Major shippers skirt Gulf of Aden to avoid pirates

By Abdi Sheikh

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Rampant piracy off Somalia is forcing shipping companies to avoid the Suez Canal and send cargoes of oil and other goods on a longer journey around southern Africa, industry officials said on Thursday.

Denmark's A.P. Moller-Maersk is routing some of its 50 oil tankers around the Cape of Good Hope instead, and Intertanko said many other tanker firms were doing the same.

Norway's Frontline, which ferries much of the Middle East's oil to world markets, said it was considering a similar step.

The move follows Saturday's spectacular capture by Somali pirates of a huge Saudi Arabian supertanker loaded with $100 million worth of oil, the biggest ship hijacking in history.

The scores of attacks in Somali waters this year have driven up insurance costs for shipping firms and the decision to divert cargo around South Africa risks pushing up prices for manufactured goods and commodities.

"We need immediate action from governments to protect these vital trade lanes -- robust action in the form of greater naval and military support with a clear mandate to engage, to arrest pirates and to bring them to trial," Intertanko said.

The head of the International Maritime Organization, Efthimios Mitropoulos warned of "a series of negative repercussions" if ships have to reroute.

He said going around the Cape adds about 12 days to a typical Gulf-to-Europe voyage, delaying oil supplies, and potentially lifting freight rates by 25-30 percent.