In an article entitled Some People are Doing the Right Thing published by MAREX, author John Guy says: Both seafarers and Somali pirates have good reason to be grateful to a group of shipowners. They (the shipowners) are doing what should have been done a long time ago, and done by governments. They are putting cash where it is needed to develop economic activity in the areas of Somalia where piracy festers. The Joint Shipping Initiative, which includes Shell, BP, Maersk, Stena, NYK, MOL and “K” Line, have just given $1.5 million to a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) project to improve the lives of Somalis and security for seafarers. This follows $1m they gave in 2013. The money has been spent building markets and roads in areas where the piracy sucks in the 67 per cent of unemployed youth. Markets and roads create commerce and jobs. Selling fish in a market is a lot more attractive than getting shot or drowned trying to hijack a ship. The new cash will allow UNDP to develop more infrastructure in the towns of Alula and Bargal, near the tip of the Horn of Africa, and Balanbal in central Somalia. “Piracy is a global problem that takes root in limited economic opportunities, high youth unemployment rates and poor infrastructure,” Jens Munch Lund-Nielsen, Head of Emerging Markets Projects in Group Sustainability, Maersk, said. “The problem requires a land-based solution.” Right on, Jens. Took a long time to get to this point though. Piracy off Somalia has cost shipping billions of dollars, and is still costing the world’s trading nations billions in largely ineffective naval patrols. It has cost many seafarers their lives or their liberty. So finally seeing an investment in the sensible economic development which is the only way to stop piracy is really something to be grateful for. The author, John Guy (pictured here), served on merchant ships and warships for sixteen years before becoming a ship inspector and then a journalist. He advises companies and organizations working in the global shipping industry on media and crisis management. His recent novels are The Reluctant Pirate and The Golden Tide.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Sep 2014 17:36:08 +0000