TDC Security Alert: 1376 (20090508)

Seagoing unions urge U.S. government to provide force protection onboard U.S.-flag vessels

The following letter was sent to President Barack Obama:

We represent the American Maritime Officers (AMO), the International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots (IOMM&P), the Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association (MEBA) and the Seafarers International Union (SIU). On behalf of the officers and members of our unions, we wish to express our deepest appreciation to you and to all those in your Administration who were involved in bringing the recent acts of piracy against U.S.-flag vessels and their United States citizen crews to an end. We are especially grateful to the Department of the Navy and the naval personnel who, despite the unique and difficult circumstances, responded with great skill.

Nevertheless, American mariners working aboard U.S.-flag vessels operating in that region continue to face an immediate and ongoing threat from international pirates. As our American mariners simply attempt to do their jobs, their lives are in constant peril as these pirates decide when to take further aggressive action against U.S.-flag ships.

We believe that the most effective step that must be taken to prevent further aggressive action against U.S.-flag commercial vessels and their crews is for our government to immediately provide U.S.-flag vessels with the force protection necessary to prevent any further acts of piracy against them. There should be no question but that it is the responsibility of the United States government to provide the protection necessary to ensure the safety of life and property aboard United States-flag vessels. When a vessel flies the United States flag it becomes an extension of the United States itself, regardless of where in the world the vessel is operating.

We stand ready to continue to meet with the appropriate persons in your Administration to discuss a realistic, long-term solution to this problem. We further believe a collaborative effort among all parties – domestic and international – is necessary to develop and implement solutions that have the potential to reduce if not end piracy on the high seas, and we stand ready to participate in this process.

Sincerely,

Thomas Bethel, President, AMO
Timothy Brown, President, IOMM&P
Don Keefe, President, MEBA
Mike Sacco, President, SIU

• TDC Analysis:

The TDC Team can't agree more. Force protection of US and International vessels is a no brainer. We as an industry can't allow bullies in small boats to continue to harass, fire upon seize vessels and strike fear into our crews as they ply their trade and struggle to make a living carrying out the world's trade in a global economy. The warlords, clan leaders, and Al Qaeada in Somalia along with their backers must be laughing as they watch the US and coalition Navies scurry around the immense seas in pursuit of lightly armed and ill trained criminals who wreak havoc on the merchant mariners.

The time for action is now. Ships are a mariner’s home. They have been denied the right of self defense by a smokescreen of false liability fears and weak-kneed executives that care more about their bottom line than the safety of their crews.

Protection of vessels and crew can be accomplished with a combination of trained crews and armed security.

- Compiled by the TDC Maritime Team

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