Nr. 1 2010 - Handelsflådens Velfærdsråd

emergeNcy Procedures
”At an early stage, the company prepared
for their release and established a plan
for taking care of the crew when it was
released”, says Niels Mathiesen,
general manager for policy and standard
setting in the Clipper Group.
”It was all about intensive psychological
assistance immediately after release,
followed by various activities for the
group with their families. They were all
sent home for two months with full pay,
after which there was a new round of
sessions with the psychologist, who as-
042° HOriSOnt
there were 11 russians, one Estonian and one georgian onboard the CEC future, located in the
gulf of aden, on its way from antwerp to batam in indonesia on 7 november 2008 with a cargo
of steel plates. in the middle of the afternoon, the vessel was boarded by somali pirates, who
are rather trigger happy. in less than three quarters of an hour, the crew was transformed
from active seafarers to passive hostages at the centre of a drama involving millions, which
has since been highlighted in the tv documentary ”sos – captured by pirates”. for the
crew, it was 71 days of uncertainty and insecurity. unaware of the owners, Clipper group’s
efforts to release them and the ship. they were silent witnesses to the growing degradation
of the ship by a bunch of khat-chewing pirates who periodically broke into bloody internal
fights. it goes without saying that it is a heavy burden, both physically and mentally, to
find yourself onboard a ship where a group of armed drug users set the agenda
ALL oF thE
hostAGEs ArE
At sEA AGAin
by Peter Larsen, HFV
sessed whether they were ready to start
work again. They were, and today they
are all back at sea”, says Niels Mathiesen,
who is delighted the emergency procedures
worked.
traNsPareNcy
The Clipper Group has chosen to be very
open about the hijacking and were available
for interviews during the negotiating
process and briefed the press regularly.
It was a deliberate strategy which
continued after the hijacking ended.
Employees of the shipping company have
been available for lectures, officer seminars
and discussions on this odious event,
as the company believes one of the ways
to prevent new hijackings is to share experiences
and learn from each other.
Focus oN the creW
”We were on unfamiliar ground in November
2008 when we became the victims
of a hijacking. We had developed some
guidelines, but they were of little use.
We have since developed standard
procedures, for how we deal with a hijacking,
but also how to safely negotiate