Shipping companies want war against pirates

Guardian:

European shipowners are urging their governments to wage war on Somali pirates and seize vessels by force, the Guardian has learned, amid growing fear that shippers will otherwise avoid the seas off the Horn of Africa altogether - at huge cost to global trade.

A day after the world's biggest shipping company, AP Moller-Maersk, said it would divert some of its fleet from the Suez canal and take the longer route around the Cape of Good Hope, the industry urged stronger action against pirates. Last night, the BBC reported the UN had given the green light to warships to go after vessels.

Alfons Guinier, secretary general of the European Community Shipowners Association, said other companies were thinking of following Maersk's example. But he said that his association, which claims to speak for 41% of the world's merchant fleet, wanted EU governments to go further after the hijacking a week ago of the Saudi supertanker Sirius Star more than 400 miles off the Somalian coast.

"We know there will be more military forces in the area, but let's hope they will go after the pirates and stop this escalation," he said. "We're asking not just for more escorts but for repressive action." The demand comes after the International Maritime Organisation asked the UN security council to sanction dispatch of as many warships and aircraft as possible to "disrupt" pirate operations, secure shipping lanes in the Gulf of Aden, and escort vessels, including those bringing food relief to war-torn Somalia.

The pirate gangs have operated with near impunity for years, but may now also face a confrontation on land.

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As I point out often in this blog, it is on land where the pirates are most vulnerable. Destroy their bases and their boats and they are out of business.

The rerouting of the boats should be of greatest concern to Egypt which can lose a substantial amount of revenue from fees it charges shipping going through the Suez Canal. The Egyptians should be all for taking down the pirates. They may even be willing to supply some of the man power for going after the pirates.

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