Odfjell to avoid Gulf of Aden due to piracy threat

17 November 2008 14:16  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--Chemical tanker group Odfjell on Monday said it would re-route all owned, managed and chartered ships that would normally sail through the Gulf of Aden due to the risk of attacks by Somali pirates.

 

Odfjell president and CEO Terje Storeng said the group would no longer expose crews to the risk of being hijacked and held to ransom by pirates.

 

Unless committed by existing contracts, all ships would be re-routed around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa, which was thought to add three weeks to journey times.

 

“We trust our customers will appreciate this decision which we have taken to safeguard not only our crews and ships, but also the ships' cargo,” Storeng said.

 

“The re-routing will entail extra sailing days and later cargo deliveries. This will incur significant extra cost, but we expect our customers' support and contribution,” he added.

 

From January to September of this year, there were 63 reported incidents of piracy in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia, doubling year on year, according to the Kuala Lumpur-based International Maritime Bureau (IMB).

 

On 15 October, NATO said it had sent a flotilla of seven ships including two destroyers to protect the shipping route from pirates.

 

Last week, British commandos killed two suspected pirates who tried to seize a Danish ship in the region.

 

Attacks have continued, however.

 

A 20,000 tonne Japanese chemical tanker was reportedly seized on 15 November in the Gulf of Aden, off the coast of Yemen.

 

Odfjell said governments and authorities were not taking enough interest in the problem, adding that it would not resume sailing through the waterway until more action was taken to prevent attacks.

 

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Author: Mark Watts
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