PIRACY, A SIGNIFICANT THREAT TO SHIPPING.

PIRATES, STILL POSE A SIGNIFICANT THREAT TO SHIPPING.

‘Pirates attack vessels to take control of the vessel itself or to kidnap the crew and ask for ransoms.’

A total of 406 incidents of piracy and armed robbery have been reported in the 2009 annual piracy report issued by the icc international maritime bureau’s piracy reporting centre (imb prc).

The total number of attacks reported to the imb’s piracy reporting centre (prc), the first nine months this year (2010), is 289.

Somali pirates intensified attacks away from their own coast and were responsible for 44% of the 289 piracy incidents on the world’s seas in the first nine months of 2010, according to a report published by the International Chamber of Commerce International Maritime Bureau (IMB).

The IMB Piracy Reporting Centre’s worldwide figures show that in the past nine months pirates boarded 128 ships and fired at 52.  A total of 70 vessels reported thwarting attacks.  Pirates used guns in 137 incidents and knives in 66, killing one crew member, injuring 27 and taking 773 hostages.

Globally, the number of vessels hijacked was higher than the 34 recorded in the same period last year, despite a slight fall in the number of piracy incidents, down from 306 in the first nine months of 2009.

Pirates attack vessels to take control of the vessel itself or to kidnap the crew and ask for ransoms.

Ransom demands for a ship’s crew average usd 1m with the largest over usd5m settled.

To date over usd 30m have been paid in ransom monies.

In the Gulf of Aden attacks were greatly reduced, with only 44 reported this year compared with 100 for the same period of 2009.  The monsoon weather that had been deterring piracy further out to sea ended in mid-September, opening the way for renewed attacks, warned IMB.

A new area of increased piracy is the South China Sea, which suffered 30 piracy attempts in the last nine months, resulting in 21 successful boardings. This is triple the number of incidents reported in the same period last year. 

RED ZONE AREAS

gulf of aden, lagos, dar es salaam mogadishu, somalia,  port of monrovia, liberia, hanish al kubra island, southern red sea, off oman coast, arabian sea, indonesia, bangladesh, malacca straits, south china sea, malaysia, philippines, vietnam, singapore straits, South China.

-MARASCO MARINE LTD  AND WHAT COVERAGE THERE IS FOR YOU?FOR WE C

- You will be covered for the following events:

-hijack of vessel with demand for ransom in exchange for release of crew, cargo or          ship.

-loss, seizure or destruction of a ransom during delivery

-covered losses

-ransom payment

-ransom payment lost, seized or destroyed

-additional expenses including, but not limited to:

--legal fees

--fuel costs

--cost associated with delivery of ransom

--port fees

 Statistical information was gathered from IMB, ICC and various insurance gazettes.

I wold be delighted to share your comments and thoughts on the subject of mdern piracy as a threat to the shipping industry and the lives of inocent crew members.

Anastasios Maraslis

President/Marine Insurance Broker, Since 1983.

http://www.marasco-marine.com/
info@marasco-marine.com