The Steamship Mutual P&I Club announces the launch of its latest Loss Prevetion DVD
Steamship Mutual, a leading P&I Club, has announced the imminent launch of its latest Loss Prevention DVD entitled “PIRACY – The Menace at Sea”.
The wholly unacceptable threat to merchant shipping and seafarers from the activities of Somali pirates unfortunately shows little sign of receding. Whilst the naval deterrent that exists within the Gulf of Aden has resulted in a significant reduction in the number of attacks in that area, vessels continue to be at risk of attack far offshore where naval resources are less concentrated.
The Best Management Practice Guidelines (BMP) have been compiled by the industry to assist Masters and their crews to implement effective action deter piracy and to reduce the vulnerability of vessels. It is self-evident that if pirates are prevented from boarding a vessel, it cannot be hijacked. Consequently, effective BMP compliance is essential to reduce the risk of a vessel being pirated. It is therefore surprising that there continue to
be vessels transiting the high risk area that do not implement the BMP guidelines, either fully or at all.
In view of the persistent threat to merchant ships and seafarers from Somali pirates, the Managers of Steamship Mutual firmly believe that there is considerable loss prevention benefit to be derived from the encouragement of more widespread compliance with the BMP guidelines. The Club’s latest loss prevention DVD “Piracy – The Menace at Sea” has been produced with that objective, and its release within the next few weeks, will
closely follow the publication of the latest iteration of the BMP guidelines – BMP4.
The loss prevention potential of this production has been recognised by the wide range of organisations involved with the counter-piracy effort that have supported this project, such as EU NAVFOR, NATO, UKMTO, OCIMF, IMO, INTERTANKO, INTERCARGO, BIMCO and the IMB. The Club greatly appreciates the assistance they have provided.
As with the Club’s previous loss prevention DVDs the project was undertaken by Callisto Productions of Aberdeen and financed by The Ship Safety Trust. Filming was on location in the UAE and London. In addition to the film, the DVD will contain important reference documents, including BMP4, and web-links relevant to the issue of piracy. In order to facilitate improved understanding amongst seafarers of BMP compliance requirements,
the film will also be sub-titled in Chinese, Russian, and Tagalog.
The premiere of the film before an invited audience will take place in London on 3rd August. Copies of the DVD will be supplied free of charge once production work has been completed.
Mr Chris Adams, Head of Loss Prevention at Steamship Insurance Management Services Limited said: “It is important that all vessels transiting the high risk area have a copy of this DVD onboard, and that seafarers watch it in order to maximise their prospects of avoiding capture. The human cost of piracy is less prominent than it should be and we owe it to our seafarers to do the most that we can to assist them from becoming victims of this
unacceptable menace.”
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Source: The Steamship Mutual P&I Club