With nine vessels hijacked and 182 seafarers held by Somalian pirates (source: Lloyd's List), the issue continues to remain in the headlines with debate raging in legal and insurance circles as to the best ways to both deal with and solve the problem.

Nautilus national secretary Allan Graveson believes that the UK government should use the Piracy Act of 1837 to prosecute pirates captured by the Royal Navy. Commenting on reports that the UK is reluctant to instruct the RN to capture pirates in the Gulf of Aden because of potential difficulties in prosecuting them, Allan Graveson told London Matters that there was no reason at all why pirates captured on the high seas should not be prosecuted under sections of the 1837 Act which still remain on the statute book.

Mr Graveson said suggestions that the Human Rights Act would prevent the prosecution of suspected pirates or that they even could claim political asylum were "spurious".

He insisted: "The Human Rights Act doesn't stop us prosecuting for murder or other crimes. Why should it stop prosecutions for piracy?" He said that when the Law Commission looked at whether the Aviation and Maritime Security Act made the Piracy Act redundant, the union successfully argued that certain sections of the 1837 Act should be kept as these ensured that piracy was treated as a specific and exceptionally serious crime. It was a capital offence in the UK until 1997 and now carries a penalty of life imprisonment.

Should crew be armed?

Law firm Ince & Co has produced a piracy round-up covering issues such as arming of crew, the legality of ransoms and whether or not a vessel can refuse to transit the Gulf of Aden.

How to make a vessel a more difficult, less attractive target for the pirates?

The Standard P&I Club has issued advice to shipowners in its latest Standard Bulletin. Whilst no master can make his ship entirely kidnap-proof, there is much that can be done to reduce the danger. Much of it is about simple practical measures that shipowners can take, including improved communication and awareness. The bulletin stresses the importance of good passage planning and the need for heightened security levels when passing near the country.

Surge in demand for kidnap and ransom insurance

At a recent seminar at Lloyd's Guillaume Bonnisent, K&R underwriter with Lloyd's insurance group Hiscox, says shipowners are also in search of specialist kidnap and ransom cover. "We've had over 50 different broking firms worldwide approach us on behalf of owners and managers seeking protection for vessels," said Mr Bonnisent.

"Without a doubt the surge in piracy activity in the Gulf of Aden has been the catalyst for this increase.

"Traditional marine cover will meet the cost of the ransom but none of the costs involved in the process. What we've found is the ransom can account for just 25% to 30% of the costs of the incident. Where K&R cover goes above the traditional marine policies is that it will become involved from the moment a vessel is seized. We'll provide a crisis management team and meet the costs of the security team that'll be needed to take the ransom to the Somali pirates."

He added that the security team's fee can be more than the value of the ransom.

At the same seminar Simon Beale of London Stock Exchange-listed specialist insurance and reinsurance underwriting group listed on Amlin Plc advised shipowners to switch piracy from hull cover to war to ensure a greater degree of financial support.

Crew bonuses for transiting Gulf of Aden

Meanwhile the United Kingdom Warlike Operations Area Committee (WOAC) has recommended the payment of bonuses and other benefits to crews on ships operated by Chamber of Shipping members when transiting the Gulf of Aden.

It has been agreed that the following area is regarded as a a "high risk" zone: the Gulf of Aden between 45°E and 53°E, being the western and eastern extremities respectively of the Maritime Security Patrol Area, north of a straight line connecting Cape Guardafui and the western tip of the Island of Socotra, all ships transiting the zone should remain within the Maritime Security Patrol Area.

Operators of ships in the "high risk" zone should make special payments to all crew members of 100% of normal pay, payable in half-day increments, in respect of each day or half-day during which the ship is in the zone, in recognition of higher risks associated with transiting this area.

Such payments to be in addition to all other remuneration earned. However, where operators arrange military escorts for their ships, or on-board security teams to provide continuous monitoring and protection during the transit of the high risk zone, are deemed to have mitigated the risks such that the special payments need not be paid. Operators of any ships not remaining within this area (other than for reasons purely related to safety of life at sea, weather, navigational safety or military instructions) should allow their seafarers not to proceed to the high-risk zone, if that is their choice.

Piracy seminar and lunch

The next Maritime London networking event for members and their guests is being held on 17th Nov and the theme is “Maritime Piracy – its effect on Maritime Services”. The event will be hosted by Lloyd’s Market Association and speakers include James Gosling of Holman, Fenwick Willan; William Beveridge of Arch Insurance and Tom Brown of Seacurus. Places are limited, but for further details, please contact Doug Barrow.

Weekly piracy reports

For weekly piracy reports from the International Maritime Bureau see www.icc-ccs.org/prc/piracyreport.php

International Maritime Employers' Committee (IMEC) secretary general, David Dearsley argues that although the present world economic crisis is far worse than at the beginning of previous recessions in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, the global shipping industry still faces a manpower shortage.

He warned the industry not to abandon training programmes. Mr Dearsley told delegates at the ACI 3rd Maritime HR & Crew Development Conference in London: "Any company or industry that shuts its doors to the recruitment and training of its next generation of skilled workers will send a clear and long-lasting message that it is in terminal decline. We run the very real risk of sending out this message again today, not just in the UK or Europe but globally, unless we maintain a long-term and far sighted training programme to deal with the crew crisis."

Mr Dearsley said that the only way to make sure that the errors of the past are not repeated is to maintain recruitment and training programmes.

He said: "This does not mean that they should be maintained precisely as they are today; indeed this would not be sustainable. It means maintaining our intake of cadets but targeting our resources better in order to reduce wastage and improve the quality of the output and where possible spreading the costs with other like-minded companies."

The UK government has changed it policy on the issue of including emissions from aviation and shipping in the Climate Change Bill. Under intense pressure from the green lobby, the energy and climate change secretary Ed Miliband has agreed to accept an amendment in the bill to include these sectors as part of the Climate Change Bill which will commit the UK to cutting greenhouse gases by 80 per cent by 2050.

The government's position had been that it was impractical to include these international industries, partly because of the difficulties of calculating emission volumes from vessels operating only partly within UK jurisdiction.

It is being claimed that together aviation and shipping account for 7.5% of CO2 emissions. This move could seen as another obstacle placed in the way of reducing CO2 output by switching from other modes of transport to shipping which has by far the lowest CO2 output per tonne mile.

Braemar Shipping Services' unaudited half-year results for the six months ended 31 August show pre-tax profit from continuing operations of £9.8m (US$15.4m), up 38% on the same period last year but 18% up excluding acquisitions. Revenue from continuing operations was £69.1m, a rise of 48%, but 23% excluding acquisitions.

Braemar's London headquarters

The company says that a wide mix of shipping operations offsets downturns in particular markets while non-broking activities now make up 20% of operating profits before central costs.

Company chairman Sir Graham Hearne said: "Our strategy remains to position the Group as a leading player in a selective range of marine and shipping services. We believe this will provide the Group with a resilience to weather adverse conditions and a platform from which we can take advantage of suitable opportunities. Unprecedented economic events have introduced uncertainty but we remain cautiously optimistic about the future."

In his chairman's report Sir Graham said: "There is a strong likelihood that some of the newbuilding orders reported in the market will be cancelled. However, we believe that the majority of our forward order book is secure because the prices at which most orders were placed are below the historic peaks and because of the relative strength of the yards, the owners of the vessels and the charterers. Some reduction of newbuilding deliveries is likely and will be welcome by serving to reduce the potential for excess shipping capacity. Similarly, an acceleration in the scrapping of old ships is beginning to occur which will also moderate the supply of tonnage - demolition shipbroking being an area where we have great expertise."

The first VLCC built to Common Structural Rules, intended to endure a new era of robust vessel construction, has been delivered to Lloyd's Register class Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipyard (SWS). The 318,000-dwt Hua San, the first of 11 VLCCs confirmed to Lloyd's Register class at Shanghai Waigaoqiao, was delivered to Singapore's Ocean Tankers five months ahead of schedule.

The Hua San

"We are obviously very proud to have supported the design, construction and now delivery of the world's first VLCC built to Common Structural Rules. That the vessel was delivered well ahead of schedule is a testimony to the professionalism of our partnership with Ocean Tankers and Waigaoqiao Shipyard," said Nick Brown, general manager China for Lloyd's Register Asia.

"With a global recession looming and financing harder to find, the industry spotlight rightly has intensified on maintaining the construction of quality ships. The success of this project is the result of our strategy to work with yards and owners who share our vision for quality."

The Hua San is the first of an initial order of six VLCCs ordered by Ocean Tankers at Shanghai Waigaoqiao, four of which were classed to Lloyd's Register. Tankers built to CSR, which are applied to new ships contracted on or after April 1, 2006, feature increased strength requirements and more robust fatigue-related construction designed to make them safer and more dependable to operate.

CSR design requirements target a vessel life of 25 years under comparatively harsh "North Atlantic" operational conditions.

Meanwhile Southampton City Council's planning committee has agreed to approve LR's application to build a brand-new centre for its global marine business on the University of Southampton's Boldrewood Campus. LR says: "Subject to tying up formalities, it is anticipated that planning permission will be formally concluded in the next few months."

Commenting on the decision, David Moorhouse, chairman, Lloyd's Register said, "Achieving this planning outcome so efficiently is a credit to all those that have been involved in the application over the past few years. We would like to thank all those who have supported us. Over the next few months we will be entering a period of detailed contractual negotiation with the University of Southampton that is necessary to turn the scheme into a reality and to protect the investment that Lloyd's Register is making. We will be keeping everyone informed over progress of these negotiations over the coming weeks." .

A strong recommendation for a convention on places of refuge for serious casualties was one result of last month's 39th meeting of the Comité Maritime International in Athens. After a panel discussion, the CMI approved a resolution for submission to the IMO's legal committee in spring 2009 requesting the UN agency to put the issue back on the legal committee's agenda. Forceful support for the resolution came from panel member Fritz Stabinger, secretary general of the International Union of Marine Insurance. He told delegates that he had heard and continued hearing comments - even after the Erika, Castor, Prestige and other casualties - that a new convention was unnecessary and that, first, the existing liability conventions should be implemented. That was determined by the IMO's legal committee.

He said: "The decision is unfortunate. It is a decision which the public - remember we need their support - will never understand." Mr Stabinger continued: "We simply cannot not do anything, nor can we afford, once again, to look bad in the eyes of the public. We have to go ahead."

However, the IUMI secretary general referred to several liability conventions, such as the HNS and others, which still had not received the required number of ratifications after several years and where it is doubtful whether they will ever be ratified and enter into force. That information dated from 2006. The actual situation might have improved, but had it sufficiently improved? From IUMI's point of view, he made a few comments on some substantive issues concerning the places of refuge draft.

"You will not be surprised to hear I prefer to continue talking about a draft convention and not an anonymous 'instrument'. I do not think playing with words helps the issue."

Also, he added, the definition of a ship was too narrow. A floating semi-submersible was still afloat even if it drilled. The term 'seagoing' might also be too narrow. What would happen, he asked, if a non-seagoing vessel found itself on the high seas? It happened all the time, he added.

Shipping and transport insurance mutual manager Thomas Miller has launched a new claims management service, Thomas Miller Claims Management (TMCM).

Thomas Miller says that, from its base in Newcastle upon Tyne, "the UK's second maritime centre", TMCM provides cost-effective services which complement its other transport insurance services. According to Thomas Miller increasing financial costs, a shortage of suitably qualified staff and growing complexity of retained risks are leading transport and other organisations to outsource the management of their claims to TMCM.

It says: "Over the years, cost cutting has left many companies' insurance departments under resourced, whilst at the same time the claims environment has become more complicated. In particular, deductibles have increased steadily, presenting in-house teams with more risk to manage."

TMCM chief executive Peter Jackson says: "A number of our clients approached us to take over some or all of their claims functions and from this we have seen an opportunity that we believe will have wide appeal. We have already secured contracts with organisations that have had little or no previous contact with Thomas Miller."

Matt Illingworth has joined Maritime London member Holman Fenwick Willan's (HFW) London Shipping & Transport practice as a partner.

His practice covers contentious and non-contentious matters, both wet and dry, plus marine insurance and marine personal injury.

He joins the firm from DLA.

Maritime London member Ince & Co has been named the inaugural global Shipping & Maritime Law Firm of the Year 2008 in the Who's Who Legal Awards.

Editor in chief Callum Campbell said, "This is the first time we have recognised a firm in this field, and the consistently positive feedback Ince & Co received reflects its exceptional individual and collective talent. We have no hesitation in declaring Ince & Co the leading firm for Shipping & Maritime expertise."