Are seafarers left to fend for themselves in the event of piracy attack?
Hardly any maritime international conference takes place these days without the raging piracy issue being touched upon. Many of them even feature masters and their crew giving testimonials about their time in captivity of the pirates, the grueling episodes of tortures, both mental and physical, types of temporary and permanent injuries seafarers suffer at the hands of their captors and the effect of long periods in captivity and also the efforts to contain the menace.
At the recent Seatrade India Shipping Summit a full length debate was held where piracy was discussed threadbare in almost every aspect. There was strong support to the suggestion made by Capt M. M. Saggi Nautical Advisor to the government of India that instead of the naval vessels of the 25 countries which are lending support to fight piracy and involved in patrolling the entire Indian ocean and the Gulf of Aden it would be more effective if they patrolled only the Somalian coast and searched every vessel coming in and out of Somalia.
Nearly everyone attending the Summit was of the view that armed guards served as a deterrent to piracy attack. Since no vessel carrying armed guards have ever been attacked as yet, it appeared to be the best solution - but only for the time being. When the vote was taken the result was an almost unanimously in favor of carrying armed guards on board the vessels which trade in Somalian waters and the vicinity. The few who had reservation on the issue felt this was only a temporary solution because presently it has been possible to outdo the pirates using superior weapons but the pirates too could arm themselves soon or later with more sophisticated weapons.
Certain proposals that were made did bring out the bare facts of the situation. B. N. Prasad, Managing Director of Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (India) Pvt. Ltd. pointed out that nearly $ 300 million was being paid as ransoms money to the Somalian pirates (at least this was the figure for last year). Further, the total expenditure on insurance due to the Somalian piracy was placed around $ 3 billion. “Why then should we not think of coming out with some kind or “piracy tax” and make a deal with the Somalia/pirates to stop the attacks?”
But soon the discussions took on a bizarre twist with seafarers (in active service) insinuating about pirates and their gang leaders having prior knowledge of the ships that carry guards, the cargo being transported, knowledge in advance of the financial status of the ship owners and the extent he could be pressurized to cough up to pay a higher ransom. It was intriguing to learn about the ability of pirates to play one crew member against another officer and to draw out information that would be useful to press for a higher ransom amount, or even send out signals to families of captured seafarers to inform about their distressing condition and the bleak chances of their survival if the demanded ransom amount was not paid.
Most appalling was the possibility of the nexus between the pirates, the gang lords and the negotiators. Or also the possibility of a link between the armed guards supplying agency, the gang lords or perhaps certain countries which benefit from the existence of piracy. In fact the list went on to include the insurance companies, the countries / underworld involved in supplying arms, drugs, the skiffs, etc.
In short it was evident that the pirates are well-versed about various tactics and are in command of the situation whereas the seafarers are bereft of any knowledge or wherewithal to protect themselves and can’t help being taken hostage, tortured and killed. The seafarers evidently will continue to face attacks from pirates and piracy could well be a permanent feature of seafaring as no one is sincerely trying to prevent it.