open Letter of Friend (Confitarma) to defense of the presence of the soldiers on the Italian ships



With a opened letter, that we publish below, today the Shipping president of the Italian Confederation (Confitarma), Paolo d' Amico, takes part to military defense of the presence of on the Italian ships to the aim contrasting the action of piracy emphasizing the effectiveness of this measure that has determined a drastic reduction in the number of attacks and the zero setting of the seizures of ships and crews.

Of Friend scale against the proposal of some parliamentarians - that it defines "nefarious" - to suspend such measure, with which the - denunciation the president of Confitarma - "political class the full moral responsibility of wanting is assumed to put into effect this abandonment leaving the unarmed crews and ships, without some defense, in front of the action of the pirates".

OPEN LETTER OF
PAOLO of FRIEND, PRESIDENT CONFITARMA

In merit to some declarations of political exponents in the course of the debate in Parliament on the event of the Marò, it presses me to mention that the shipowning industry strongly is disappointed and abashed for as the shipowners in this complex event in a context are described that, ritualmente, in these days follows usual the logical pre-electoral partitiche and.
In the first place I express on behalf of the category the total solidarity to the two Marò and their families.

Some premises:
OPEN LETTER OF
PAOLO of FRIEND, PRESIDENT CONFITARMA

In merit to some declarations of political exponents in the course of the debate in Parliament on the event of the Marò, it presses me to mention that the shipowning industry strongly is disappointed and abashed for as the shipowners in this complex event in a context are described that, ritualmente, in these days follows usual the logical pre-electoral partitiche and.
In the first place I express on behalf of the category the total solidarity to the two Marò and their families.

Some premises:

The Italian shipowning industry on behalf carries out a strategic activity for the benefit of the economic system of our Country, assuring refuelings of important raw materials charters which Eni and Enel and finished product transports in import/export of. On the routes of the Indian Ocean infested by the pirates travels 30% of world-wide cargos of oil and almost 20% of the world-wide commerce.

The State is held to guarantee safety of the crews on the Italian ships and of the national interests, let alone to protecting the freedom of the international traffics. Many navies, comprised ours, are engaged in such activity in the area to risk piracy.

The activity of the naval forces is not but sufficient to cover so wide a geographic area and therefore the majority of the States has decided to defend their mercantile fleets on board allowing also the boarding of armed teams. In particular, Italy with Legge n.130 on August 2, 2011 has allowed the resource with the Military Nuclei of Protection) and, in complementary way, of private armed teams. Perhaps all do not know that also the low France and Countries on board allow the boarding of military of mercantile ships: France previews at the expense of the shipowners only the bed and board costs, while Holland has adopted a system equivalent to that Italian.

By 2005 to the 2012 41 Italian ships are attacked in the area of the Indian Ocean, of which 4 seized from the pirates somalis. The longer seizure has been that of Savina Caylyn and its crew pairs to 316 days.

Every day they are you anticipate in the area to risk piracy until 10 Italian mercantile ships and is obvious the serious danger that is incumbent on crews and ships.

By the effectiveness of Legge 130/2011, they are assured by the marò Italian about 160 protections to Italian ship and relative crew and from then has recorded a drastic reduction in the number of attacks and seizures have not been recorded. Also world-wise, from when the active defense on board of the ships on the trip in the Indian Ocean has increased, the seizures carried to term from the pirates drastically are diminished. Today we are returned to the levels of 2007: they are the only two seized ships still in the hands of the pirates somalis.

With the proposal of some eminent exponent of the Parliament to suspend the "military accompagnamenti of the Italian cargo vessels until that the rules" (with the famous Italian Biblical times will not be changed), the political class it assumes the full moral responsibility of wanting to put into effect this abandonment leaving the unarmed crews and ships, without some defense, in front of the action of the pirates.
The alarm outcry is that I turn to the public opinion.

This nefarious decision would assume more serious connotations for two orders of reasons: first because we are manifesting this will to the entire world and the same pirates who have a system of "not negligible intelligence"; the second is that meantime the procedures in order to make use of Italian institutes of vigilance in alternative to the Marò have not been under way because of the deficiencies of our Administration in this year. Not negligible aspect is that the resource to other forms of foreign private assistance (contractors) also anticipates on the market is prohibited by our ordering.
In protection absence, our political class is condemning our crews inexorably (and is be a matter of men of the same nationality of the Marò that works in disagiate conditions) and our ships, to sure seizures.

Well, who guarantees this initiative to political level today and to journalistic level of it the responsibilities are assumed all.

Paolo d' Amico
President Confitarma
Italian confederation Shipping

Rome, 29 March 2013