Piracy: ITF Considers Boycott Of Western Indian Ocean

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) said it is moving closer to having to advise seafarers to consider avoiding working in all the affected areas – including the Indian Ocean.
The statement follows a week-long consultation sparked by the increasing number and range of Somali pirate attacks, and by the routine use of extreme violence and death threats against the 800 mariners currently being held hostage.

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) said it is moving closer to having to advise seafarers to consider avoiding working in all the affected areas – including the Indian Ocean.
The statement follows a week-long consultation sparked by the increasing number and range of Somali pirate attacks, and by the routine use of extreme violence and death threats against the 800 mariners currently being held hostage.
Accordingly the ITF, which represents the interests of seafarers worldwide, says there is a need to neutralise the threat posed by captured, hostage-crewed mother ships that have permitted the pirates to range much further into the Indian Ocean. The union also endorses and recommends the use of armed guards on merchant ships, subject to certain conditions.
“The world has lost control of piracy,” said ITF seafarers' section chair Dave Heindel. “Each day it's becoming more savage and more widespread. All the Arabian Gulf and most of the Indian Ocean are now effectively lawless. Yet there is a way that control can be regained: by actively going after pirates, stopping them and prosecuting them. Not this ludicrous situation of taking away their guns and setting them free to strike again.”
He added that the burden of dealing with pirates is being borne by a few nations, and the burden of actually taking them to court by even fewer. The ITF has repeatedly requested stronger intervention by all governments, including the flag of convenience states that are reaping the profits from so much of the world’s shipping fleet without meeting any of the obligations.
He pointed out that if the current levels of piracy are allowed to continue, there will come a point when there is no alternative but to stop putting people and ships within their reach – despite the implications of such a move on world trade and oil and food prices.
The ITF, BIMCO, the International Chamber of Shipping, INTERCARGO and INTERTANKO have already warned that ship owners and their crews will be re-evaluating their current determination to ensure that this vital trade route remains open – more than 40% of the world’s seaborne oil passes through the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea.
The shipping industry will be looking at all possible options, including alternative routes, which could have a dramatic effect on transport costs and delivery times. Piracy is already estimated to cost the global economy between $7-12 billion per year.