Somali piracy and Band-Aid solutions
Yesterday, International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) chairman Spyros M Polemis made a strident call at the Maritime Cyprus conference in Limassol for greater naval presence to counter Somali pirate attacks. He said governments had ceded control of Somali waters and the Indian Ocean to pirates and that the small deployment of naval forces to the region was “like putting a band-aid on a gaping wound.” For sure, his message struck a sympathetic chord – especially amongst shipowners who hate paying for private armed guards to protect their ships. (more…)
