BIMCO URGES MEMBERS TO SCHEK VULNERABILITY OF SHIPS

BIMCO URGES MEMBERS TO SCHEK VULNERABILITY OF SHIPS    The Baltic and International Maritime Council has advised its shipowner members “to evaluate the vulnerability of their ships based on their trading patterns” following a suspected terrorist attack on the French tanker 'Limburg,' owned by BIMCO member CMB.
   In an advisory issued on Friday, BIMCO said the 'Limburg' “was apparently rammed by a motorboat packed with explosives” near Yemen in “the first attack on an innocent merchant vessel since the 'Achille Lauro' incident in 1985.”
   “The 'Limburg' incident illustrates well the dire consequences created by acts of terrorism, placing the lives of seafarers in grave danger (and) causing severe material damage. It also raises questions as to which, if any, of the maritime security initiatives now under development at the International Maritime Organization and elsewhere could have helped to prevent such an attack,” BIMCO said.
   'Members should check with their “hull and machinery underwriters and P&I clubs” to assess their ships, said Ove C. Tvedt, BIMCO’s deputy secretary general.
   BIMCO is an unofficial observer at the IMO.