Maritime states beef up security to counter Somali piracy threats

Dubai: Since the hijacking of the Sirius Star off the east coast of Africa by Somali pirates, the maritime industry has been in an uproar over security.

John Ewing, chief commercial officer at Dubai Maritime City, the first cluster city of its kind in the region, told Gulf News that though the hijacking is having an effect on the industry, piracy is nothing new.

"There is an international push and all relative maritime nations are now looking to tackle this problem. They will come up with solutions that will make it much safer," Ewing said.

He added that this will not necessarily have any effect on the business in this region. "There is a little bit more affect on the Suez Canal, they won't get much business going through, but this region is still the hub for the oil and gas sector and transportation and cargo sector," he said.

Ewing said that the Gulf region's health and growth will not see a negative effect. "It is something that affects the industry but structures are already being put in place to resolve the issue."

David Barker, executive general manager of Kanoo Shipping Agencies, said: "I have been talking to ship-owners over the last week in the US and the Far East and the only thing on the agenda was this issue.

"It is fair to say it is a lawless situation, as there is no rule of law in Somalia and all the coalition forces are subject to different rules of law," he added.

Recent activity

There have been a couple of recent developments including the establishment of a corridor which will be protected and scheduled transits which will take place at specific times and speeds.

"The Gulf, of course, is already well protected with a number of naval vessels here for other reasons and it is enclosed," Barker said.

With bunkers going down in price and time not being a constraint, now would be a good time to go around the South African Cape rather than the quicker route through the Suez Canal.

Going around the Cape could be around 25 per cent cheaper, Barker said.

Sharjah Ports and Customs also said the Gulf is not under any real threat from piracy.