Pirate: Captives Will Die If Rescue Attempted

[MJS]

Think of it as a kidnapping at sea, and they get a ransom from the families. It's worked before......

Yes, I see your point. I guess I was looking at it like, you could hijack a large ship and get 5 million. I doubt you'd get 5 million from a small yacht. I may be wrong, I dont know. OTOH, they're probably looking at it like, money is money. Whether its 50k or 5 mil. its still money.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

And while this often true, it's true just as often that the people on the yacht have made a "lifestyle" change, and don't really have all that many sheckels at all......

I agree, but the kidnappers may not know that. They know what they see - a rich Westerner doing things they could never dream of, with possessions that only the ultra-rich in their society could possibly own. Besides, the yachters have something else attractive to the pirates - they're *there*.

 

[MJS]

I think the risks involved the smaller vessels could be of greater profit. Usually their cargo is not as easily replaced (cynicism, I know) and not usually of the poor....

considering how long this has been going on and how recently it made the headlines, it makes you wonder though.

Maybe there is a new enemy to be found yet, after all the old ones are fading away...

Good point. I know nothing about the last group of 4 that unfortunately, ended up dead, or this recent family. I mean, other than the money, what use is a small boat with 4 people, to the pirates? Its very possible these people are very wealthy, so the idea of getting a million plus ransom, is there. But if not, what do the pirates get? The boat?

 

[MJS]

The ship owners won't pay for a ship - that's what insurance is for. Sink the damned thing, we'll buy another one with the insurance money. It's the human lives that are being ransomed. The companies involved have two things - deep pockets and a legal (and ethical, if it comes to that) liability to protect the lives of their employees.

So the insurance companies will continue to shell out money with no penalties to the companies? Serious question, as I really dont know. I mean, if I owned a business, but was tired of it, so decided to burn it down, get the cash and start over. How many times can I successfully torch my own business, before the ins. co. smells something fishy?

With the smaller vessels, it's the same as kidnappings in Central America; they ask the families to pony up, with the idea being that people who have the money to cruise around on private yachts have some ducats available.

True, but as I said to granfire, this is assuming the people have cash and lots of it. But then again, it would only make sense....if you're driving a Ferrari, it'd only be smart to think that the driver is fully capable of owning it.

 

[LuckyKBoxer]

I think a much funner and more practical answer would be to "upgrade" a few dozen yachts, and boats of different sizes and shapes, outfit them for speed, durability, and stock them each with a special forces type team with the mandate "kill them all" and send them out for some pleasurable cruises around the area.

I would imagine that once the yachts and rich people start turning the ocean red with pirate blood that after a fairly short time someones going to think that another profession has to be better then piracy.

 

[Empty Hands]

And thats what I dont understand. I can see them hijacking a large ship, as the ramson will be large. But a smaller boat? Do they really think that with the last 2 small boat hijackings that they did, that they'd actually get the sum of money that they'd get for a huge vessle?

These are desperately poor men. Even a few thousand dollars is a pretty big sum in Mogadishu.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

So the insurance companies will continue to shell out money with no penalties to the companies? Serious question, as I really dont know. I mean, if I owned a business, but was tired of it, so decided to burn it down, get the cash and start over. How many times can I successfully torch my own business, before the ins. co. smells something fishy?

Ultimately, the consumer pays, as they pay for everything. Shippers buy insurance, both on cargo and for what is called "K&R" coverage (Kidnap and Ransom). These costs are rising, and in any case, they are passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices.

Dead Somali pirates do not cost us anything. We can make lots of them, and I encourage our nations to do so.

The main reason that shippers do not fight back against pirates - or encourage governments to do so - is that they perceive that if pirates are killed on a regular basis, the kidnappings will become more vicious and expensive, both in terms of lives lost and ransom demands. This is a long-term losing proposition, but it's the choice driven by economics, not necessarily logic. The choice may end up being made for the insurers, as it appears that their worst fears are becoming realized.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1892366,00.html

U.S. and European officials insist they don't pay ransoms to pirates. And why would they? Shipping and insurance companies now routinely pay ransoms of millions of dollars, dropping sack-loads of cash from airplanes into the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden, despite assertions from politicians back home that the money is fueling the rampant piracy.

"Paying ransoms is not illegal," says Guillaume Bonnissent, a special risks underwriter for Hiscox Insurance Co. Ltd. in London, which writes about two-thirds of the world's kidnap-and-ransom insurance policies, known in the industry as K&R. In fact, insurance companies never pay ransoms themselves, in part because insurance companies are often banned by law from doing so. Instead, the companies whose workers or vessels are seized pay, and then claim back the money under their insurance policies. "K&R is really reimbursement," says Bonnissent. "We reimburse clients for ransoms paid."

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1892366,00.html#ixzz1FSzH9TIx


http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/04/13/us-somalia-piracy-insurance-analysis-sb-idUSTRE53C59720090413

"Piracy has been an issue for some time and it has already lead to higher insurance premiums," said Paul Keane, a partner at Cichanowicz, Callan, Keane, Vengrow & Textor LLP, who specializes in maritime cases. "Premiums are going to go up because the pirates are going to become a little more vicious and hold out for more money."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/10/insurance-piracy-shipping-idUSLDE7191MO20110210

"Premiums may rise further if the Lloyd's market makes larger losses, and this will continue to push up the price of shipping goods, potentially raising commodity prices in affected markets such as in the Gulf," said John Drake, senior risk consultant with security firm AKE Ltd.
Ship owners seeking financial protection against attacks by Somali pirates typically buy marine kidnap and ransom cover in the Lloyd's of London market, insuring themselves against the cost of raising and delivering multi-million dollar ransom payments.
Insurers are reluctant to disclose the size of marine K&R premiums or claims for fear that pirates will use the information to set their ransom demands, with any increase potentially setting off an inflationary spiral.
A study last month estimated the total cost of insurance due to Somali piracy was up to $3.2 billion annually.

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Just FYI, it takes two to tango. Pirates on the one end, and weasels running accounting offices on the other. A sack full of money is seen as a better choice than addressing the problem once and for all.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

These are desperately poor men. Even a few thousand dollars is a pretty big sum in Mogadishu.

True enough, but I don't care. I only see targets in crosshairs when they raise their hands against my countrymen.

 

[Nomad]

I am not a sailor, but daughter of an RV enthusiast....when the basks made waves my Dad changed travel plans, going from RVing to flying to the beach resort...

I mean, the Pirate thing is not a new thing, why oh why do people in there smallish boats still travel those seas?

On the other hand, considering jacking a big vessel has been for years a good business model, usually the owners paid and kept on 'trucking'

So what escalated?

(please educate me as to what makes sailing around Somalia and the South Chinese Sea is so much better than, say the Mediterranean or the Pacific? I do not have sea legs.)

It's an ADVENTURE!

 

[granfire]

Good point. I know nothing about the last group of 4 that unfortunately, ended up dead, or this recent family. I mean, other than the money, what use is a small boat with 4 people, to the pirates? Its very possible these people are very wealthy, so the idea of getting a million plus ransom, is there. But if not, what do the pirates get? The boat?

Somebody who does not care a great deal about the origin of the boat has put down a retainer on the vessel by now...