Insurers turn their arms against pirates

British Insurers plan to make recourse to the services of private maritime patrols to secure trade by sea around the Horn of Africa. This is the case of Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group which, with 14% of the market for commercial vessels, is among the most important marine insurers. Ten of the 5000 vessels covered by the group were detained by Somali pirates. The cost of the patrols is estimated at 15 million USD, below the 300 million spent on ransoms over the past two years. The boats are on average held during 117 days for ransoms of about 5.5 million USD per unit.