Tuesday, September 6, 2011

LIBERIAN-REGISTERED SHIP RELEASED AFTER PAYMENT OF US$7 MILLION RANSOM

Unnamed Somalian pirates freed the Liberian-flagged container ship, MV Panama (which was hijacked on the high seas in December 2010 earlier today) after receiving a ransom payment of US$7 million. The vessel was hijacked on December 10 en route from Tanzania to Mozambique with a crew of 23 from Myanmar.

COMMENT: Somalian piracy is estimated to cost the world economy billions of dollars a year and international navies struggle to combat the menace, especially in the Indian Ocean due to the vast distances involved. The shipping industry has warned that seaborne pirates pose an increasing threat to vital sea lanes. The pirates are becoming increasingly violent and are able to stay out at sea for long periods using captured merchant vessels as mother ships.

I continue to be perplexed as to why shipping operators/owners continue to permit their vessels to be hijacked and their crews victimized and tormented when there are cost effective and practical solutions readily available to deter at-sea hijackings. This can only be described as irresponsible.