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Piracy

According to the International Maritime Bureau, 445 pirate attacks were reported in 2010, which is 39 more than the year before, and 219 of these attacks took place off the coast of Somalia, in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. Piracy is an increasing threat to international shipping, and the problem should be solved on an international scale. NORDEN therefore seeks through the Danish Shipowners’ Association, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and through a direct dialogue with politicians to maintain pressure on the international society to have significant fleet forces in the areas.

At the same time, NORDEN increases its efforts to protect crew, cargoes and vessels. In 2010, new safety measures were introduced on the vessels, among other things, citadels for crew on vessels which have to transit threatened areas. NORDEN’s practices fully comply with the Best Management Practice 3 standard and go even further in some areas.

The Company constantly monitors threatened areas, and risk zones are only transited after a case-by-case evaluation. Currently, the Company has excluded certain ports, while the vessels in other areas are rerouted to lower the risk. In the Gulf of Aden, the Company’s vessels sail in group transits in safe corridors, if possible under fleet protection. The vessels sail at the highest possible speed and have a certain freeboard, additional watchkeeping is ensured, and the vessels must have special equipment installed, including NATO razor wire, water spray and water curtains along the sides of the vessel.

In December 2010, pirates attacked NORD STRAIT (read article in NORDEN News, Spring 2011) approximately 950 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia and shot at the ship. The crew followed all safety procedures professionally, and the attack was fended off with no harm being done to crew or ship. Under special circumstances, or if the pirate attacks escalate, NORDEN will consider bringing armed guards onboard the vessels to protect crew, cargoes and vessels.

Co-operation with Danish Shipowners' Association and the International Chamber of Shipping

NORDEN is working with the Danish Shipowners’ Association and the International Chamber of Shipping to maintain pressure on the international society to mitigate the threat of piracy. NORDEN would appreciate that the international society would undertake the following initiatives:

strengthen the effort in general to continually match the threat
deploy coalition marines on board in the entire group transit corridor
patrol relevant Somali coastal areas to ensure pre-emptive intervention against piratical supply chain
establish no-go zones around transit corridors and guarded passages for local shipping