DUBAI // Captain Maqsood Khan’s shipping firm was already in trouble when Somali pirates hijacked its only vessel, the MV QSM Dubai.
Hit by global recession and shrinking profits, Qawareb Ship Management, a small firm based in Deira, had been forced to sell off its other vessels and was taking delivery jobs to Somalia, which paid better to offset their added risk.
“The danger is there,” said Captain Khan. “If you look at it that way, then it’s not worthwhile. But nowadays, in this market, if you get a good freight it’s worth it.”
The threat of Somali piracy, the heavy cost of protecting against it, and the ethical concerns of not doing so, are weighing heavily on countless shipping companies such as Qawareb that operate out of the UAE or use its prime location ports.
Almost any vessel visiting UAE waters must cross the piracy danger zone, which spans the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean. Of the 30 vessels that Somali pirates hold captive, 10 had been travelling to or from the UAE or are owned by Emirati firms. Two of them were seized last week.
Yet the safety measures that work best – armed guards to protect the ship and piracy insurance to pay any ransom – often cost more than firms are willing to pay.
To safeguard a vessel with armed guards and piracy insurance for a three-week return trip to East Africa would cost about US$200,000 (Dh734,000), said a shipping executive who declined to be named. “That’s a big chunk” of the profit, even for a valuable vessel such as an oil tanker.
Going around the danger zone and routing along the western coast of India, due south, then west towards Madagascar, would cost the same amount in added fuel, he said.
More companies, especially multinationals, are shelling out cash to secure their ships. Many are shedding the industry’s longtime reluctance to carrying armed guards on board because they now believe it best deters pirates.
Several private security firms and insurance brokers said their clientele and revenues were growing, though they declined to give specifics.
“There’s a greater demand for armed security week by week,” said Orlando Rogers, the director of operations for the UK-based security firm Solace Global Maritime. “Pirates are increasing their ability and shipping companies are having to react and up their game.”
For ships that are captured, ransoms have reached such large amounts – estimates range from $3m to $10m – that more firms are resorting to insurance.
Today, all the clients at Colemont Insurance Broker in Dubai buy piracy-specific policies – up from a quarter of clients five years ago, said the managing director, David Miles.
“Of course it has resulted in increased revenue for the insurance industry, but relative to where the vessels are trading,” he said. “In hot-seat areas, the revenue generated to the insurance industry is substantial.”
These costs ultimately fall to the consumer in the form of higher prices for fuel, food and other innumerable goods that reach them by sea.
Many low-end shipowners are sticking to safety measures that cost less but protect less, especially for small boats such as the MV QSM Dubai.
They follow “best management practices” laid out by the industry in a 70-page booklet. Crews should keep a lookout and “harden” their vessel with razor wire, water hoses, electric fences and even dummy guards.
They should also prepare safe rooms, in which crewmen can lock themselves and keep control of the vessel and its communications. This newer tactic has gained popularity as it has thwarted more and more attacks. In a recent case, on January 3, the attackers who boarded the CPO China abandoned it within a day while the crew hid, unharmed.
When entering the high-risk Gulf of Aden, vessels are recommended to register with naval forces that patrol the area and cross in convoys escorted by warships.
Yet the navies have not been able to stop piracy in the Gulf of Aden. Once a ship is hijacked, they back off to avoid the crew being harmed.
Nor are they able to oversee the vast Indian Ocean, where more and more pirates lie in wait on large ships loaded with skiffs. The mother ships, presumed to be hijacked vessels, carry them much further beyond Somali waters than the solo skiffs they used to rely on.
When a target appears, a few pirates jump into the skiffs and zip towards it. Unarmed vessels are advised then to speed away and swerve to create waves.
Some of them manage to shake off their attackers. But, while the skiffs top 20 knots, ships such as the MV QSM Dubai max out at 15. Their decks hover just a few metres above water – an easy climb for pirates.
“The ships going 10, 12 knots are vulnerable. What precautions can they take? Water, barbed wire – still they will come,” said Captain Khan. “If they are not armed, they cannot stop the pirates from boarding.”
When the MV QSM Dubai was captured last June, a naval ship answered its distress signal but did not intervene. Instead, a Somali force with ties to the intended recipients of the cargo rescued the vessel. In the exchange of fire with the pirates, the captain of the vessel was killed.
Nowadays, on trips to Somalia the MV QSM Dubai does not use armed guards or piracy insurance.
As with many small operators it risks being unable to thwart a future attack or afford a ransom.
“Shipowners care about their crews. But if you’ve not got the money, what do you do?” said Simon Cartwright, a partner at the Holman Fenwick Willan, a leading law firm that handles piracy issues.
“In an ideal world, they would all have kidnap and ransom insurance. In reality, most of them won’t. Certainly the small owners may have the minimum cover because of cost,” he said. “Ultimately, what a lot of shipowners do is a cost-benefit analysis.”
chuang@thenational.ae
* The facts
As the threat of piracy has grown, so too have the insurance policies designed to cover it, underwriting anything from payment of ransom to loss of business. The insurance is often seen as both a necessity and a hazard.
It enables firms to afford a ransom, which is practically the only way to release a vessel. But it also entices pirates to hijack more vessels, if they believe that owners can afford to pay.
Shipping companies are not required by law to carry piracy-specific insurance, although those that have mortgages on their vessels may be required by their banks to do so.
Many firms, already struggling, opt out. “Today’s market conditions are very bad, so for some owners it is very difficult to afford these additional payments,” said a shipping insurance broker based in Dubai who declined to be named. “Not everyone is insuring.” Piracy insurance comes in three forms.
1. Special war-risk insurance
Basic war-risk insurance covers "war-like" damage not related to piracy. One example might be if an old landmine exploded and struck a vessel, explained David Miles, the managing director of Colemont Insurance Broker.
An extra premium is now charged for passing through a piracy danger zone determined by an insurance industry body called the Joint War Committee. In recent months that zone has expanded drastically. It now spans west to east from eastern Africa to western India, and south to north from northern Madagascar to the northern coast of Oman, almost touching UAE waters.
2. Kidnap and ransom
This type of policy costs more but also covers more, said Sam Wakerley, a lawyer at Holman Fenwick Willan.
It helps pay not only the ransom but also related expenses such as hiring a negotiator, delivering the money (for example, by airdrop), and even providing reimbursement if the money transfer fails.
The policy emerged decades ago to cover the rise in kidnappings in Central and South America.
3. Loss of hire
For every day a vessel is held captive – and cannot be chartered out for other jobs – the owner of the vessel misses out on tens of thousands of US dollars. This policy helps them recoup that cost, but sometimes for a limited period, say, 90 days, though many negotiations now take much longer.
chuang@thenational.ae
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
More on Quran memorisation:
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE%20ILT20
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Race%20card
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North Pole stats
Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Brief scores:
Everton 0
Leicester City 1
Vardy 58'
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The biog
Favourite book: You Are the Placebo – Making your mind matter, by Dr Joe Dispenza
Hobby: Running and watching Welsh rugby
Travel destination: Cyprus in the summer
Life goals: To be an aspirational and passionate University educator, enjoy life, be healthy and be the best dad possible.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20ASI%20(formerly%20DigestAI)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Quddus%20Pativada%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Artificial%20intelligence%2C%20education%20technology%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%243%20million-plus%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20GSV%20Ventures%2C%20Character%2C%20Mark%20Cuban%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
If you go
Flying
Despite the extreme distance, flying to Fairbanks is relatively simple, requiring just one transfer in Seattle, which can be reached directly from Dubai with Emirates for Dh6,800 return.
Touring
Gondwana Ecotours’ seven-day Polar Bear Adventure starts in Fairbanks in central Alaska before visiting Kaktovik and Utqiarvik on the North Slope. Polar bear viewing is highly likely in Kaktovik, with up to five two-hour boat tours included. Prices start from Dh11,500 per person, with all local flights, meals and accommodation included; gondwanaecotours.com
The bio
Job: Coder, website designer and chief executive, Trinet solutions
School: Year 8 pupil at Elite English School in Abu Hail, Deira
Role Models: Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk
Dream City: San Francisco
Hometown: Dubai
City of birth: Thiruvilla, Kerala
