Maersk, APL beef up security measures off the Horn of Africa.
Two major container carriers said they are maintaining the routing of the big ships that ply the trade lane between Asia and Europe via the Suez Canal during the recent spate of pirate attacks off the Horn of Africa, but they are increasing security measures.
Both Maersk Line and APL said that they are not changing the routings of their ships on the Asia-Europe trade lane, at least not yet.
“We have, however, introduced increased safety precautions and requirements for the vessels operating in the area,” said Morten Englestoft, chief operating officer of Maersk Line in Copenhagen.
“We are constantly reviewing these procedures based on the latest intelligence on the situation available,” he said.
APL said it is has security plans in place for each of its vessels. “No vessel can be 100 percent secured against an incursion, but our ships transiting the area are fast and have high free-boards which makes boarding difficult and risky,” said Michael Zampa, a spokesman for the Singapore-based carrier.
Maersk Line said it has been routing some of its ships from Europe to Asia around the Cape of Good Hope in order to avoid paying tolls for passing through the Suez Canal on the less-heavily loaded eastbound leg of the trade.
Despite the additional time required for that detour, Maersk Line is also considering routing its westbound ships around the cape, more as a way of avoiding canal tolls than because of the threat of pirate attacks.
The Journal of Commerce
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