P E R S O N A L S A F E T Y


Kidnap and ransom


threat, with 96 attacks reported during 2010 and 307 in the past five years. Somali and Yemeni pirates attacked a reported 217 vessels in 2010, while the number attacked in the Gulf of Aden actually halved to 53 from 117 in 2009 due to the presence of warships in the region; however, therewas a rise to 139 from 80 in the Indian Ocean. To make matters yet worse for ship


Figure 1: The ever-rising trend of piracy ransoms – ransoms paid on a representative sample of 60 hijacked ships taken between 1 Jan 2008 and 31 Jan 2011. The trend line is a moving average of the ransoms reportedly paid for the previous six released vessels Source: Compass Risk Management (compiled from a number of sources including some owners interviewed in the media. Declarations by the Somali pirates have also been utilised where no other source is available) www.compass-rm.com


$10mn ransom demand for the vessel and its 24 crew. Compass RiskManagement, a consul-


tancy that specialises in pirate ransom negotiation, has compiled data on a sample of 60 ships taken by Somali pirates between January 2008 and January 2011. As Figure 1 shows, the amounts being paid to meet ransom demands have continued to rise; in recent months


some payments


reaching more than $7mn. The role of the Dubai banking system in the pay- ment of such ransoms has diminished since the killing of a Hamas com-


mander by Israeli assassins using fake British passports in February last year. In a clampdown, the Dubai authorities are banning the use of its territory and financial sector as a conduit for criminal activities.


Attacks on the high seas Two very-large crude carriers (VLCCs) have already been hijacked this year by Somali pirates, following 43 attacks by pirates worldwide on crude oil tankers in 2010, and 148 in total between 2006 and 2010 (see Table 1). Product and chemical tankers are under constant


Bulk carriers Containers


General cargo


Oil, gas, product and chemical sectors: Product and chemical tankers Crude oil tankers LPG tankers


Bitumen tankers


2006–2010 326


289 221


307 148 27 5


2010 80


74 63


96 43 7 2


Offshore processing ships 4– LNG tankers 31 Rigs and platforms 3– Pipelay crane vessels 11


Total number, all types Of which – Somalia/Gulf of Aden


1,650 564


and Red Sea Table 1: The main pirate victims – types of vessels attacked worldwide*


445 217


*The number of vessels attacked at Nigerian harbours and moored offshore is significantly understated as owners are increasingly reluctant to inform authorities, in a bid to keep down insurance premiums. There is a similar situation in Brazil, where attacks, especially on oil related vessels, are unrecorded.


owners, other areas in the world that had been considered much safer from pirate attack in recent years, given the clampdown by respective govern- ments, are now on the rise. There were 40 attacks offshore Indonesia last year, back to 2007 levels, and 23 in Bangladesh harbours or offshore, the highest level since the peak of 47 in 2005. In the South China Sea, the number of attacks is almost on parwith Indonesia. So, what can be done to stop the


pirates? Petroleum Review reported in its August 2010 edition that moves were afoot in the London insurance market to establish the Convoy Escort Programme, a private and well-armed naval force of second-hand speedboats from Sweden that would take the pirates on. However, there remain snags for it to proceed and the initia- tive has yet to be sanctioned by various governments, including the US and UK. Pirates have become kidnappers, and


no are different to MEND in Nigeria or other kidnapping groups. They have no use for the cargo carried – even if the ML Irene, a VLCC that was carrying 266,000 tonnes of crude to the Gulf of Mexico, was valued at $200mn at the- then February price of oil. The vessel was taken on 9 February and ransom negotiations are ongoing. ‘Armed is one way to go,’ says one experienced ransom negotiator, who, like others, believes that the pirates should be faced down. The International Maritime Bureau is still wrestling with other methods, including better and quicker reporting of incidents. How- ever, the combined naval force is ham- pered by rules of engagement, and the winners continue to be the pirates. 


Source for data: ICC, London


Note: There are a number of firms who have specialised consultants on ransom negotiation, onshore or offshore, that can advise on personal safety in high-risk areas. They include Clayton Consultants, ASI Global, Compass Risk Management and Special Contingency Risks. These companieswill be speaking at the Energy Institute briefing on 16 June 2011 on personal risk, terrorism, kidnapping and piracy, which is open to members and non- members. For details see p33 or visit www.energyinst.org


20


PETROLEUMREVIEW APRIL


2011


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