The Daily View: Conspicuous absence
THE latest outbreak of violence in the Red Sea, which has left at least four seafarers dead and two ships sunk, has sparked a predictably angry series of statements regarding the callous disregard for the lives of innocent civilian seafarers.
But there are voices missing along with the dead.
The vessel’s operator, Cosmoship Management, has not responded to any questions about why it considered the clear risk of Israeli port calls among its fleet an acceptable risk. It has not explained why Eternity C.(IMO: 9588249) did not change course as it departed Somalia on Sunday when it first received reports that Magic Seas(IMO: 9736169) was being attacked.
The coastal states within search and rescue distance of the sinking Eternity C have not offered any insight regarding their apparent reluctance to offer assistance to seafarers in the water.
We know that Greece has been in talks with Saudi Arabia, a key player in the region, since the beginning of the week, but we have heard nothing.
The EU naval mission with a direct mandate to protect shipping, Operation Aspides, has been doing its best coordinating limited and difficult efforts. But with no actual ships to coordinate this has left private security searching for bodies in the water using a support vessel more often used to supply floating armouries.
The lack of naval engagement from EU member states has been a below the radar concern for some time now. But with two ships sunk in a week and no navies of any nationality in sight, this is very much the time to hear from the politicians about those defence spending budgets.
And yet, so far they all remain silent.
So too, do the multiple non-EU states with naval assets in the region who have been conspicuous by their absence as the Houthis spent two days uninterrupted, firing rockets and using commercial ships as drone target practice.
These were not enemy targets; Eternity C had just delivered essential UN food aid to Somalia.
What we did see on Tuesday, as one ship was being blown up and four crew lay dead on the deck of the doomed Eternity C, was the spectacle of the German government accusing the Chinese military of using a laser to target an aircraft involved in an EU-backed Red Sea operation.
The overwhelming absence of naval support for shipping has long been a concern. When Operation Aspides was established last year, the rear admiral charged with overseeing it told governments what he needed. They ignored him and told him to make do with a sporadic rotation of naval assets unfit for purpose.
When the US stood up Operation Prosperity Guardian, it was done with the stated intention of restoring freedom of navigation. The 60% of traffic still avoiding the region would suggest that mission failed and those naval assets are no longer there anyway.
This evening the shipping industry has collectively called for a rethink and that is a voice that now needs to be heard amid the silence being offered elsewhere.
The fate of Magic Seas and Eternity C highlights the need for nations to maintain robust support in protecting shipping and vital sea lanes.
We stand with the rest of the industry in insisting that the international standards of freedom of navigation and the sanctity of human life are recognised, upheld and defended.
Richard Meade
Editor-in-chief, Lloyd’s List
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