Nr. 1 2010 - Handelsflådens Velfærdsråd

Photo: brian senniksen,
m/t torm Gertrud.
the Horn of Africa, as we have ships in
those waters 1-2 times a week. At officer
seminars and meetings with crews, we
try to create a common awareness that
this is a common procedure to be complied
with for the sake of the crew.
The company’s focus is, without
reservation, on the crew. Ships and cargo
can be replaced, but the crew cannot”,
emphasises Niels Mathiesen.
BmP
He also points out that Clipper’s
procedures for negotiating the Horn of
Africa is virtually the same as those later
developed by a number of international
shipping associations, including the
Danish Shipowners’ Association; known
as Best Management Practices to Deter
Piracy in the Gulf of Aden and off the
Coast of Somalia (abbreviated to BMP).
”Of course we follow the BMP guidelines,
but there is still up to a quarter of
ships which do not. It is incomprehensible
and we have requested that the shipping
companies in question are published
by name, but the authorities involved do
not agree”, says Niels Mathiesen.
He stresses that as far as he knows,
there are no Danish shipping companies
not following the BMP.
risk ProFile
BMP stipulates, among other things, that
before each voyage we must prepare a risk
profile. If the risk is assessed to be high, we
must await other vessels to sail in convoy.
We have sometimes waited up to 3-4 days.
It is costly of course, but it is a price we are
willing to pay for the sake of the crew.
On a few occasions the company’s
ships have had Russian soldiers onboard,
as Russia is the only nation to make
soldiers available to protect vessels and
crews participating in Russian convoys.
We are Not soldiers
The company has said no to private
security companies.
”We have had meetings with security
companies but opted out of this solution,
as our crews should not be soldiers”
explains Niels Mathiesen.
”With private guards on board, it is
the captain’s decision whether to use
force. Legal problems which we cannot
predict may also arise.
When we have soldiers on board, they are
under military command. It is not the crew’s
responsibility when or how force should be
exercised. That’s why we agree to soldiers
but not to private guards”, he explains.
rePorted to the Police
The Clipper Group has reported the Somali
pirates to the state prosecutor for exceptional
international crimes, knowing that
the pirates will hardly be made accountable
for the crime before a Danish court.
Niels Mathiesen: ”We have become
aware of the working principles in the legislation.
In short, this means that if those subjected
to the crime – in this case extortion
– are located in Denmark, those that caused
the crime – the pirates – may be prosecuted
under Danish law, even though they were
not in Denmark at the time of the crime.
Whether the allegation holds up is for
a Danish court to decide. This assumes,
however, that the Somali pirates can be
found and delivered to Denmark. That
alone is a major problem, even though
several of them have been identified.
Nor is it conducive to a hand-over that
the political interest in having Somalis sent
to Denmark for prosecution is very low.
”But we need to use the opportunities
provided by the law. We will make every
attempt to generate interest in solving
the problem, which is rooted in a politically
unstable regime in Somalia”, says
Niels Mathiesen, while also justifying
reporting the crime to the police.
raNsom
Since the CEC Future was hijacked, the
problem of piracy has grown in both
numbers and gravity, and in the spring
the United States called for a halt in the
payment of ransom to the pirates.
The Danish parties quickly shot down
the proposal because, as Niels Mathiesen
puts it, ransom is our only means of
having the crew released.
”If the Americans make it illegal to pay
ransom and refuse companies paying
ransoms access to American ports, we
will find other ways to pay the money,
so that it does not come directly from
companies”, he predicts.
”We will certainly not help to make
crews hostages”, he stresses.
Neither does he believe it will stop the
pirates.
”It can only be solved by political
means”, he says.
”Until then, we in the shipping industry
must be open and exchange our experiences
in order to get ahead of the pirates
and so prevent hijackings”, he believes.
MOre and
MOre HijackinGS
the number of hijackings and attacks
on ships off the horn of Africa and
the Gulf of Aden is increasing year on
year. this has been the development
over the past five years, albeit with
a tendency towards a decreasing
number in the first months of 2010,
which has been attributed to
increased surveillance.
2005: ..................... 35 hijackings
2006: ..................... 10 hijackings
2007: ..................... 31 hijackings
2008: ..................... 42 + 111 attacks
2009: ..................... 47 + 217 attacks
HOriSOnt 043°