Bartamaha (Nairobi):- British insurance companies plan to launch a “private navy” to counter pirates around the Horn of Africa.
One of firms, London-based Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group, is among the world’s largest insurance companies, and insures 14 per cent of all commercial ships plying the high seas.
Ten of the 5,000 ships insured by the group have been hijacked by Somali pirates.
Recently, the firm’s senior executives discussed their plans with The Independent newspaper of London.
Mr Sean Woollerson, a senior partner, said, “We’d have armed personnel with fast boats escorting ships.”
The private navy will likely consist of 20 small, speedy boats loaded with private security contractors. These guns-for-hire will escort ships around the Gulf of Aden, Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.
The costs for the private navy will likely be around $15 million (Sh1.2 billion), a small sum in comparison to the nearly $300 million (Sh24 billion) paid in ransoms in the past two years alone.
“These are criminals extorting funds, so why not do something more proactive?” Mr Woollerson said.
Currently, 354 sailors and 16 ships are being held hostage in Somalia by pirates.
Ships are now being held for an average of 117 days, and ransoms have climbed to an average of $5.5 million (Sh440 million) per ship.
A spokesman for the British Foreign Office said a formal proposal for the private naval force has not yet been received, but that the government was willing to consider it.
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Source:- Daily Nation
