Seafarers unions warn of not sailing to Gulf of Aden

Having faced numerous pirate attacks in the recent past, seafarers from India and other Asian countries have warned that they would not sail to the Gulf of Aden and Somalia, unless the threat of piracy is contained soon.

Having faced numerous pirate attacks in the recent past, seafarers from India and other Asian countries have warned that they would not sail to the Gulf of Aden and Somalia, unless the threat of piracy is contained soon.

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The National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI) has taken the lead in this regard and has interacted with its counterparts in Malaysia, Bangladesh, the Philippines and other Asian countries in the interest of sailing crew.

"Discussions with the unions (of other countries) are already on. If the situation does not improve, then seafarers from labour-supplying countries will not sail to these pirate-infested places," NUSI's General Secretary-cum-Treasurer, Abdulgani Y Serang, told PTI in Mumbai.

NUSI has refrained from setting a deadline for this but "if things do not improve soon, then we will be forced to resort to this action," Serang said.

Seafarer associations from across the globe will meet next week in Berlin to take a final decision on the issue, he said.

"Our Union is spearheading and co-coordinating an international agitation on the issue with the support of unions from India, the Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Ukraine, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and other labour-supplying countries," he said.

Indian crew are unsatisfied with the steps taken so far by the world authorities such as the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the Indian Government and others, he said.

There are still 11 vessels with more than 200 crew-members of different nationalities held by pirates in the region, he added.