Rampant piracy forces ships to re-route

Mogadishu: Rampant piracy off Somalia is forcing shipping companies to avoid the Suez Canal and send cargoes of oil and other goods on a longer journey around southern Africa, industry officials said on Thursday.

Denmark's AP Moller-Maersk is routing some of its 50 oil tankers around the Cape of Good Hope instead and Intertanko said many other tanker firms were doing the same.
Norway's Frontline, which ferries much of the Middle East's oil to world markets, said it was considering a similar step.

Scores of attacks in Somali waters this year have driven up insurance costs for shipping firms and the decision to divert cargo around South Africa risks pushing up prices for manufactured goods and commodities.

The head of the International Maritime Organisation, Efthimios Mitropoulos, warned of "a series of negative repercussions" if ships had to reroute.

He said going around the Cape added about 12 days to a typical Gulf-to-Europe voyage, delaying oil supplies, and potentially raising freight rates by 25 to 30 percent.

Mitropoulos urged the UN Security Council to strengthen the mandate of anti-piracy forces with "clear rules of engagement" and to make states bring to justice pirates they
captured.

Meanwhile, analysts believe that there can be no lasting end to the piracy without peace on land.

The UN Security Council voted on Thursday to impose sanctions on anyone contributing to violence and instability in Somalia.