Global attacks on ships rose to an all-time high of 266, during the first six months of 2011 up from 196 in 2010 according to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB).

More than 117 ships were attacked and 20 seized, by pirates off the coast of Somalia alone, since January 1, holding 28 ships and 518 hostages for ransom as of the end of April. 

These issues are to be raised and reviewed by industry experts at the Middle East Money and Ships Conference, which takes place at the Address Hotel in Dubai Marina on October 16.

According to a report last year by the Council on Foreign Relations, there is no quantitative research available on the total cost of global piracy. Estimates vary widely because of disagreement over whether insurance premiums, freight rates, and the cost of reroutings should be included with, for instance, the cost of ransoms.

Some analysts suggest the cost is close to $1billion a year, while others claim losses could be as high as $16 billion.

“The difference of opinion arises because some experts prefer to add the actual cost of the ransoms to insurance premiums, freight rates and the cost of re-routing vessels, while others only account for operating expenses. However all operators are looking for cost savings, especially during these trying economic times and any amount of billions is an added cost that ship owners and operators can do without,” said Chris Hayman, Seatrade, the organisers of Middle East Money and Ships.

According to IMB’s Piracy Reporting Center, in 2008, 47 of the 49 successful hijackings globally occurred off the coast of Somalia, although violent attacks against crew members were far more prevalent off the coast of Nigeria than anywhere else in the world.

In 2009, hijackings off Somalia increased to 49 despite fewer ships and an increased naval military presence, while incidents elsewhere in the world including Indonesia actually declined. 

“This highlights that with the use of ‘mother ships’, pirates are now venturing out many hundreds of miles from the East African coastline. This makes it very difficult to predict where pirates might strike and therefore increasingly difficult for naval military to protect cargo vessels. So clearly this is an issue that is not going to go away and needs to be addressed,” added Hayman.

The conference programme is split into four sessions, starting with a ship owners’ panel, debating the expansion of the Middle Eastern fleet and a financiers’ panel which will discuss the challenges convincing the finance sector to invest in shipping.

Additional sessions dedicated to trading patterns and infrastructure development and regulatory, technical and marine insurance issues will be addressed. 

A line-up of top industry professionals will be speaking this year including; Shri Sabyasachi Hajara, chairman and managing director, The Shipping Corporation of India; Sean Bond, director, Environmental Solutions ABS; Jorn Hinge, president and CEO, United Arab Shipping Company; Marcus Machin, director, Tufton Oceanic (Middle East) and Ahmed Hareb Al Falahi, CEO, Gulf Energy Maritime. – TradeArabia News Service