Editorial
Welcome return from captivity
Global effort to contain piracy imperative
We express our joy and relief to have our sailors and crew back home. We sympathise with the victims who went through an agonizing captivity for 100 days, much to the concern of their near and dear ones let alone compatriots.
We express our concern over state of security in the high seas. Our MV Jahan Moni was hijacked on December 5, 2010 from a place in Arabian Sea some 170 nautical miles from Lakkha islands of India. After a long saga of negotiation with the Somali captors, the crew were released on March 14. Today piracy poses a real threat to the very growth of trade and commerce by waterways and the shipping industry.
According to the UN, last year the shipping industry incurred a loss of 238 million dollars and the global economy about five to seven billion through piracy at seas. The entire area in the Indian Ocean particularly around the Horn of Africa has become a cause for concern for the ocean going vessels. Somali pirates now rule over more than one million square miles preying on whoever dares to run into their zone. Although pressure mounts on the Somali government to take measures against the pirates, it has not taken any effective step as yet. On the contrary, many Somali lawmakers support the outlaws terming them as 'heroes'. Somali pirates are having heyday using captured ships as their base in the deep waters. Still, some thirty ships remain under their siege.
It's high time the governments and international organizations make coordinated efforts to ensure safety of marine waterways. International waters can be guarded by naval ships at vulnerable points, high-sea patrolling with sophisticated weaponry should be increased, and escort vessels need to be provided in a package of new arrangements worked out by International Maritime Bureau in close consultation with littoral states.
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