08 September 2008
The Cabinet approved at its meeting on Tuesday a memorandum of understanding between Yemen and the countries in sub-Western Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden and Red Sea area on the control and eradication of piracy and armed robbery against ships in the region.
The Cabinet Council authorized the Minister of Transport to sign the memorandum and oversee the preparations for the second regional meeting, planned in Sana'a from Oct. 27 to 30 this year. In addition, they plan to work on completing the procedures for the establishment of the Regional Centre, building to exchange information on piracy and armed robbery against ships to the Red Sea area and Gulf of Aden in Yemen.
The Council stressed the importance of the international community in supporting the security and stability of Somalia, supporting the interim government and what it represents to strengthen security and safety in the region.
This decision was announced after the increase in piracy incidents in the Red Sea area and the international waters in the Gulf of Aden. The last incident of piracy happened with the hijacking of a chemical transport ship while in international waters of the Gulf of Aden. The operations room of the Yemeni Coast Guard in the Gulf of Aden received letter from the warnings centre that the ship may be exposed to the risk of piracy.
The letter published by the Media Centre of Interior Ministry stated that the ship was hijaked by unknown gunmen while they were on the following coordinates (12,13 north- 37.46 east).
Last Saturday, Somali pirates hijacked a Malaysian tanker on the Yemeni coast. The Malaysian Misk Transportation Company owned the tanker.
The Tanker "N. T. Ponja Milati Duwa" was carrying 30 thousand tons of petro materials in its way to Singapore coming from the Saudi city of Yanbu. 36 Malaysian crew and five Filipinos was on the tanker where kidnapped in international waters off the coast of Yemen.
"The tanker was sailing in the security vicinity that allotted to corridor," said the Company statement. "It tried to maneuver and escape but the kidnappers were able to get it under their control," read the statement.
The coalition maritime forces received a warning but were unable to repel the pirates, fearing for the safety of the tanker crew, according to the statement.
Somali pirates in the region hijacked more than 34 ships since the beginning of this year, where four ships were hijacked last week.
The Vice-president of the Yemeni Commercial and Industrial Chambers Union Khaled Mustafa warned of the impact of piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the Horn of Africa on the economy after the number of piracy incidents reached 34 since last January.
Mustafa warned of the impact of acts of piracy on international ships and trade tankers in the international waters in the Horn of Africa and the Gulf of Aden areas on Yemen's economy and regional levels.
"The continuing acts of piracy in international navigation through the Horn of Africa region and the Gulf of Aden, will negatively impact international cargo companies which will raise the cost of insurance on their ships," said Mustafa
The raise of insurance cost for commercial cargo shipping, will add to the increase in the value of commodity trade, which will impact ordinary citizens in Yemen, Mustafa clarified. He demanded the Yemeni government and the international community, through securing international navigation "to combat piracy in order to secure economic stability for commodity trade.
Malaysia requested Yemen and Somalia to assist in reaching a solution to the security breach of its two ship crews hijacked in the waters of the Gulf of Aden on Aug. 19 and 29.
The Malaysian Foreign Ministry issued statement on Tuesday that it had also asked Yemen and Somalia to help them on crossing the two ships safely via the Gulf of Aden.
According to the statement, Malaysia will submit a proposal stating that its boats have been hijacked in order to bring the matter to the United Nations.
The proposal of forming special unit, which is chaired by the consulate to monitor the latest developments in the incident, and that the ministry will continue to monitor the situation and developments through diplomatic means, said the statement.
The ministry expressed its deep concern in what happened to the second Malaysian tanker "N. T. Ponja Milati Duwa" which was kidnapped on last August 29.
Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister, Najib Abdul Razak, confirmed that all crews of the Malaysian ships are alive on the Somali coastline, but a random bullet killed one Filipino citizen.
Malaysian Misk Transportation Company prevents its ships and tankers from entering the Gulf of Aden following the kidnapping of its two tankers in Gulf waters. The company said in a statement issued on Tuesday that it had suspended all its ships and tankers entering the Gulf of Aden until the application of additional security measures to ensure the safety of its vessels and crews.
The largest shipping company in Malaysia owns the two vessels. One of the two vessels was carrying palm oils coming from Sumatra, Indonesia from the Dutch international port of Rotterdam, before it was attacked.
Somali official said on Sunday that Somali pirates took the tanker of "N. T. Ponja Milati Duwa" to its coastal base, where gunmen detained at least nine vessels for ransom.
The Cabinet approved at its meeting on Tuesday a memorandum of understanding between Yemen and the countries in sub-Western Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden and Red Sea area on the control and eradication of piracy and armed robbery against ships in the region.
The Cabinet Council authorized the Minister of Transport to sign the memorandum and oversee the preparations for the second regional meeting, planned in Sana'a from Oct. 27 to 30 this year. In addition, they plan to work on completing the procedures for the establishment of the Regional Centre, building to exchange information on piracy and armed robbery against ships to the Red Sea area and Gulf of Aden in Yemen.
The Council stressed the importance of the international community in supporting the security and stability of Somalia, supporting the interim government and what it represents to strengthen security and safety in the region.
This decision was announced after the increase in piracy incidents in the Red Sea area and the international waters in the Gulf of Aden. The last incident of piracy happened with the hijacking of a chemical transport ship while in international waters of the Gulf of Aden. The operations room of the Yemeni Coast Guard in the Gulf of Aden received letter from the warnings centre that the ship may be exposed to the risk of piracy.
The letter published by the Media Centre of Interior Ministry stated that the ship was hijaked by unknown gunmen while they were on the following coordinates (12,13 north- 37.46 east).
Last Saturday, Somali pirates hijacked a Malaysian tanker on the Yemeni coast. The Malaysian Misk Transportation Company owned the tanker.
The Tanker "N. T. Ponja Milati Duwa" was carrying 30 thousand tons of petro materials in its way to Singapore coming from the Saudi city of Yanbu. 36 Malaysian crew and five Filipinos was on the tanker where kidnapped in international waters off the coast of Yemen.
"The tanker was sailing in the security vicinity that allotted to corridor," said the Company statement. "It tried to maneuver and escape but the kidnappers were able to get it under their control," read the statement.
The coalition maritime forces received a warning but were unable to repel the pirates, fearing for the safety of the tanker crew, according to the statement.
Somali pirates in the region hijacked more than 34 ships since the beginning of this year, where four ships were hijacked last week.
The Vice-president of the Yemeni Commercial and Industrial Chambers Union Khaled Mustafa warned of the impact of piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the Horn of Africa on the economy after the number of piracy incidents reached 34 since last January.
Mustafa warned of the impact of acts of piracy on international ships and trade tankers in the international waters in the Horn of Africa and the Gulf of Aden areas on Yemen's economy and regional levels.
"The continuing acts of piracy in international navigation through the Horn of Africa region and the Gulf of Aden, will negatively impact international cargo companies which will raise the cost of insurance on their ships," said Mustafa
The raise of insurance cost for commercial cargo shipping, will add to the increase in the value of commodity trade, which will impact ordinary citizens in Yemen, Mustafa clarified. He demanded the Yemeni government and the international community, through securing international navigation "to combat piracy in order to secure economic stability for commodity trade.
Malaysia requested Yemen and Somalia to assist in reaching a solution to the security breach of its two ship crews hijacked in the waters of the Gulf of Aden on Aug. 19 and 29.
The Malaysian Foreign Ministry issued statement on Tuesday that it had also asked Yemen and Somalia to help them on crossing the two ships safely via the Gulf of Aden.
According to the statement, Malaysia will submit a proposal stating that its boats have been hijacked in order to bring the matter to the United Nations.
The proposal of forming special unit, which is chaired by the consulate to monitor the latest developments in the incident, and that the ministry will continue to monitor the situation and developments through diplomatic means, said the statement.
The ministry expressed its deep concern in what happened to the second Malaysian tanker "N. T. Ponja Milati Duwa" which was kidnapped on last August 29.
Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister, Najib Abdul Razak, confirmed that all crews of the Malaysian ships are alive on the Somali coastline, but a random bullet killed one Filipino citizen.
Malaysian Misk Transportation Company prevents its ships and tankers from entering the Gulf of Aden following the kidnapping of its two tankers in Gulf waters. The company said in a statement issued on Tuesday that it had suspended all its ships and tankers entering the Gulf of Aden until the application of additional security measures to ensure the safety of its vessels and crews.
The largest shipping company in Malaysia owns the two vessels. One of the two vessels was carrying palm oils coming from Sumatra, Indonesia from the Dutch international port of Rotterdam, before it was attacked.
Somali official said on Sunday that Somali pirates took the tanker of "N. T. Ponja Milati Duwa" to its coastal base, where gunmen detained at least nine vessels for ransom.
By Fares Anam
© Yemen Observer 2008
