Arm RP seafarers to prevent abductions,' group says
MANILA, Philippines - As the number of abducted Filipino seamen climbed to 80 on Wednesday, a seafarers’ group proposed equipping maritime workers with high-powered guns to deter pirates from hijacking vessels
“Ako payag ako na armasan ang mga seafarers kaysa i-ban sila sa mga dagat (I’m for the arming of all seafarers instead of banning them in certain waters)," Engineer Nelson Ramirez, president of the United Filipino Seafarers (UFS) told GMANews.TV on Thursday.
Ramirez, who earlier opposed the Department of Foreign Affairs’ (DFA) proposed deployment ban to Somalia, said pirates would think twice in boarding ships with fully armed crew members.
International law prohibits the carrying of guns in commercial vessels. Ship captains are trained to shoot pirates only with a fire hose.
But according to Ramirez, the said law does not apply to everyone.
“Bawal pero bakit ang mga American vessels inaarmasan nila mga crew nila (It’s prohibited but why are crew members of American vessels armed)?" he said, without further elaborating on the matter.
Aggressive
In its 2007 report, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said Somali pirates had become aggressive in hijacking ships because they were equipped with rocket-propelled grenade launchers that could both harm the ship and its crew members.
To deter pirates from boarding a vessel, the ship’s captain would usually order the crew to assemble at the ship’s rear and aim their water cannon toward the speeding pirates. An alarm is also sounded off to warn other vessels and seek help from them.
Esteban Conejos Jr., DFA undersecretary for migrant workers’ affairs, has renewed his stand to bar Filipino seafarers from boarding ships that pass through pirate-prone areas like Somalia.
In an interview with GMANews.TV, Conejos said those opposing the proposal should look at it in a different perspective.
"We have proposed that the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) and the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) adopt measures aimed at preventing Filipino seamen from being deployed on ships plying pirate-infested routes, such as those near Somalia," Conejos said.
Security risk
Meanwhile, Labor undersecretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the implementation of such deployment ban would depend on how the DFA presents its security report before the POEA governing board.
Baldoz said the DoLE as well as the POEA would consider such measure “if the security risk is so high and no protection is in place for Filipino seafarers."
Senator Jinggoy Estrada, who chairs the Congressional Oversight Committee on Labor and Employment, supports the deployment ban on Filipino seafarers.
“If we are concerned with the safety of our OFWs, [then] I’m for the deployment ban to Somalia," he said.
Filipinos make up one-third of the world’s manning power, making them the most vulnerable to pirate abductions among the world's seafarers. Last year, about 300,000 Filipino seamen were deployed overseas.
The IMB recorded an upward trend in pirate attacks in Somalia, which remains without a strong central government since a group of clan-based warlords overthrew a socialist dictator in 1991 and then fought each other for power.
Reports said ransom being paid to pirates had fuelled the growing insurgency in the arid African nation.
Combat piracy
Amid the upsurge of pirate attacks in African waters, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) welcomed the adoption last June by the United Nations Security Council of a resolution authorizing a series of decisive measures to combat acts of piracy and armed robbery against vessels off the coast of Somalia.
The IMO said in a statement that under the terms of resolution 1816, Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government would allow other countries, for a period of six months, to enter the country's territorial waters and use "all necessary means" to repress acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea, in a manner consistent with relevant provisions of international law.
The Security Council text was adopted with the consent of Somalia, following a surge in attacks on ships including vessels operated by the World Food Programme that posed a threat "to the prompt, safe and effective delivery of food aid and other humanitarian assistance to the people of Somalia." - GMANews.TV
“Ako payag ako na armasan ang mga seafarers kaysa i-ban sila sa mga dagat (I’m for the arming of all seafarers instead of banning them in certain waters)," Engineer Nelson Ramirez, president of the United Filipino Seafarers (UFS) told GMANews.TV on Thursday.
Ramirez, who earlier opposed the Department of Foreign Affairs’ (DFA) proposed deployment ban to Somalia, said pirates would think twice in boarding ships with fully armed crew members.
International law prohibits the carrying of guns in commercial vessels. Ship captains are trained to shoot pirates only with a fire hose.
But according to Ramirez, the said law does not apply to everyone.
“Bawal pero bakit ang mga American vessels inaarmasan nila mga crew nila (It’s prohibited but why are crew members of American vessels armed)?" he said, without further elaborating on the matter.
Aggressive
In its 2007 report, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said Somali pirates had become aggressive in hijacking ships because they were equipped with rocket-propelled grenade launchers that could both harm the ship and its crew members.
To deter pirates from boarding a vessel, the ship’s captain would usually order the crew to assemble at the ship’s rear and aim their water cannon toward the speeding pirates. An alarm is also sounded off to warn other vessels and seek help from them.
Esteban Conejos Jr., DFA undersecretary for migrant workers’ affairs, has renewed his stand to bar Filipino seafarers from boarding ships that pass through pirate-prone areas like Somalia.
In an interview with GMANews.TV, Conejos said those opposing the proposal should look at it in a different perspective.
"We have proposed that the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) and the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) adopt measures aimed at preventing Filipino seamen from being deployed on ships plying pirate-infested routes, such as those near Somalia," Conejos said.
Security risk
Meanwhile, Labor undersecretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the implementation of such deployment ban would depend on how the DFA presents its security report before the POEA governing board.
Baldoz said the DoLE as well as the POEA would consider such measure “if the security risk is so high and no protection is in place for Filipino seafarers."
Senator Jinggoy Estrada, who chairs the Congressional Oversight Committee on Labor and Employment, supports the deployment ban on Filipino seafarers.
“If we are concerned with the safety of our OFWs, [then] I’m for the deployment ban to Somalia," he said.
Filipinos make up one-third of the world’s manning power, making them the most vulnerable to pirate abductions among the world's seafarers. Last year, about 300,000 Filipino seamen were deployed overseas.
The IMB recorded an upward trend in pirate attacks in Somalia, which remains without a strong central government since a group of clan-based warlords overthrew a socialist dictator in 1991 and then fought each other for power.
Reports said ransom being paid to pirates had fuelled the growing insurgency in the arid African nation.
Combat piracy
Amid the upsurge of pirate attacks in African waters, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) welcomed the adoption last June by the United Nations Security Council of a resolution authorizing a series of decisive measures to combat acts of piracy and armed robbery against vessels off the coast of Somalia.
The IMO said in a statement that under the terms of resolution 1816, Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government would allow other countries, for a period of six months, to enter the country's territorial waters and use "all necessary means" to repress acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea, in a manner consistent with relevant provisions of international law.
The Security Council text was adopted with the consent of Somalia, following a surge in attacks on ships including vessels operated by the World Food Programme that posed a threat "to the prompt, safe and effective delivery of food aid and other humanitarian assistance to the people of Somalia." - GMANews.TV
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