Nairobi Star (Nairobi)
Brian Otieno
4 April 2011
There is urgent need for united efforts to confront piracy in the Indian Ocean once and for all, Kenya Ports Authority has said. KPA boss Gichiri Ndua and World Trade Organization director general Pascal Lamy said at the weekend piracy is greatly impacting on international maritime trade.
Ndua said passenger cruise ships have reduced on the back of increases on piracy activities off the Somali Coast. The KPA boss said the number of passenger cruise ships calling at the port has reduced from 50 calls annually to a paltry five calls a year.
Last year, there were only five passenger cruise ships calling at the port. This year, only two have called on the port so far.”This represents a significant loss in revenue especially in the tourism sector. Vessels are forced to detour for more than 900 nautical miles to avoid pirates,” said Ndua.
This means they ships use more fuel, make longer voyages and significantly increase cost of maritime trade. As a result, the passengers and other businessmen opt to call on other ports making Kenya miss out on a significant amount of revenue.
Lamy called for regional integration process to be hastened so as to boost the fight against piracy. He said piracy is a headache not only for Kenya and East Africa but also for the larger world trade.”There have been several meetings by stakeholders with the piracy issue being the main agenda. We hope a permanent solution to the vice will soon be found,” said Lamy.
Despite successful efforts to stem attacks in the Gulf of Aden, international navies have been unable to contain piracy in the Indian Ocean owing to the vast distances involved, and the mostly Somali pirate gangs are making tens of millions of dollars in ransoms.
AllAfrica – All the Time
Originally posted here:
Piracy Likely to Kill Cruise Tourism