Marine Log - November 2008 - (Page 62)

BY NICK BLENKEY RAMPANT PIRACY TAKES T he hijacking of the elderly Belizeflagged, Ukrainian-operated RO/RO Faina in the Gulf of Aden on Sept. 25 this year served to draw mass media attention to a situation that has been of increasing concern to shipowners for months now. Hijacking of merchant ships for ransom has become the largest foreign currency earner for the failed state of Somalia. Attacks are occurring with such frequency as to seriously threaten the continued use of the Suez Canal, with many owners choosing to instead route ships between Asia and Europe via the Cape, adding to voyage time, fuel and crew costs and, of course, greenhouse gas emissions. According to figures compiled by Risk Intelligence of Denmark, during September, a total of 374 seafarers were held hostage for some portion of the month— with the largest number held at any one time being 236. As ships are released from captivity on payment of ransom, more ships are captured to replace them. The unclassiMARINE LOG NOVEMBER 2008 fied NATO Piracy Map shown on page 69 gives a snapshot of the situation as of the middle of last month. Clearly, then, the Faina hijacking was no isolated incident. What focused media attention, and resulted in the ship being surrounded by a half dozen U.S. warships was its cargo. It included with 33 Soviet-era T-72 tanks, weapons that including rocket-propelled grenades and anti-aircraft guns and ammunition. Purportedly, the tanks were intended for the Government of Kenya, though according to Kenyan media, this came as news to sources in the Kenyan army who did not know that their old British tanks were to be replaced by old Russian tanks. The BBC got access to documentation showing that the tanks were actually consigned to “GOSS.” Usually, that stands for the Government of South Sudan. Kenya, though, said it referred to its “General Ordnance Supply and Security” department (though the Kenyan media could find nobody who had ever heard of it before). But, whoever they’re for, the tanks have the potential for causing a lot of trouble, which is why so many Navy ships have been baby sitting the unfortunate Faina. The Faina’s crew (at the time of capture) consisted of 17 Ukrainians, three Russians and one Latvian, including a 14-year-old boy. On Sept. 28, the ship’s Russian captain was reported to have died from a hypertension-related stroke. At press time, the Faina was still surrounded. There were reports that the crew was running short of food and that their relatives had been raising money to ransom them. Initially, there were reports that the pirates had been asking $35 million for the ship, this later came down to a reported $20 million, then $8 million. These amounts are substantially more than the pirates have previously sought. According to David Dearsley, Secretary General of the International Marine Employers Committee, around 11 ships have been released this year, apparently after payment of ransoms, www.marinelog.com 62 http://www.marinelog.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Marine Log - November 2008

Marine Log - November 2008 Contents Editorial Second Thoughts Update Inside Washington Looking Back at 130 Years Generation NeXt What's Ahead? Media Kit 2009 Defying the Naysayers Rampant Piracy Takes Shipping Hostage The Last Chapter of the New Carissa International Workboat Show Preview Newsmakers Tech News Contracts Events Website Directory ML Buyer's Guide ML Marketplace Marine Salvage

Marine Log - November 2008

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