Somali Pirates: Cost to the Sailors and Some Very Poor Shipping Practices

Very nice blog post at Sub-Standard Ships And Human Costs Of Piracy: The Case Of Captain Prem Kumar – Analysis - Neptune Maritime Security:

Irresponsible shipowners who send poorly prepared ships into piracy-prone areas must accept some share of the responsibility both for the incidence of ship hijackings off the Horn of Africa and for the associated ill-treatment of seafarers. If ransoms are not paid promptly, crews are likely to suffer more.

Read the whole thing.

The plight of most third-world crews of "sub-standard" ships held by pirates is an largely untold story. Good on Neptune Maritime Security for shining a little light on the issue.