Latest ONI World Wide Threat to Shipping (tp July 6, 2005)

Go to ONI World Wide Threat to Shipping and click on the date. Highlight:

STRAIT OF MALACCA-RANSOM COVERAGE: An article dated 24 Jun explains that ship owners, whom have had to pay a ransom for
the return of crewmembers, have found that their insurance claims
are treated as discretionary by their P&I insurer, and that
reimbursement varies from full, partial, or none at all.
Ironically, if a pirate kills a crewmember, the insurance club is
liable to pay a death compensation claim. In at least one case, a
vessel owner was able to successfully appeal a decision of
nonpayment by showing he acted prudently in securing the release
of his crew, and that the ransom payment was less than the insurance
club would have had to pay in death compensation. An insurance
executive noted that if kidnappers know their ransom demands are
covered under insurance, then the amounts demanded would increase
dramatically. As it stands now, kidnappers in the Strait of Malacca
have generally stayed in the US$50,000 to US$100,000 range with
room to negotiate lower sums on a case by case basis