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The
Asian Shipowners' Forum (ASF) said a long-term solution to combat
the ongoing piracy in the Gulf of Aden is to address the root
cause and by encouraging the formation of a "Malacca Strait" style
of multilateral cooperation among the littoral states.
"The potential trauma suffered by seafarers on ships that are
hijacked, as well as their families ashore, is of deep concern to
us," said the grouping of shipowner associations in the region at
its 18th meeting last month.
"We urge all Asian shipowners to comply with the advisories issued
by the relevant bodies, and to adopt the best management practices
issued by industry organisations on human element issues arising
from incidents of piracy and attack," it added.
The Indian National Shipowners Association became the latest
member to join the ASF, bringing the total to eight, covering
Australia, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, India, Japan, South Korea and
Asean, which includes Malaysia.
ASF owners and managers are estimated to control and operate
nearly 50
per cent of the world's cargo-carrying fleet.
The ASF also said the worldwide economic turmoil has contributed
to the dramatic fall in shipping markets, which in turn led to
increasing difficulty in the employment of seafarers due to ships
being withdrawn or laid up.
"The ASF recognises the benefit of maintaining employment, and
therefore considers that employment conditions of seafarers should
be consistent with the economic situation of the country or region
where the seafarers are domiciled.
"Members of the ASF agreed to maintain as much as possible
recruitment and training initiatives despite the present market
conditions," it said.
The ASF said chief executive officers of Asian container lines,
for one, were urged to handle the situation in a rational and
patient manner to ensure the sustainable operation of the liner
business in these trades and to keep customers well-informed of
the difficult situation faced by carriers.
The association also noted that the dry bulk market in 2009 will
be moving in a harsh climate due to delay in recovery of cargo
movements to the developed countries and concentration of new
deliveries in the second half of the year.
It also recognised that the number of newbuilding orders to be
cancelled could reach as many as 1,000 vessels and the market will
be encouraged by the active scrapping of more than 500 ships since
September 2008.
"We share the concern that the current tanker market condition is
showing a surplus tonnage that would remain for the time being,"
it said.
Meanwhile, the cargo volume in the world maritime trade has
reduced drastically due to the downturn in the world economy. In
this connection, shipowners are under pressure to discard their
obsolete and less-efficient vessels for recycling, the ASF said.
Careful consideration would be necessary to maintain efficient,
safe and environmentally-friendly ship recycling.
In this respect, the ASF urges consideration to refocus excess
building capacity into environmentally acceptable recycling
facilities.
The 19th ASF will be held in Hong Kong in May 2010. | 
