In SwedishSeamen who are victims of pirates need help
Pirates in the Aden Bay continue to attack sea traffic off the coast of Somalia and reports of new attacks are streaming in. But there is too much focus on transportation, ships and military units in the area and too little attention paid to the victims – seamen. That is the opinion of Christer Lindvall, chairman of the International Officers Organisation, IFSMA, and managing director of SFBF, who was in Brussels earlier this year to inform others in the EU about piracy.
Pirate activities off the coast of Somalia have increased dramatically. Last year no fewer than 130 ships in the region were attacked, which is 200% more than in 2007. About 50 seamen were kidnapped in conjunction with the attacks. Attacks continued during the spring in this virtually lawless area and the number of seamen affected has become larger and larger.
– People forget about how the crew feels when they talk about pirate attacks. A shop assistant at Seven Eleven who is robbed is given help by an entire crisis team afterwards, but seamen who have been involved in an attack by pirates are just expected to sail on when they are released, says Christer Lindvall.
When the ISPS code (International ship and port facility security code) came into effect in 2004 its purpose was to protect the world against terrorists, and it strictly limited employees on ships from leaving their ship while in harbours. But now, when seamen themselves are in the firing line, there is much less protection, states Christer Lindvall.
– It takes about 20 minutes to hijack a ship, so you can ask what sort of protection we are talking about. It is time that seamen were given back something after all they have had to pay through the introduction of the ISPS code.
Linda Sundgren
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