Delight at Irene SL release but piracy crisis in Indian Ocean calls for governments to show political will not political indifference.

News Release INTERTANKO London April 8, 2011

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INTERTANKO
(International Association of Independent Tanker Owners)
Friday 8 April
2011
 
Delight
at Irene SL release but piracy crisis in Indian Ocean calls for governments to
show political will not political indifference.
 
INTERTANKO is
delighted that the Irene SL has been released by the Somali pirates who hijacked
this tanker and her 2m barrel oil cargo in February, and that Master, officers
and crew are in good health after 58 days in captivity – especially after 12
days being used as a pirate mothership. 
 
At the time
INTERTANKO’s Managing Director Joe Angelo remarked that the Irene SL hijacking
marked a significant shift in Somali piracy, taking the crisis into the middle
of the main sea lanes coming from the Middle East Gulf. Her crude oil cargo
represented 20% of total U.S. daily crude oil imports, or 5% of total daily
world seaborne oil supply.
 
But further
developments are taking place, and seafarers are today closer than ever before
to saying enough is enough. These latest developments in pirate tactics include
the systematic torture of seafarer hostages, leading in some cases to
execution/murder. The systematic use of pirate motherships means that the Somali
pirates’ outreach now extends right across the Indian Ocean. No ship in this
area is safe from the risk of pirate attack. There is no alternative route any
more for the 17 million barrels of oil a day that come out of the Gulf – 40% of
the world’s oil supplies have to pass through the Indian
Ocean.
 
“The seafarers’ role in keeping world trade flowing in
this area goes largely unrecognised by governments,” says
INTERTANKO’s Chairman Capt Graham Westgarth. “Imagine if a 747 jumbo jet had been hijacked with 400 people onboard
held for millions of dollars in ransom and that hundreds of other planes had
been attacked week in week out over the last year in unsuccessful hijacking
attempts. Would there be government action?”
 
There is
little public outcry and therefore relatively little effort by national
governments around the world to stop Somali pirates. National governments
hold the key to resolving this crisis. But they seem unwilling to face reality
and act, says Westgarth. Their brief to the naval forces has, in most cases,
been simply to deter and disrupt unless it involves a national interest. Even
when caught red handed by naval forces, 80% of pirates are released to attack
again. Why? Because the world’s politicians don’t realise the severity of this
critical situation. How many ships need to be attacked? How many hostages taken,
tortured and killed? How much is enough for national governments to take real
action?
 
Governments might
take note of India’s very recent actions. Three days after the decision by
India’s government to crack down harder on piracy, a pirate mothership was
re-taken by an Indian naval vessel. The hostage crew was released unharmed and
62 pirates were detained and taken to India where they await
trial.
 
The shipping
industry-backed campaign to draw government attention to the crisis that is
Somali piracy (SOS SaveOurSeafarers) is sending letters to heads of government
via the SOS website <A
href="redir.aspx?C=94a1c484d3b44173a5ae653e50a9c3ae&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.saveourseafarers.com%2f"
target=_blank>www.saveourseafarers.com</A>. India is the number one receiver of
the total of 8,500 SOS letters sent so far, with 1,460 letters received to date
by India’s Prime Minister’s Office. We encourage as many as possible to send a
letter to their government – just two clicks will do it.
 
Of course governments
should be engaged in efforts to tackle the root causes of piracy. But this work
may take years to have effect. “In the
meantime piracy is out of control,” says Westgarth. “International trade is threatened. Governments need
to protect the world’s shipping lanes by showing political will, not political
indifference.”</DIV></BODY></HTML>