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Somali pirates hijacked 11 ships with 200 sailors

Thursday, 11 September 2008 The International Maritime Bureau reported Somali pirates hold at least 11 merchant ships with 200 sailors captive as international naval forces fail to secure the main trade route between Asia and Europe
Commodity carriers and chemical tankers are among vessels that have been taken to hideouts and pirate bases along the East African country's coast, Noel Choong, head of the bureau's reporting center in Kuala Lumpur, said by telephone today. The number of ships being held is the most since the IMB began collating pirate-attack data in 1991.



``We are trying to put pressure on the United Nations together with the international community; only they can solve the problem,'' Choong said. ``It's just unbelievable that this is happening.''
Tankers shipping Middle East crude oil to Europe and the U.S. via Egypt's Suez Canal must first sail through the Gulf of Aden, which lies between Somalia and Yemen. MISC Bhd, the world's largest shipper of liquefied natural gas, stopped sailing through the gulf after two of its carriers were hijacked. Freight costs may rise should other owners do the same, as vessels would then sail greater distances on alternative routes.
The frequency of pirate attacks may be growing because owners have little option other than to pay ransoms to recover crews, cargo and ships, Choong said. Somalia, affected by civil war, doesn't have a centralized government with which to tackle the problem.
``If you don't pay pirates then you won't get back your ship and crew and cargo,'' he said. ``If you pay pirates, you are encouraging piracy.''
To quell the attacks, the IMB wants member countries within the UN to ensure more naval ``assets'' are moved to the gulf. There have been at least 50 attacks since January, including 11 hijackings since July 20, Choong said.
While the UN allows naval forces to intercept pirate attacks, there needs to be a more coordinated patrol force in the gulf, he said.