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Originally Posted by Fusilier
Not to mention the sheer amount of ship traffic in that area. Just putting a few men on a small percentage would be a huge undertaking. From how I've read things, in the bigger picture (or for larger companies) you would be saving more money by not hiring them and paying for any ransom. The chance of getting hijacked is very low when you consider how much shipping goes through this area.
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I guess I just don't have a firm grasp of the economics of this whole mess.
If insurance pays for the ransoms, it stands to reason that premiums would skyrocket. This would increase the cost of shipping and this cost would eventually trickle down to the consumer.
Now, one of the American crewmen from the headliner ship is suing. Littigation: the American way. Makes me proud to be an American (NOT!). Lawsuits are yet another expense the shipping companies will be facing if they continue to allow their ships to be hijacked. This is going to start adding up. Then again, I suppose pirates could sue if they were injured by armed security.
I still can't see why certain cargo would not be worth a little added protection. For example, that boatload of Ukranian tanks that got jacked a couple of months ago.
Instead of paying for private security contractors to ride along, why don't shipping companies pay for firearms and training for their crews. Considering the alternatives (PSC's, paying ransoms, higher insurance premiums), this would be really cheap.
I guess I just don't like doing nothing and complaining about the results. These pirates may come from a chaotic, impoverished region, but piracy is still a crime. Simply rolling over and letting it slide? I can't abide. As a taxpayer, it bugs me that I'm paying for my military to protect shipping companies that could be doing a lot more to protect themselves.
Piracy has been an issue in the region for a while now. It's also pretty bad in the South China Sea, Philippine Sea, and Java straights. National Geographic did a feature in the last couple of years on Indonesian (or was it Malayan) pirates. You'd think the international community would have come up with a comprehensive, effective program to deal with piracy by now.