Seafarer death toll mounts as Somali pirates hijack, torture, intimidate & murder

News Release International Transport Federation (ITF) June 20, 2011

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62 seafarers have died in the past four years as a direct result of
piracy in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, through deliberate murder by
pirates, suicide during the period of captivity, death from malnutrition and
disease, death by drowning, or heart failure just after the hijacking. This
shocking figure has prompted the shipping industry’s SOS SaveOurSeafarers
campaign to give even greater emphasis to its worldwide call for government
action to tackle the issue. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
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<o:p> </o:p>
 “During this same period,  over 3,500 seafarers have been kidnapped
and held hostage by pirate gangs, who subject them to traumas such as being used
as human shields, being forced to operate their ship as a pirate mother ship
under pirate control, and to extreme mental as well as physical anguish,”
says Giles Heimann, Chairman of the SOS SaveOurSeafarers
campaign.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
“Hundreds of these seafarers  have been subjected to horrific torture
including being hung by the ankles over the side of the ship, being shut in the
ship’s freezer room, having cable ties tightened round the genitals, being
beaten, punched and kicked. Many of these seafarers remain traumatised and
unable to return to their seafaring careers long after the hijack is over, if at
all.”<o:p></o:p>
   
<o:p></o:p>
Dipendra Rathore, a 22 year-old Indian deck cadet, was
held hostage for 8 months on board the Merida Marguerite. He is just one of the
pirates’ victims.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
“At my age you
can still bear pain … watching people twice my age being tortured, crying and
begging for help is what really measured me. I felt so bad for them but I could
do nothing about it, except for praying ... and then came the time when I lost
faith and stopped praying too.” <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Dipendra has found his faith again, and he is one of
those who refuses to let these thugs win and is determined to go back to sea.
Others may never recover from the psychological damage and will lose their
livelihood rather than go back to sea. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Heimann continues: “It is
terrible, and completely unacceptable, that ordinary people going about their
everyday work should have to encounter such horrors. There are more than 100,000
seafarers at any one time either preparing to go through this area (training and
effecting the so-called ‘hardening’ of the ship with physical defences), or
actually transiting these waters. Taking their families’ feelings into
account, you have
up to half a million people every day gripped by fear due to Somali
piracy.”<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
The
shipping industry continues to recognise and appreciate the constructive and
supportive role played by the naval forces in this area. But their effectiveness is impeded by the lack of political will in many
governments to authorise the arrest and prosecution of detained pirates caught
red handed. This in turn restricts naval/military operations to no more than a
'catch and release' exercise that deters and disrupts the pirates only to a
limited extent. The vast majority of pirates caught are released in this
way. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
These 62 tragic deaths come as a direct consequence of pirate actions,
but it is government inaction that has allowed piracy to spiral out of control
in this area. It’s time to stop this outrage. It’s time for governments to take
action. It’s time for each one of us to stand up for the seafarers who bring us
almost all our daily material needs. 
     <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
The SOS
SaveOurSeafarer campaign is now supported by 24 industry organisations, signifying a unanimous strength of
purpose from all sides of the shipping industry.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
SOS  <A
href="http://www.saveourseafarers.com">www.saveourseafarers.com</A>  allows supporters to specifically ask their Government to
take the necessary steps against the scourge of piracy at sea and ashore
by:<o:p></o:p>
<UL style="MARGIN-TOP: 0in" type=disc>
<LI style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"
class=MsoNormal>reducing the effectiveness of the easily-identifiable
mother ships.<o:p></o:p></LI>
<LI style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"
class=MsoNormal>authorising naval forces to hold pirates and deliver
them for prosecution and punishment. <o:p></o:p></LI>
<LI style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"
class=MsoNormal>increasing naval assets available in this
area.<o:p></o:p></LI>
<LI style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"
class=MsoNormal>providing greater protection and support for
seafarers.<o:p></o:p></LI>
<LI style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1"
class=MsoNormal>tracing and criminalising the organisers and
financiers behind the criminal networks.<o:p></o:p></LI></UL>
<o:p> </o:p>
Just two clicks adds another voice to the campaign to protect our
seafarers who in turn protect shipping routes and provide us with our fuel, food
and clothing. Are we prepared to go without?<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Contacts:<o:p></o:p></DIV><SPAN
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<DIV class=Section2>
Giles Heimann, Chairman, SOS <o:p></o:p>
+44 20 7680 8680 <o:p></o:p>
<A
href="mailto:giles.heimann@imec.org.uk">giles.heimann@imec.org.uk</A><o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Bill Box, Secretary, SOS <o:p></o:p>
+44 207977 7023<o:p></o:p>
<A
href="mailto:bill.box@intertanko.com">bill.box@intertanko.com</A> <o:p></o:p></DIV><SPAN
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<DIV class=Section3>
<o:p> </o:p>
Organisations supporting SOS
SaveOurSeafarers:<o:p></o:p></DIV><SPAN
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<DIV class=Section4>
ASF (Asian Shipowners’ Forum),      
<o:p></o:p>
BIMCO<o:p></o:p>
CEFOR (Nordic Association of Marine Insurers)<o:p></o:p>
DNK (Den Norske Krigsforsikring for Skib)<o:p></o:p>
Gard<o:p></o:p>
GSF (Global Shippers’ Forum)<o:p></o:p>
IMEC (Int’l Maritime Employers' C’ttee)<o:p></o:p>
ICS/ISF (Int’l Chamber of Shpng/Int’l Shpng
Federation)<o:p></o:p>
IMB (Int’l Maritime Bureau)<o:p></o:p>
IMO (Int’l Maritime Organization)<o:p></o:p>
Intercargo (Int’l Assoc’n of Dry Cargo
Shipowners)<o:p></o:p>
INTERTANKO (Int’l Assoc’n of Indep’t Tanker
Owners)<o:p></o:p>
InterManager (Int’l Ship Mgrs’ Assoc’n)<o:p></o:p>
IG (International Group P&I)<o:p></o:p>
IPTA (Int’l Parcel Tanker Assoc’n)<o:p></o:p>
ITF (Int’l Transport Workers’ Federation)<o:p></o:p>
IUMI (Int’l Union of Marine Insurance)<o:p></o:p>
LMA (Lloyd’s Market Assoc’n)<o:p></o:p>
SIGTTO (Society of Int’l Gas Tanker and Terminal Operators)<o:p></o:p>
UGS (Union of Greek Shipowners)<o:p></o:p>
UK Chamber of Shipping<o:p></o:p>
UK P&I Club<o:p></o:p>
WISTA UK (Women's Int’l Shp’g & Trdg Assoc’n)
<o:p></o:p>
WSC (World Shipping Council)<o:p></o:p></DIV><SPAN
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<o:p> </o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
(Information on the number of deaths and associated vessels has been
provided to the SOS Campaign by Compass Risk Management and the International
Maritime Bureau.)<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
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