Landing the Big One

Landing the Big One

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Somali Pirates: Shipping container surcharge caused by pirate risk


A French container carrier is imposing a "surcharge" on containers being carried through the piracy risk areas of the Gulf of Aden, as reported here:
FRENCH container carrier CMA CGM is to impose a $23 per teu* surcharge on all containers it transports through the pirate-frequented Gulf of Aden from January 1.

The company’s announcement comes days after it accepted a demand from crews for double pay for the time of transit through the zone designated as being under threat of pirate attack.
***
It justified the measure by “increased insurance premium and other costs caused by the prevailing risks of piracy in the area”.
Crew rate increases, insurance rate increases,ship diversions and passenger ship fly arounds can now all be laid at the feet of the pirates plying their trade in the Gulf of Aden.

*A "TEU" is a term referring to a container size and stands for a "twenty-foot equivalent unit" measuring 20 × 8.0 × 8.5 feet (6.1 × 2.4 × 2.6 metres). A container ship's capacity may be measured in "TEUs." A little history of shipping containers here.

Website for CMA-CGM.
Some container ships may have 10,000 or more TEU capacity.

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