Although piracy poses a considerable threat to Indian trade and lives, the government is ill-equipped to deal with the problem, say shipping companies and industry experts.
The government has more or less left private shipping companies to their own devices if pirates attack, even though this has economic consequences because 90 per cent of the country's trade is carried by ships. Moreover, Indians comprise one-third of those who work on cargo vessels worldwide, say industry experts.
Twenty Indians are still among 97 seafarers now in captivity with pirates, estimates the London-based Oceans Beyond Piracy, a think tank. Other industry experts say these are conservative estimates and that the numbers are likely to be higher.
In 2012-2013, pirates attacked 297 ships worldwide, according to the shipping ministry. While this is lower than the 445 vessels attacked two years prior, a result of increased patrolling worldwide, it is still a significant number.
But while patrolling has increased, pirates, too, have become more sophisticated, using satellite phones, global positioning systems and higher-calibre weapons, with the aim of targeting specific ships, especially those carrying oil, a crucial global commodity.
"Piracy has slowed down but not ended," Peter Swift, a top official at the London-based Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Programme, told a shipping conference in Mumbai last month.
India has started to act, said shipping minister Milind Deora. Two months ago, for instance, the navy coordinated with its Chinese counterpart to free an Indian oil tanker from the clutches of pirates in the Horn of Africa. Along with China and Pakistan, India also now forms part of the world’s biggest naval legions scouting the waters of the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.
Nevertheless, recent incidents suggest that the government does not fully understand the complexities or seriousness of the threat. In the case of Sunil James, it took persistent pressure from the media and his family members for the government to finally act.
In July, pirates attacked the ship, of which James was captain, off the West African coast. Strangely, James then ended up in a prison in Togo accused of colluding with the pirates, a highly improbable accusation because cases of crew collaborating with pirates are almost unheard of.
He languished in jail for five months before the government finally used diplomatic pressure on Togo to secure James's release in December. "We should have reacted fast," external affairs minister Salman Khurshid admitted to reporters. "It was a very sad incident."
In another instance, an Indian crew member of a ship that pirates attacked in 2010 remains in captivity, along with three colleagues from other countries, even after seven Pakistani sailors were freed in 2012. Reports say a businessman from their country raised and paid $1.2 billion as ransom. The Albedo's Iranian owner had not insured the vessel and had disappeared after the capture so there was no one to pay the ransom.
Other Indians remain in captivity for a similar reason: the vessels carrying them were uninsured and the negotiations between the ship owners and the pirates have petered out. Many vessels are not insured because the cost of ransom insurance is steep, so some owners may not be able or want to pay the ransom. Companies may also be deterred from pursuing negotiations with pirates because of the high fees charged by intermediating lawyers.
Even shipping companies that can or want to pay the ransom to secure the release of their employees have to route the money through dubious intermediaries, who arrange for a helicopter to airdrop the ransom, usually somewhere in the Horn of Africa, where most of the attacks take place, according to the International Criminal Police Organisation, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the World Bank.
Indian companies told Scroll.in that they have repeatedly complained to the shipping ministry that they are forced to transfer ransom money illegally, but said they had received no response about alternatives. Deora, the shipping minister, declined to comment on this matter.
So far, the average ransom has been about $2.7 million, with most pirates receiving $30,000 to $75,000 each, according to industry experts. Pirates who brought their own weapons or were first to board the ship get bonuses.
To lower the chances of being attacked in the first place, many shipping companies have spent money on hiring armed guards to patrol the waters and provide a counterattack if pirates strike. About half the world's cargo ships now employ armed guards.
“The utilisation of armed guards is the greatest factor in reducing attacks,” said Peter Cook, director of the Security Association for the Maritime Industry, which represents 176 private maritime security companies.
But this, of course, comes at a cost. Shipping companies worldwide spent nearly $1.53 billion on armed guards in 2012, more than three times the $530 million they spent in 2011.
“When pirates attack cargo worth billions of dollars, there is a global economic impact, and India is a part of that," said Narendra Taneja, the India head of Trade Winds, the world’s top shipping newspaper. He predicted that Indian ships would have to travel one-and-a-half times the distance in 2020 that they do now because of having to reroute their voyages to avoid pirates, adding to fuel costs.
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The government has more or less left private shipping companies to their own devices if pirates attack, even though this has economic consequences because 90 per cent of the country's trade is carried by ships. Moreover, Indians comprise one-third of those who work on cargo vessels worldwide, say industry experts.
Twenty Indians are still among 97 seafarers now in captivity with pirates, estimates the London-based Oceans Beyond Piracy, a think tank. Other industry experts say these are conservative estimates and that the numbers are likely to be higher.
In 2012-2013, pirates attacked 297 ships worldwide, according to the shipping ministry. While this is lower than the 445 vessels attacked two years prior, a result of increased patrolling worldwide, it is still a significant number.
But while patrolling has increased, pirates, too, have become more sophisticated, using satellite phones, global positioning systems and higher-calibre weapons, with the aim of targeting specific ships, especially those carrying oil, a crucial global commodity.
"Piracy has slowed down but not ended," Peter Swift, a top official at the London-based Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Programme, told a shipping conference in Mumbai last month.
India has started to act, said shipping minister Milind Deora. Two months ago, for instance, the navy coordinated with its Chinese counterpart to free an Indian oil tanker from the clutches of pirates in the Horn of Africa. Along with China and Pakistan, India also now forms part of the world’s biggest naval legions scouting the waters of the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.
Nevertheless, recent incidents suggest that the government does not fully understand the complexities or seriousness of the threat. In the case of Sunil James, it took persistent pressure from the media and his family members for the government to finally act.
In July, pirates attacked the ship, of which James was captain, off the West African coast. Strangely, James then ended up in a prison in Togo accused of colluding with the pirates, a highly improbable accusation because cases of crew collaborating with pirates are almost unheard of.
He languished in jail for five months before the government finally used diplomatic pressure on Togo to secure James's release in December. "We should have reacted fast," external affairs minister Salman Khurshid admitted to reporters. "It was a very sad incident."
In another instance, an Indian crew member of a ship that pirates attacked in 2010 remains in captivity, along with three colleagues from other countries, even after seven Pakistani sailors were freed in 2012. Reports say a businessman from their country raised and paid $1.2 billion as ransom. The Albedo's Iranian owner had not insured the vessel and had disappeared after the capture so there was no one to pay the ransom.
Other Indians remain in captivity for a similar reason: the vessels carrying them were uninsured and the negotiations between the ship owners and the pirates have petered out. Many vessels are not insured because the cost of ransom insurance is steep, so some owners may not be able or want to pay the ransom. Companies may also be deterred from pursuing negotiations with pirates because of the high fees charged by intermediating lawyers.
Even shipping companies that can or want to pay the ransom to secure the release of their employees have to route the money through dubious intermediaries, who arrange for a helicopter to airdrop the ransom, usually somewhere in the Horn of Africa, where most of the attacks take place, according to the International Criminal Police Organisation, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the World Bank.
Indian companies told Scroll.in that they have repeatedly complained to the shipping ministry that they are forced to transfer ransom money illegally, but said they had received no response about alternatives. Deora, the shipping minister, declined to comment on this matter.
So far, the average ransom has been about $2.7 million, with most pirates receiving $30,000 to $75,000 each, according to industry experts. Pirates who brought their own weapons or were first to board the ship get bonuses.
To lower the chances of being attacked in the first place, many shipping companies have spent money on hiring armed guards to patrol the waters and provide a counterattack if pirates strike. About half the world's cargo ships now employ armed guards.
“The utilisation of armed guards is the greatest factor in reducing attacks,” said Peter Cook, director of the Security Association for the Maritime Industry, which represents 176 private maritime security companies.
But this, of course, comes at a cost. Shipping companies worldwide spent nearly $1.53 billion on armed guards in 2012, more than three times the $530 million they spent in 2011.
“When pirates attack cargo worth billions of dollars, there is a global economic impact, and India is a part of that," said Narendra Taneja, the India head of Trade Winds, the world’s top shipping newspaper. He predicted that Indian ships would have to travel one-and-a-half times the distance in 2020 that they do now because of having to reroute their voyages to avoid pirates, adding to fuel costs.