Talk cock.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=452 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>FOCUS: PIRACY
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>S'pore vigilant to piracy threat
MFA says situation complex and multi-faceted, and beyond scope and capacity of any one country to resolve, writes VINCENT WEE
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</TD><TD>Feedback</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>SINGAPORE'S shipping lines are boldly taking the piracy threat in the Gulf of Aden in their stride, and so far it seems to be business as usual.
<TABLE class=picBoxL cellSpacing=2 width=100 align=left><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR class=caption><TD>Rerouting ships: Shipping companies say the main determinant of any decision on whether to continue going through the Gulf of Aden or to reroute on the longer passage around the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa is the speed and freeboard (the height of a vessel's deck above the water) of the vessel</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Singapore is one of the 10 largest ship registries in the world. According to a Maritime and Port Authority spokesman, as at end-November 2008, there were 3,774 ships registered under the Singapore flag with gross tonnage of 43.19 million. Tankers, container ships and bulk carriers make up the majority of ships under the Singapore Registry of Ships.
No Singapore-flagged ships have been hijacked, although two were attacked in September. However, Singapore remains vigilant to the threat. 'Whilst there have been no hijacks on Singapore-flagged vessels to date, the global nature of the shipping industry means that we simply cannot stand by and do nothing,' said Singapore Shipping Association president S S Teo at a forum on piracy and maritime security in October.
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman said Singapore 'views the piracy situation in the Gulf of Aden with deep concern', adding that the situation was complex and multi-faceted, and 'beyond the scope and capacity of any one country to resolve'.
'We will continue to work with the international community through the United Nations and the IMO to address the piracy situation in the Gulf of Aden,' the spokesman said.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD bgColor=#ffffff>[FONT=Geneva, Helvetica, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]<!-- REPLACE EVERYTHING IN CAPITALS WITH YOUR OWN VALUES --><TABLE class=quoteBox cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=144 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=bottom>
</TD></TR><TR><TD bgColor=#fffff1><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=124 align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top>'The relative risk of attack is lower for fast high-decked container ships than it is for slower low-decked vessels such as bulk carriers or tankers.'
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Apart from calling on international bodies to take decisive action, other solutions are to cancel or reroute voyages going through the Gulf of Aden. According to the companies, the main determinant of any decision on whether to continue going through the gulf or to reroute on the longer passage around the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa is the speed and freeboard (the height of a vessel's deck above the water) of the vessel.
Other factors include the wishes of charterers and the nationality of the companies and their crew.
'While we are closely monitoring events in the Gulf of Aden, we are not at this time planning to reroute ships. The relative risk of attack is lower for fast high-decked container ships than it is for slower low-decked vessels such as bulk carriers or tankers,' said a Neptune Orient Lines spokesman.
'Even so, the safety of our seafarers, company assets and customers' cargo are of paramount importance. We have measures in place to protect these interests, which are continuously reviewed to ensure they are consistent with any new intelligence we receive,' he added.
Major Danish shipping group AP Moller-Maersk, which has a wider range of ships including dry bulk carriers and tankers, has a slightly different policy. 'The piracy situation in the Gulf of Aden has been escalating and in order to continuously ensure the safety of our crews as well as vessels and cargo, AP Moller-Maersk has updated the policy for vessels entering the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of East Africa,' said a Maersk spokesman.
'Vessels without adequate speed or freeboard will for the time avoid the Gulf of Aden and seek alternative routing south of the Cape of Good Hope and east of Madagascar. However, based upon availability of escorts these vessels may join naval convoy transit in the Gulf of Aden,' he said. 'In this situation, this route change has been brought about by recent developments in piracy hijackings in the area. Our first priority is the safety of our crew, our vessels and our customer's cargo.'
A similar approach has been adopted by many of the bigger shipowners and operators. Danish shipowners, for example, have a policy which requires that ships which either go slower than 15 knots or have less than 5m of freeboard to go around the cape. K Line also follows similar guidelines.
Some shipping lines are seeking support from their respective governments. Mercator Lines (Singapore) managing director Shalabh Mittal said while none of its ships trade in that area, its parent company in India does about three to four voyages a year there. In these cases, they have 'taken it up with the Indian navy and have sought protection when they need to', Mr Mittal said.
The Indian navy has a permanent deployment of warships in the area, as do the United States, Russia and the European Union. China this week was the latest nation to announce it is deploying navy ships there. A Malaysian naval force was dispatched to the area several months ago when two MISC ships were hijacked.
The cruise lines are also relying on both speed and possibly protection by travelling in convoys. 'We have no current plans to change our schedules - we are next due to transit this region in March and May. At present time, all cruise lines scheduled to transit the Gulf of Aden are continuing to do so. No cruise line to date has cancelled or rerouted their vessels,' said Silversea's senior vice-president Asia Pacific Steve Odell. 'Silversea is willing to coordinate transits and utilise the assistance of escort vessels as part of this preparation and cooperation.'
A Royal Caribbean Cruises spokesman said the company does not at present have any ships sailing through the Gulf of Aden. 'Nevertheless, we hope that international efforts to manage the situation will be successful.'
An American cruise liner was pursued by pirates a few weeks ago but it managed to outrun them.
But in many cases, it is the owners and charterers worried about their crew and cargo that makes them reluctant to go into the gulf in the first place, said Norden Tankers and Bulkers (Singapore) managing director Peter Borup. 'The only reason to go in there is to deliver cargo to that area.'
Another factor is that with time charter rates and bunker prices coming down sharply in recent months, the extra cost of going on the longer but safer route is not that high. Industry sources estimate that the typical Asia-to-Europe voyage will take an extra 11 days and add 12 per cent to costs by going around the cape.
Insurance required for transiting the area has also risen. 'War underwriters (under Norwegian and American hull insurance clauses piracy is covered under war insurance) in London have made the Gulf of Aden an additional premium area; costs have increased in recent weeks and insurers are seeking to charge between 0.075 per cent and 0.15 per cent of ship's hull value per transit,' said Marsh's head of marine hull/P&I practice in Asia Nick Sansom. [/FONT]
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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=452 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>FOCUS: PIRACY
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>S'pore vigilant to piracy threat
MFA says situation complex and multi-faceted, and beyond scope and capacity of any one country to resolve, writes VINCENT WEE
<TABLE class=storyLinks cellSpacing=4 cellPadding=1 width=136 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR class=font10><TD align=right width=20>
</TD><TD>Email this article</TD></TR><TR class=font10><TD align=right width=20>
</TD><TD>Print article </TD></TR><TR class=font10><TD align=right width=20>
</TD><TD>Feedback</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>SINGAPORE'S shipping lines are boldly taking the piracy threat in the Gulf of Aden in their stride, and so far it seems to be business as usual.<TABLE class=picBoxL cellSpacing=2 width=100 align=left><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR class=caption><TD>Rerouting ships: Shipping companies say the main determinant of any decision on whether to continue going through the Gulf of Aden or to reroute on the longer passage around the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa is the speed and freeboard (the height of a vessel's deck above the water) of the vessel</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Singapore is one of the 10 largest ship registries in the world. According to a Maritime and Port Authority spokesman, as at end-November 2008, there were 3,774 ships registered under the Singapore flag with gross tonnage of 43.19 million. Tankers, container ships and bulk carriers make up the majority of ships under the Singapore Registry of Ships.No Singapore-flagged ships have been hijacked, although two were attacked in September. However, Singapore remains vigilant to the threat. 'Whilst there have been no hijacks on Singapore-flagged vessels to date, the global nature of the shipping industry means that we simply cannot stand by and do nothing,' said Singapore Shipping Association president S S Teo at a forum on piracy and maritime security in October.
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman said Singapore 'views the piracy situation in the Gulf of Aden with deep concern', adding that the situation was complex and multi-faceted, and 'beyond the scope and capacity of any one country to resolve'.
'We will continue to work with the international community through the United Nations and the IMO to address the piracy situation in the Gulf of Aden,' the spokesman said.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD bgColor=#ffffff>[FONT=Geneva, Helvetica, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]<!-- REPLACE EVERYTHING IN CAPITALS WITH YOUR OWN VALUES --><TABLE class=quoteBox cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=144 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=bottom>
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- A Neptune Orient Lines spokesman
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Other factors include the wishes of charterers and the nationality of the companies and their crew.
'While we are closely monitoring events in the Gulf of Aden, we are not at this time planning to reroute ships. The relative risk of attack is lower for fast high-decked container ships than it is for slower low-decked vessels such as bulk carriers or tankers,' said a Neptune Orient Lines spokesman.
'Even so, the safety of our seafarers, company assets and customers' cargo are of paramount importance. We have measures in place to protect these interests, which are continuously reviewed to ensure they are consistent with any new intelligence we receive,' he added.
Major Danish shipping group AP Moller-Maersk, which has a wider range of ships including dry bulk carriers and tankers, has a slightly different policy. 'The piracy situation in the Gulf of Aden has been escalating and in order to continuously ensure the safety of our crews as well as vessels and cargo, AP Moller-Maersk has updated the policy for vessels entering the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of East Africa,' said a Maersk spokesman.
'Vessels without adequate speed or freeboard will for the time avoid the Gulf of Aden and seek alternative routing south of the Cape of Good Hope and east of Madagascar. However, based upon availability of escorts these vessels may join naval convoy transit in the Gulf of Aden,' he said. 'In this situation, this route change has been brought about by recent developments in piracy hijackings in the area. Our first priority is the safety of our crew, our vessels and our customer's cargo.'
A similar approach has been adopted by many of the bigger shipowners and operators. Danish shipowners, for example, have a policy which requires that ships which either go slower than 15 knots or have less than 5m of freeboard to go around the cape. K Line also follows similar guidelines.
Some shipping lines are seeking support from their respective governments. Mercator Lines (Singapore) managing director Shalabh Mittal said while none of its ships trade in that area, its parent company in India does about three to four voyages a year there. In these cases, they have 'taken it up with the Indian navy and have sought protection when they need to', Mr Mittal said.
The Indian navy has a permanent deployment of warships in the area, as do the United States, Russia and the European Union. China this week was the latest nation to announce it is deploying navy ships there. A Malaysian naval force was dispatched to the area several months ago when two MISC ships were hijacked.
The cruise lines are also relying on both speed and possibly protection by travelling in convoys. 'We have no current plans to change our schedules - we are next due to transit this region in March and May. At present time, all cruise lines scheduled to transit the Gulf of Aden are continuing to do so. No cruise line to date has cancelled or rerouted their vessels,' said Silversea's senior vice-president Asia Pacific Steve Odell. 'Silversea is willing to coordinate transits and utilise the assistance of escort vessels as part of this preparation and cooperation.'
A Royal Caribbean Cruises spokesman said the company does not at present have any ships sailing through the Gulf of Aden. 'Nevertheless, we hope that international efforts to manage the situation will be successful.'
An American cruise liner was pursued by pirates a few weeks ago but it managed to outrun them.
But in many cases, it is the owners and charterers worried about their crew and cargo that makes them reluctant to go into the gulf in the first place, said Norden Tankers and Bulkers (Singapore) managing director Peter Borup. 'The only reason to go in there is to deliver cargo to that area.'
Another factor is that with time charter rates and bunker prices coming down sharply in recent months, the extra cost of going on the longer but safer route is not that high. Industry sources estimate that the typical Asia-to-Europe voyage will take an extra 11 days and add 12 per cent to costs by going around the cape.
Insurance required for transiting the area has also risen. 'War underwriters (under Norwegian and American hull insurance clauses piracy is covered under war insurance) in London have made the Gulf of Aden an additional premium area; costs have increased in recent weeks and insurers are seeking to charge between 0.075 per cent and 0.15 per cent of ship's hull value per transit,' said Marsh's head of marine hull/P&I practice in Asia Nick Sansom. [/FONT]
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