London insurers to launch pay-as-you-go armed anti-pirate patrols

PIRACY costs are rising so high that London underwriters plan to launch a squadron of armed escort vessels to protect ships transiting the Gulf of Aden this summer.

Under the scheme, reports London`s International Freighting Weekly, London underwriters will provide armed escort protection after applying for it through Lloyd`s of London insurance brokers.


Insurers Convoy Escort Programme (CEP) will be launched this summer, under project leader Sean Woollerson, a partner in the marine, oil and gas division at insurance broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson.


Mr Woollerson said he needs to raise US$27.5 million to buy 18 vessels, which will carry eight armed guards, four crew and inflatable speedboats.


The Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO) has agreed to help facilitate the programme that will provide armed escorts, packaged with seven days of war-risk cover from Ascot Underwriting`s Lloyd`s Syndicate 1414. This way, the shipowner need not to pay the higher premium normally required through high-risk pirate areas.