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SHIPTALK'S NEWSLETTER TO A FRIEND
Dear Readers,
In light of the escalating threat to shipping posed by piracy, Shiptalk feels the time is right to produce a special news feature on piracy.
Not only has there been a rise in the number of reported piracy attacks on shipping during 2005, in certain areas of the world attacks have been growing in frequency, ferocity and violence. Off the coast of Somalia , piratical activity has hit such a level that it might be best referred to as an epidemic.
If that was not enough of a concern, piracy has sprung up in areas where hitherto there had been none, Iraq being the notable example.
Many ships and their crews are gripped by the real and present danger of piratical attack and urgent steps are needed to stem the tide of fear and damage that it is spreading throughout the shipping industry.
Ships and their crews can only do so much to protect themselves. They need international support from Flag States and from the IMO. Calls for UN-sponsored naval assistance should not been ruled out.
In this first ever Shiptalk Special we examine some of the issu es facing governments, shipowners and seafarers. We look at the changes in the nature and frequency of attacks, measures to tackle the problem and also some of the concerns facing the men and women on the frontline.
Shiptalk.com……reading you loud and clear
WHAT'S GOING ON
We within the maritime industry are only too aware of the risk posed by piracy. Modern seafarers are all too familiar with the threat of piracy as they steam night-after-night through shadowy sea lanes staring out into the dark waters, hoping that no-one is staring back at them.
Piracy is an ancient and established threat to ships, people and cargoes. While its form and nature has ebbed and flowed with the tides of history, over the last decade a new battleground seems to have emerged each year as some form of piracy has manifested itself in most areas of the world.
In the first nine months of 2005, there were 205 reported pirate attacks worldwide. In 2004 30 crew members were killed by pirates, 9 more than lost their lives to piracy in 2003.
The waters off Somalia are by no means the only area to suffer terribly from piracy. However, the extent to which Somalia has revealed itself as a hot-bed of piratical and maritime criminal activity has captured not only the attention of the shipping community, but also governments and crucially the world’s media.
As readers of Shiptalk know, during 2005 the waters off the coast of Somalia emerged as the newest most serious area of threat due to piracy.
The Horn of Africa, as the region is otherwise known, sits at a cross roads for global trade routes along which key commodities such as oil, grains and iron ore are shipped. Somalia has a massive coastline and one that is a haven clearly bulging with criminals and renegade militia, all willing pirates and hostage takers. In certain circles this much has been known for a long time and there have been sporadic incidents over the years. However, what is still a matter for conjecture is what sparked off last year’s glut of attacks.
One plausible answer is that following the hijacking of the WFP-chartered coaster “SEMLOW”, the Somali warlords recognised the potential for bigger gains and set about actively targeting the shipping lanes. As a war-torn realm that has dissolved into anarchy on various occasions, the warlords know that there is little, if anything, that will inhibit their activities in this area.
Another reason behind the increase in attacks is the theory that the warlords are using money raised out of ransoms to fund arms purchases. It is thought possible that the increase in piracy is an indication that various warlords are readying themselves for a possible civil war against the transitional Somali government which was set up in 2000.
Whatever the cause, armed and aggressive piracy is now a very significant problem in the region.
In an interview with the Indian newspaper The Rediff, Capt. Jayant Abhyankar, the Assistant Director of the IMB stated that Somali waters are the most dangerous area in the world for ships to operate in at present.
He said.
“It's pretty nasty because ships get hijacked and pirates demand a large amount of money and owners are supposed to pay that”.
Over the course of 2005, there have been upward of some 40 attacks and attempted attacks on shipping transiting north and south off the coast of Somalia . The range of vessels attacked is inclusive of gas carriers, bulk carriers, cruise ships and fishing vessels, as well as general cargo vessels and tankers. Ships carrying United Nations World Food Programme aid cargoes bound for thousands of starving Somalis starving population have even been targeted. All in all over 100 seafarers and 9 ships have been hijacked for the purposes of extorting a ransom from their owners.
At the beginning of 2005, the advice being given by maritime authorities and the IMB was to keep a certain distance from the coast. The advised distance has increased month on month as the pirates have proved resourceful in reaching ever further off-shore into international waters to snare their prey.
It is now commonly accepted that the piracy gangs are using one or more “mother ships” to launch small flotillas of speedboats, armed with grenade launchers and semi-automatic rifles. Toward the end of 2005, there were increasing r eports of such a “mother ship” being a t the centre of a spate of attacks.
In 2005 a UN Spokesman said, "We understand that this is the vessel that is launching the speedboats that go to attack victims," and stressed that they, "are still trying to discover the name of this ship, its owner, its nationality and the identity of the crew on board."
According to maritime intelligence and security experts at Gray Page the piracy gangs are well organised and posses the technological capability to track vessels in the region. This may include the use of radio direction finders and RADAR. However, Gray Page also say that in a number of cases there is evidence of insider knowledge as to the vessel’s planned route, cargo and position. Other tactics that have been employed successfully by the piracy gangs is the use of fake distress calls and flares to draw in unsuspecting vessels who believe they are diverting to the assistance of another ship.
Once they have their target vessel in sight, Gray Page says that the prevailing modus operandi of the piratical gangs has been one of uncomplicated thuggery. The pirates capture their target vessel and crew by raining gunfire and grenades at the bridge windows and accommodation to make the vessel slow down, before they board. The vessel is then sailed to an inshore position, where the crews are held hostage. Ransoms of hundreds of thousands of pounds have then been extorted from the vessels’ owners.
In the majority of cases when the ransom is received the ship, cargo and crew are released, though often not before there have been several rounds of brinkmanship and revised demands.
In the absence of an effective government and a legitimate law enforcement infrastructure in Somalia , only the international community can take active steps to police the international waters off the Somali coast. Without pro-active measures, such as naval patrols and ariel surveillance, merchant shipping will continue to be under extreme threat of attack from the pirates and shipowners left to their own devices in providing security for their crews and vessels.
It is only at times like these that the world at large takes note of the plight of merchant ships and their crews, but even after multiple other attacks it took an assault on a cruise ship to give global public exposure to the issue.
Sadly it seems that few really care when a cargo ship is attacked, or fishing vessel, but throw a large white, sleek cruise ship packed with rich, famous and successful holidaymakers into the equation then you have a recipe for front page news the world over.
So the considerable media coverage given over to Somali piracy might be called “the Seabourn stimulus”. We can only hope that this rude awakening motivates meaningful efforts to tackle piracy. Efforts that will not just apply to the Somali problem, but that will combat maritime piracy in all its forms, wherever it is prevalent.
The time is right for shipping’s international governing bodies, regulators as well as other stakeholders to drive their efforts harder to stamp out piracy once and for all. There must be better co-operation, increased investment and legislative changes that will really bring these and all maritime criminals to justice.
The risk of capture must be vastly increased and more effective sanctions and penalties must befall anyone caught in the act of, or of aiding pirates if it is to be an effective deterrent.
Now is the time for action. The momentum that has been developed as a result of global media and governmental interest in this issue must not be wasted.
Security is regarded as a key component within Cruise Ship Design and, accordingly, an entire session within Cruise Ship Interiors & Systems Expo ’06 Conference has been devoted to the subject, which will be explored from external threat (piracy), to embarkation/disembarkation and internal security. The keynote speech on external threat will be delivered by Geoff Greaves a leading international maritime security expert.
Cruise Ship Interiors & Systems Exhibition
and Conference
Montjuic, Fira Barcelona , Spain , Jan 31st- Feb 2 nd 2006
The exhibition, the world’s first of its kind, is managed by
T rans O ceanic P ress, publisher of Cruise Ship Interiors & Systems
International Magazine, the world’s leading published source of
information concerning the latest trends and developments in cruise ship
and passenger ferry systems & interior design. The Exhibition is
supported by an in-depth three day conference and includes talks from
many of the Cruise industry’s leading figures.
About Geoff Greaves.
Major (Retd) Geoffrey H. Greaves served for 29 years in the Intelligence
Corps of the British Army, culminating in three years as Senior
Instructor in Strategic Studies and Attaché Wing of the Defence
Intelligence and Security School , Ashford, with particular responsibility
for the training of International Arms Control Personnel and Service
Attaches. He was also the Security Officer for the establishment. Throughout
his service he held a variety of Intelligence and Security appointments
He joined International Maritime Security (IMS) as an independent
consultant in 1996 and since then has carried out more than two hundred
Annual Security Surveys/Assessments of cruise ships, ferries and cargo
vessels, to ensure compliance with International Maritime Security Legislation,
in particular that of the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom
and since December 2002, SOLAS Ch. X-1 & 2 and the ISPS Code. He
assumed the appointment of General Manager at IMS on 1 January 2000 ,
with total responsibility for the operation of the company.
About IMS
International Maritime Security (IMS) has become the world's leading
expert in the provision and implementation of the International Ship
and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code. Since 1986, IMS has been retained
as security consultants by over 500 maritime companies, and in 1996 was
commissioned by the International Council of Cruise Lines (ICCL) to prepare
the model generic Ship Security Plan (SSP) for all its members.
The US Marine Safety Centre accepted this SSP as meeting in full the provisions of the US Coast Guard Federal Register Regulations. IMS has been appointed as a Recognised Security Organisation (RSO) by the Governments of Ghana, Greenland , Greece , Antigua & Barbuda , Norway , Malta , Ireland , Morocco , Latvia , Denmark , Turkey , Saudi Arabia , Algeria and Mauritania to carry out their Port Facility Security Assessments and Security Plans.
For further information regarding the Exhibition & Conference, please contact Peter English at the location listed below or visit the website.
Tel: +44 (0) 1903 212131
Fax:+44 (0) 1903 212233
Email: info@cruiseshipinteriors.co.uk
Web: www.cruiseshipinteriors.co.uk
T rans O ceanic P ress Ltd
8, High Street, Worthing ,
West Sussex ,
BN11 1NU UK
Modern pirates do not receive the good PR of their predecessors – the glamour having long since dulled, but the actions of the pirates in Somalia have far outstripped the evils done by pirates anywhere at any time.
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has issued a stark warning that the spate of ship hijackings is restricting delivery of urgently needed food aid, posing a serious threat to the health of 640,000 people in the drought-stricken country .
WFP Country Director Zlatan Milisic said, "the worsening humanitarian situation in southern Somalia is of deep concern to us and to our UN and NGO partners, especially with insecurity on the high seas hampering relief efforts”. He went on to say, "We may have to step up our deliveries of food aid, which will be extremely difficult under present circumstances."
Given the insecurity off the coast, the WFP are now understood to be exploring alternative transport routes, including overland from Kenya and via Djibouti , to reach those in desperate need of food assistance.
Malnutrition rates in southern Somalia are unacceptably high, reaching 20 per cent in some areas. Drought is a major threat to Somalis living away from rivers in Lower and Middle Juba and Gedo, where poor and patchy rainfall during the second rainy season in October and November are compounding an already desperate situation after the first rains failed earlier in the year.
Despite the hijackings, WFP's operations have continued, with 1,555 metric tonnes of food reaching nearly 150,000 people in Jilib and Buale districts at the height of the piracy attacks, and a further 830 tons set to be distributed to 78,000 beneficiaries in Sakow district.
WFP still requires 11,000 tons of food aid contributions from donors to provide sufficient assistance to those severely affected by food shortages throughout the country until mid-2006.
Pirates have often been held up as folk heroes, but these Somali villains are threatening the lives of thousands of the fellow countrymen – there can be no virtue in that and no excuses whatever their desire for money.
As a neighbour of Somalia , Kenya has been forced to respond to the breakdown of law and order off its coast.
In an attempt to stem this tide of lawlessness The Kenya Ports Authority ( KPA ) in conjunction with the Kenya Navy and the Kenya Police have announced stringent security measures to ensure that all ships, and in particular cruise ships plying the Kenyan coastline waters, are safe.
The move was prompted by the number of Kenyan vessels that have been attacked and held to ransom off Somalia , and also as a means of assuring the lucrative cruise ship market that Kenya is still a safe destination. Cruise passengers are an increasing source of revenue into Kenya and the government have decided that action is vital to secure the influx of tourist money.
Among the security measures to be put in place are a radar station operated by the Kenyan Navy on the coastline, this will be able to use AIS to identify ships in the vicinity, or will be able to raise an alert concerning any vessels that do not have their AIS equipment operable. The station will be in constant communication with port control stations, and can call on support from a high-speed police launch, with a cruising speed of 30kts and a range of 200NM.
COUNTER MEASURES
Of all the stories generated by the attack on the “Seabourn Spirit” one has caused a real stir at Shiptalk HQ.
We were especially interested in the “sonic weapon” that the vessel deployed in an effort to keep the pirates at bay.
Newspapers the world over leapt on this new, awesome weapon. Like a gadget from science fiction they drooled over it…”the sonic gun”, the “acoustic bomb”, the “sound sabre” were just some of the headlines. But what exactly was this wonderful device that has such a debilitating effect on the pursuing pirates?
The “Seabourn Spirit” is fitted with a Long Range Sonic Device (LRAD) gun, produced by American Technology Corp. in San Diego , USA .
The Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) is, according to the manufacturers, “a long-range hailing and warning device designed to communicate with authority, affect behaviour and to determine intent”.
The device was initially developed by the US military, and has seen action in Iraq as a means of controlling demonstrations. The LRAD emits sounds up to an ear-splitting 150 decibels – which, according to the US based “Noise Centre” at the League for the Hard of Hearing , is as loud as a jet engine taking off or artillery fire at 500 feet.
The manufacturers say that, “If your ears were exposed to this, it would be like getting a whole rock concert in a few seconds, and you would want to get away from it if you were in the way,” they added that those who attempted to stay in the LRAD’s path would need “the fortitude to keep their hand over a hot stove”.
There are some that voice concerns about the use of LRAD ashore, as they are becoming increasingly used by police and armed forces the world over – the New York police department are understood to have a number of the devices and deployed it for the first time back in 2004 at the Republican Party conference to control potential demonstrators.
It is perhaps likely that lawsuits will follow LRAD use on land as some protesters will no doubt suffer hearing damage as a result of exposure. However in this maritime context they seem to be an effective way for keeping attackers at bay. A number of cruise lines already have the technology fitted, but in the wake of this high-profile incident it is believed that many more will purchase the equipment.
The LRAD operates in a 15° - 30° beam at distances over 300 meters, and delivers its incredible sound blast using only two amps of power. The equipment can also be configured to provide live, continuously recorded video and audio from a remotely controlled position, and even can communicate in various languages via the built in MP3 player or Phraselator – a device that translates typed text into voice commands in a range of languages.
At last it seems that ships might have more than just their fire hoses to fight back with.
The unprecedented increase in the number of serious attacks off Somalia , have led to a call to action from the International Maritime Bureau (IMB).
Captain Pottengal Mukundan, Director of the IMB has said that “these attacks take place in international waters, perpetrated by pirate gangs seeking a lucrative source of revenue with minimal risk to themselves and we call upon the naval vessels in the region to come to the assistance of the hijacked ships.
At the very least, they can prevent the hijackers from taking these ships into Somali waters. Once the vessels have entered these waters the chances of any law enforcement response is negligible. There is no national law enforcement infrastructure in Somalia .
These waters have become a pirate’s charter and unless the international community takes action against these criminals, vessels passing this coast face considerable danger. ”
The IMB added that luckily there have been no killings in this spate of attacks and hostage taking, but deaths can quite easily occur and surely the first casualty cannot be far away if the situation continues unchecked. The time for action is now.
Right time, wrong place – armed forces
In light of the call to arms by the IMB and others, it is reassuring to note that the US Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 1 are currently leading a group of six coalition ships conducting maritime security operations.
The strike group’s flagship, “USS Tarawa” and the amphibious transport dock “USS Cleveland” are joined by the guided-missile destroyer “USS Oscar Austin”, The French ships “Var” and “Lafayette”, and the Pakistani frigate “Badr”. So far, so good.
The disappointing and frustrating thing is that they are well away from Somalia , the Malacca Straits and other pirate hot-spots and are conducting their war games in the North Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman .
Assisted by coalition maritime patrol aircraft, SH-60B Seahawk helicopters, and the Scan Eagle unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the ships apparently seek to set “the conditions for security and stability in the maritime environment by monitoring maritime traffic, performing routine queries of vessels, and conducting Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS) operations when warranted”.
All well and good – but it wouldn’t hurt to have a few of them sitting off the Horn of Africa!
For more news from around the fleet, visit www.navy.mil
The growth in hijackings and the worrying rise in the use of holding hostages for ransom has seen the UN and the International Maritime Organization ( IMO ) call for secrecy in dealing with the perpetrators.
They are demanding that information on ships and crews who are detained by pirates in Somalia should to be kept out of the public domain, with only ship owners and flag State party to the negotiations.
The UN warning is seen as aimed at seeking a secretive way of handling negotiations to free the ships and their crew. The co-ordinator of the Seafarers Assistance Programme, Mr Andrew Mwangura, a frequent commentator on the recent hijackings off Somalia said: "The UN wants that the authorities to be contacted in the hijacking saga are the ships’ owners or the embassies of countries concerned."
It is important to recognise that in a fractured state, such as Somalia , with no formal government or law enforcement, there are inevitably many parties who all become involved as the negotiations continue. Cargo interests, the ship owners and the crews’ family and unions all become embroiled and the UN feel that this only aggravates such delicate situations.
While Shiptalk appreciates the UN concerns, we feel that information regarding such a threat to seafarers is not buried. We agree that the negotiations should be conducted through one focal point, but we do not wish to see a news clampdown on the Somali pirate activity. The only way to see action on piracy is if it remains in the public eye and if all can see just how much of a risk to shipping it really is.
We want to see piracy under the full and sustained glare of the media and of public opinion, and we want governments the world over to take the strong and decisive action necessary to stamp it out!
Some of the world's leading shipping bodies have called on the International Maritime Organization and the U.N. Security Council to urgently address the piracy issue.
In a joint letter to IMO 's Secretary General, Mr. Efthimios Mitropoulos, BIMCO, the ICS, Intertanko and Intercargo have reiterated the concerns of the global shipping industry about the increasing incidences of violent attacks against ships and their crews.
The letter calls for action to be taken at the highest diplomatic level, and expresses appreciation of the IMO ’s approach on the issue made to the UN Secretary General.
While the Round Table’s principal concern is for the safety of seafarers and passengers, it is felt that the attacks against shipping off Somalia also have direct implications for the security of the world’s transport supply chain, a matter of great concern to IMO .
The letter also points out that the widespread and successful implementation by shipping companies of the ISPS Code demands a “concomitant obligation” from governments to take all possible steps to protect international shipping from attacks on the high seas.
Shiptalk believes that shipping has made enormous strides over the past two years to improve security, and as such deserves recognition and support from international governments, or it will have all been for nought.
Late last year, and as possible prelude to action on the area, the U.N. Security Council scolded Somalia's government and urged rival factions to come together to confront the chaos and piracy plaguing the lawless nation.
The council expressed "serious concern" about the wave of pirate attacks off the coast and called on regional powers and international bodies to address the problem urgently.
Let’s hope that this is a prelude to action, and that calls for a coalition navy presence in the area may be just about to be answered…not before time.
WELL MEANING ADVICE
Following the advice issued by the International Maritime Bureau to keep away from Somalia ...as far away as possible. The US Office of Naval Intelligence has issued its own advice to US shipping interests in the vicinity of Somalia .
The advice states that in the light of the increasing number of attacks in the region, and also the increasing range of the pirates seaward, out to 170 NM. All vessels are advised to stay at least 200 NM from the East Coast of Somalia.
All vessels in the region, no matter how far off shore should increase their anti-piracy provisions and should adopt a heightened state of vigilance.
It is becoming increasingly apparent that the pirates are using other vessels as bases from which to launch attacks. Another reported tactic has been to initiate a distress alert in order to attract ships closer inshore before attacking.
Vessels are being faced with launches carrying heavily armed assailants, with Ak-47 assault rifles and rocket propelled grenades, trying to intimidate vessels into stopping.
To date vessels that have increased speed and initiated evasive action have avoided boarding, while those that slow have been boarded.
For further information contact the Maritime Administration Office by telephone, on 202-366-5735, or by email at OPCENTR1@DOT. GOV
The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has issued a Marine Guidance Note MGN 298 (M) recommending measures to counter piracy, armed robbery, and other acts of violence against merchant shipping.
The MGN aims to assist all ship owners and operators (companies), Masters and seafarers in understanding the risk of piracy, armed robbery and other acts of violence against ships, and reminds them of the importance of taking action to deter such acts and advises on how to deal with them if they occur.
Key points are:
• Be vigilant
• Reduce opportunities for theft
• Secure Restricted Areas at all times and establish safe secure area(s)
• Maintain, exercise and regularly review your Ship Counter-piracy Plan
• Report all incidents to the coastal and flag State authorities
For access to the full MGN visit MGN 298
LEGAL
Piracy? What does the law say?
So the attack on the “Seabourn Spirit” was piracy, but what of attacks inside territorial waters? Are these also acts of piracy?
A definition was laid down within the 1958 Geneva Convention on the High Seas (Article 15), which also makes up Article 101 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the sea (UNCLOS) 1982 and declares piracy a criminal act.
The IMO follows UNCLOS, Article 101 definition, which contains five elements:
- Piracy must involve a criminal act of violence, detention, or depredation.
- Piracy is committed on the high seas or in a place outside the jurisdiction of any state.
- The “two-ship rule”. Pirates need to use a ship to attack another ship, (which excludes mutiny and barratry).
- Piracy needs to be committed for private ends, (which excludes the acts of terrorists or environmental activists).
- Piracy must be committed by the crew or passengers of a privately owned vessel, (which excludes attacks by naval craft).
Put simply, attacks inside territorial water are not piracy, while those outside are! Restricting piracy to the high seas means that an alternative term has to be created for attacks against ships within territorial waters. Though that may be of little consolation to those attacked.
Despite the move by Somali pirates further out to sea, IMO statistics, based on reports received from member states, show that most attacks actually take place within territorial waters, or while the ship is at anchor or on a berth.
So the majority of pirate attacks are not actually “piracy” due to them occurring within territorial waters. This causes an immediate problem in both quantifying and then fighting piracy. Confusion abounds and this can slow the process of fighting piracy and then of dealing with the perpetrators.
To attempt to counter this the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), has adopted the following definition for acts of piracy:
“An act of boarding or attempting to board any ship with the intent to commit theft or any other crime and with the intent or capability to use force in the furtherance of that act”.
This definition thus covers actual or attempted attacks whether the ship is berthed, at anchor, or at sea. Petty thefts are excluded, unless the thieves are armed.
However this definition is not without its problems, and as such a common criminal armed with a knife and boarding the Mersey Ferry becomes a de jure pirate (even a pickpocket intent on stealing an old lady’s purse).
Also The IMB definition does not require that the act of piracy be committed for private ends, so attacks on a ship for political or environmental reasons would qualify as piracy. In the 1999 IMB publication “An overview on piracy problems - A global update”, according to the IMB definition The “Achille Lauro” incident, in which the cruise vessel was boarded by terrorists in 1985, is thus piracy. Even naval attacks in certain circumstances could conceivably be deemed to be piracy.
The above article contains extracts from the upcoming Nautical Institute 2006 publication “Security at Sea”, by Steven Jones.
Shiptalk believe that formal adoption of the IMB definition would lead to a leap in the number of acts of “piracy” actually reported. This may initially prompt action from governments, the industry, unions and law enforcement agencies, but the emergence of spurious claims could lead to a loss of interest in piracy from the very same bodies. It is obviously a complex balancing act…
INSURANCE
CrewSEACURE – Marine kidnap for ransom insurance
CrewSEACURE – shipowning
community to be provided with insurance protection against maritime
kidnap for ransom incidents
Seacurus Ltd and Cooper Gay & Co Ltd have announced the launch of CrewSEACURE,
a new marine Kidnap for Ransom insurance policy.
CrewSEACURE has been developed in response to the escalating number of armed attacks against vessels resulting in the taking of crews and passengers as hostages and extorting ransoms for their release.
The insurance policy provides shipowners with the immediate support of specialists in kidnap for ransom negotiation and maritime risk management.
In addition, all prospective assureds will receive access to expert advice, before and after inception of the policy, on counter-piracy measures and contingency planning arrangements to reduce their potential exposure to piratical attacks.
Capt. Thomas Brown, Managing Director of Seacurus, commented:
“Arguments over the pros and cons of the availability of this type of insurance coverage are well known. However, shipowners have the right to protect themselves and their crews against the devastating effects of such attacks. CrewSEACURE is intended to provide this protection and reimburse the shipowner for the costs incurred as a result of a maritime K&R incident.”
CrewSEACURE is the name given to the Seacurus / Cooper Gay marine Kidnap & Ransom policy which is underwritten by Lloyd’s of London underwriters. Further details of the coverage provided by CrewSEACURE can be found at www.seacurus.com .
Much has been made in the maritime press recently as a serious rift has opened between shipowners and underwriters as the battle over piracy and the continuing attempts by insurers to merge piracy and war definitions.
The conflict was sparked when the Malacca Strait was declared a recommended ‘war risk’ zone in mid-2005. This followed the assessment of the London joint hull and joint war committees, and led to a series of wordings allowing underwriters to bring piracy into war clauses.
Supporters of the decision claim that this brings the London market in line with overseas markets and introduces more clarity, but they recognised the major impact on owners, as Lloyd’s writes the majority of marine war cover.
Under clauses drawn up by Lloyd’s Market Association, piracy will be categorised as a separate war peril. Piracy had traditionally been a peril like any other within a basic marine package policy, since the advent of the Marine Insurance Act of 1906. Now this could all change and owners will be faced with the concern of viewing piracy in a new way.
Those critical of the move see that shifting
piracy to war policies gives an easy pretext for underwriters to charge
for something that hitherto has been included in most hull policies without
additional charge.
As such ship owners, especially those across Asia , fear the recommendations
will end up adding to their insurance bills, as war policies allow for additional
premiums on voyages touching specific zones, including, most recently and controversially,
the Malacca Strait.
A spokesman for the International Chamber of Shipping said shipowners had every
interest in resisting the move, as they were certain there would be no benefit
back to the shipowner for removing the risk from the hull policy.
Much of this discussion and the moves to reclassify piracy stem from
the legal confusion surrounding pirates as we discussed in the article “Piracy?
What does the law say?” If a consensus were to be agreed between the
IMO and IMB definitions then this argument could become academic.
The reality of a shift of piracy into a war risk does not impact solely upon the owners and insurers; any decision to remove piracy from hull policies could have an enormous impact on seafarers too.
Whereas in the past seafarers have been exposed to the dangers of the Malacca Straits, Nigerian anchorages and now the Somali Coast with no recourse to financial or insurance mechanisms this could now change as seafarers may be able to start negotiations for the payment of war bonuses and/or danger money –and may in extreme cases refuse to enter these areas.
There could also be growth in insurance on offer to seafarers – such as the CrewSEACURE ”kidnap for ransom policies” as offered by Seacurus Ltd.
The UK maritime union Numast has already spoken out and claimed that the waters off Somalia should be declared a war zone. “It’s got to the stage where it’s anarchy,” they said.
We hope you found this Shiptalk Special of interest. If you would like to add anything to the piracy debate, if you require any additional information on any of the points raised or if you have any comments please email newsroom@shiptalk.com
Alternatively you may like to add your contribution to the Shiptalk Piracy Forum
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