CMA CGM crews to get bonus for Gulf of Aden trips

CMA CGM crews to get bonus for Gulf of Aden trips French liner carrier CMA CGM said Wednesday that it has agreed to award hazard duty pay to crews transiting the pirate-infested waters of the Gulf of Aden.
   The bonus will be equal to their basic wage. The company said 65 of its vessels transit the Gulf of Aden each month, most on Asia-Europe routes. The container vessels have a capacity of 4,000 to 11,000 TEUs and average 24 knots of speed. Vessels with these types of characteristics have been largely immune from pirate attacks.
   CMA CGM was under pressure from seafarer’s unions to provide double pay or face work stoppages at ports around the world.
   In other news, pirates have released a Yemeni cargo ship without receiving a ransom after negotiations with local elders, a provincial Somali official said Wednesday, according to CNN.
   It was not immediately known how much ransom the pirates had demanded. Hijackers let the ship go after village elders in Eyl intervened and negotiated for the crew members' release.
   Meanwhile, NATO foreign ministers discussed the piracy situation at a meeting in Brussels. Ministers agreed on the need for the United Nations Security Council to develop a much more comprehensive international approach to the situation. A multinational fleet has been patrolling the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden, but has had limited effect in stopping pirate attacks. NATO patrols are intended to protect UN World Food Program cargo vessels. ' Eric Kulisch