"The efforts that are being made do not seem to put an effective end to
what can best be described as ruthless, high-level organized crime," Terje
Storeng, president of Odfjell, said. "We will no longer expose our crew to
the risk of being hijacked and held for ransom by pirates in the Gulf of
Aden."
Arab states plan to examine a a system that would warn of
piracy activities.
The six Arab League states discussed the establishment of an early-warning
system that would track pirates. Officials said the Arab League was also
mulling the launch of a piracy monitoring center.
Officials said Western and other commercial shipping were seeking other
routes to avoid attacks by Somali-based pirates. More than 80 ships have
been captured by pirates in the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea in 2008.
"This is a phenomenon that has become a national security risk," an
official said.
Officials said the Red Sea piracy could lead to similar activities in
other parts of the world, particularly the Mediterranean. They said
organized crime in such countries as Algeria, Libya and Mauritania could
copy Somali pirates.
"The Somali pirates are making so much money, and have been facing very
low risk," Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau's piracy
reporting center in Kuala Lumpur, said. "Any time you have an activity that
is low risk but with huge rewards, that will encourage criminals."
Security analysts have urged shipping companies not to rely on
governments to stop pirates. Instead, the companies must employ weapons and
security forces to stop piracy attacks.
"Ship owners must invest in gaining intelligence before passing
dangerous waters," Graeme Gibbon Brooks, managing director of the
Southampton-based Dryad Maritime Intelligence Service Ltd, told the Abu
Dhabi-based Gulf News.
