Comments on: Former crew members sue US shipping firm over hijacking

By: Maritime Monday 190

Maritime Monday 190 — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 14:10:32 +0000

[...] The Old Salt Blog has a MAERSK ALABAMA update in “Former crew members sue US shipping firm over hijacking“. [...]

By: Rick

Rick — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:20:21 +0000

There is a problem with geography. There are no “safer routes” unless one completely abandons the Suez Canal. Also as pirates have now attacked ships up to 1,000 miles off the coast of Somalia, ships going to and from the Gulf are now also at risk. Short of shutting down world trade there are no safer routes. In the meantime the naval patrols have been catching and releasing pirates because most of the major nation states have lacked the political will to prosecute.

All these lawsuits will accomplish is to make the already non-competitive US crews less attractive, and to penalize an operator who had comprehensive anti-pirate strategies in place well before most other ship owners.

By: Barista Uno

Barista Uno — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 04:01:27 +0000

The Maersk Alabama crew did the right thing. The areas where Somali pirates are known to operate are pretty much public knowledge. Yet merchant vessels continue to enter these areas because their owners want to avoid the added expense of using safer routes. Greed on both sides is helping perpetuate the whole problem.

The pirate-infested waters off Somalia should now be declared a war zone. Shipowners who insist on sending their crews into these areas should pay them a war-time bonus without prejudice to the filing of tort claims.

By: Rick

Rick — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:07:54 +0000

There are times I think that Pogo was right – “we have met the enemy and he is us.”

By: kennebec captain

kennebec captain — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:08:26 +0000

Good find, thanks.