earlier this week the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution allowing navies to breach the 20-kilometer, or 12-mile, territorial limit and enter Somali waters in pursuit of pirates.In the gulf this year 102 ships have been attacked and 40 have been hijacked. With 21,000 ships passing through the region each year and only a handful of international navies to run interference, the risk-to-reward ratio for impoverished Somalis has been unbeatable.
Read More