Keeping the Indian Ocean safe from pirates
India and the EU cooperate to tackle piracy India and the EU will be working together to help tackle a problem that has dealt severe harm to international shippingThe worst affected areas lie off the coast of Somalia, Yemen, the Singapore Strait and Indonesia," explains the EU's new ambassador to India, Joao Cravinho.In 2011, according to International Maritime Bureau figures, there were 439 verified attacks on merchant vessels worldwide, of which 237 involved Somali pirates. Twenty-eight of the 45 hijackings happened off the Somali coast.Piracy has had a profound impact on the international shipping industry. Nagesh Rao, a senior Indian Shipping Ministry official, said shipping companies are being forced to take out war insurance to guard against the risk. Alarmed over the prospect of hijacking, their crews are demanding huge compensation.Rao said shipping lines based in the EU, South Korea and Japan have been requesting help from India in securing their ships. To date no Indian merchant vessel has been attacked, but Indian seamen have been kidnapped and freed only after ransoms were paid by their EU employers.According to Cravinho, the problem has made it increasingly harder for European shipping companies - already reeling from losses caused by the global ...
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