Help us hunt the pirates!

By now, it is obvious that piracy off the coast of Somalia and in the Indian Ocean has become a critical issue for international shipping.

Because of the lack of forceful measures by NATO, the UN and the international community as a whole, Stena Bulk has been forced to post armed guards on its tankers.

Now, other shipowners and seafarers are also making a joint effort to arouse public opinion in this urgent matter, which has so far had a low profile. Via the campaign SOS (Save Our Seafarers) on the Internet, Intertanko, the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners, and other initiators are hoping to get millions of people to sign the appeal. The goal is to pressure governments and decision-makers all over the world to do something.
“Piracy has become a business concept that is threatening the wellbeing of the industrial world. We cannot give in to pirates, kidnappers and extortioners. What is needed is a joint international effort to reach a permanent solution to a problem that is only getting larger”, says Ulf G. Ryder, CEO of Stena Bulk.

Today, a total of 800 seafarers are being held hostage by the pirates. They are living in crowded small rooms with gigantic hygienic problems, and death threats and ill-treatment are part of their everyday life. Many of them have lived in these sickening conditions for up to ten months, some of them for more than a year. This would never have happened if, for example, an international airport had been hijacked by terrorists with a few poor passengers being held hostage. It would have been over in a matter of hours rather than days, Ulf G. Ryder continued.

“The pressure on our poor colleagues at sea, who are stuck on board, and their families is enormous. It will leave a permanent mark on most of them. This is why we wholeheartedly support the SOS initiative.
Go to www.saveourseafarers.org and make your voice heard too.