.Yemen navy charges $60,000 for safe passage in pirate waters
YEMEN'S navy is charging commercial vessels up to $US55,000 ($60,800) each to guarantee transit through the pirate-infested waters of the Gulf of Aden under a deal that has reaped about $US30 million over 18 months.
The hiring of Yemeni military came as al-Qa'ida flourishes in the Arabian Peninsula nation, and was agreed without the apparent knowledge of Yemeni government officials or international anti-piracy military forces.
European governments and the US have vowed to boost counter-terrorism funding, intelligence-sharing and training for Yemen's coastguard and defence forces to fight extremists.
But at least one merchant ship a day, including some of the largest ship owners, are discreetly paying Yemen for military protection, said Nick Davis, chief executive of British-based Gulf of Aden Group Transits, which has an exclusive contract with the country's navy.
Under the payment-for-protection deal, up to 10 warships are placed at the company's disposal, with armed soldiers deployed to board private ships as escorts, with land-based military "right behind us if we need them", Mr Davis said.
"It's the only dedicated, military-supported full escort protection available in the Gulf of Aden at the moment. There's nothing better. We'd all like it to be free but that's not possible," he said.
Somali pirates have attacked more than 200 commercial ships and hijacked nearly 50 over the past 12 months, mostly in the Gulf of Aden, through which about 25,000 vessels transit annually.
About $US40m has been paid in ransoms.
For the $US55,000 fee, the Yemen navy provides a dedicated warship travelling alongside a vessel, 40km off its coastline.
Not one paying ship has been hijacked, and four attacks successfully repelled, Mr Davis said.
A spokesman for the US military's Bahrain-based 5th Fleet said he had no knowledge of the deal.
But Lieutenant-Commander Corey Barker referred inquiries to Commander Chris Sims, a public affairs officer for the US 5th Fleet and the Combined Maritime Force, a piracy coalition taskforce of which Australia is a member. Commander Sims did not respond to questions about whether the practice was appropriate, saying only that embarked security teams on vessels "ensured the highest level of protection".
The Australian
The hiring of Yemeni military came as al-Qa'ida flourishes in the Arabian Peninsula nation, and was agreed without the apparent knowledge of Yemeni government officials or international anti-piracy military forces.
European governments and the US have vowed to boost counter-terrorism funding, intelligence-sharing and training for Yemen's coastguard and defence forces to fight extremists.
But at least one merchant ship a day, including some of the largest ship owners, are discreetly paying Yemen for military protection, said Nick Davis, chief executive of British-based Gulf of Aden Group Transits, which has an exclusive contract with the country's navy.
Under the payment-for-protection deal, up to 10 warships are placed at the company's disposal, with armed soldiers deployed to board private ships as escorts, with land-based military "right behind us if we need them", Mr Davis said.
"It's the only dedicated, military-supported full escort protection available in the Gulf of Aden at the moment. There's nothing better. We'd all like it to be free but that's not possible," he said.
Somali pirates have attacked more than 200 commercial ships and hijacked nearly 50 over the past 12 months, mostly in the Gulf of Aden, through which about 25,000 vessels transit annually.
About $US40m has been paid in ransoms.
For the $US55,000 fee, the Yemen navy provides a dedicated warship travelling alongside a vessel, 40km off its coastline.
Not one paying ship has been hijacked, and four attacks successfully repelled, Mr Davis said.
A spokesman for the US military's Bahrain-based 5th Fleet said he had no knowledge of the deal.
But Lieutenant-Commander Corey Barker referred inquiries to Commander Chris Sims, a public affairs officer for the US 5th Fleet and the Combined Maritime Force, a piracy coalition taskforce of which Australia is a member. Commander Sims did not respond to questions about whether the practice was appropriate, saying only that embarked security teams on vessels "ensured the highest level of protection".
The Australian
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