The SaveOurSeafarers campaign applauds yesterday's EUNAVFOR airborne operation to destroy pirate equipment on the Somali coastline. This disruptive action against known pirate supply bases on the shore will disrupt Somali pirates' efforts to launch attacks on merchant ships, dhows and fishing vessels.
SOS Chairnan Alastair Evitt says, "This EUNAVFOR action is an extension of what we have been pressing governments for over tougher and more proactive rules of engagement in respect of the catch and release of suspected pirates, and in respect of pirate mother ships whose activities have allowed the Somali pirates to extend their reach right across the Indian Ocean towards the Indian coast and up to the entrance to the oil-rich Arabian Gulf."
The positive news of these attacks on Somali pirates' beach stores coincides with last week's hijacking of the Greek-owned suezmax tanker Smyrni, and with talk of governments cutting back naval forces and obstructing ransom payments. This negative sentiment has once again made people think about what the consequences would be if seafarers and shipowners were to restrict trade through these dangerous waters.
The spectre looms of the recent fuel crisis that gripped the UK, providing a glimpse of what could happen at any time, anywhere in the world, if Somali piracy in the Gulf and Indian Ocean is allowed to escalate out of control leading to ship owners and crews refusing to cross these dangerous areas altogether." |
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Source: transportweekly
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