Somali pirates affecting trade

Revealed here, the impact of the Somali pirates on trade from India:

IT has been almost two months since trade between Somalia and Gujarat came to a grinding halt. This is worrying traders in the state, especially in Porbandar, as exports from the city - the nearest port to Somalia in western India - have been reduced by half and has led to losses running into crores of rupees.

Trade was halted following reports of an Indian ship pirated off Somalian coast in January. In March the Director General of Shipping cautioned all maritime states to stop sending vessels to Somalia. This put an end to the export of half of the total 2 lakh tonnes of cargo handled at Porbandar port. The cargo to Somalia comprises mainly of rice, sanitaryware, hardware, onion and cement. Where daily one vessel used to be bound for Somalia from Porbandar, for the past two months not a single ship has set sail. For, the vessels are not getting port clearance.