The IMB Alert Warns Somalia

Rome, Italy, November 7, 2005(HAN) – The International security forces should patrol the North and Southern Somalia coastline to crack down on piracy, players in the Indian ocean & Red sea tourism industry have said. The Nov. 5 pirate attack on the Seaborn Spirit cruise ship 100 miles off the Somalia and Somaliland coast was the 25th such incident in the last six months. Six vessels are currently being held by pirates, one of them captured at a distance of 120 miles from the coast.

The Seaborn Spirit managed to evade being boarded by two boatloads of pirates on inflatable speedboats armed with grenade-launchers and machine-guns.

The International Chamber of Commerce's International Maritime Bureau last month renewed its warning to merchantmen to steer well away from the Somali coast after an abortive attack on a tanker took place 250 miles out.

The IMB Alert warns, "Ships are advised to keep as far away as possible from the Somali coast." Last month the IMB called on coalition naval vessels to take action against the southern Somali pirates. IMB Director Pottengal Mukundan said, "There is no government in Somalia that can take responsibility for law enforcement in its territorial waters. I call on coalition warships to stop hijacked vessels reaching Somali waters. If this were to happen it would be an effective deterrent."

International security forces should patrol the North and Southern Somalia coastline to crack down on piracy, players in the tourism industry have said. Last Saturday's attempted attack on a cruise ship off the Somali coast was a blow to the tourism industry because it forced the vessel to cancel its call to the port of Mombasa , Mr. Mohamed Hersi, the chairman of the Coast branch of the Kenya Association of Hotel Keepers and Caterers, said yesterday.

"Pirates are making the Somali waters unsafe yet countries like Britain and America have been involved in the war against terrorism along the Somali coast. It is time they intensified patrols to secure the waters for cruise and other maritime businesses," he said.

Britain 's National Union of Marine Aviation and Shipping Transport has also called for extra protection for ships sailing off the coast of Somalia due to an upsurge in piracy.

Mr. Hersi asked the Foreign Affairs and Tourism ministries to hold talks with other countries affected by the increasing attacks by pirates in the Horn of Africa country.

"Three years ago, the German Marine and Air Force had intensified patrols along the East African coast but stopped. I think it is time that such a move should be re-introduced to beef up security," Mr. Hersi said.

Mr. Andrew Mwangura, the coordinator of the Seafarers Assistance Programm, said beefing up of security was one of the options to be considered in addressing the piracy menace. He said his organization was collecting data on piracy attacks in Somalia which it intended to use to lobby the United Nations to intervene.

"We want to lobby the UN to impose an embargo against Somali exports because earnings from the exports are being used to buy the weapons used by pirates," he said.

Mr. Mwangura said investigations had established that earnings from illegal fishing activities and charcoal exports were being used by different Somali warlords to finance pirates.

This year, more than 20 ships, three of them from Kenya, have been hijacked off Somalia's coast, sparking security concerns among maritime investors, tourism players and security agencies across the world.

HAN Note: "The International Maritime Bureau and the International Maritime Organization have classified the Somali coast as the most dangerous in the Indian Ocean . Bureau director Pottengal Mukundan said the attacks took place in international waters. He asked naval vessels in the region to assist hijacked ships.