The Dutch minister of defence refuses to place soldiers on board commercial vessels in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia. Dutch shipping companies feel severely let down.

The Royal Association of Netherlands Shipowners (KVNR) had suggested the move in the wake of a hijacking resulting in one fatality. The Netherlands-Antilles flagged MV Marathon was released yesterday after a 46-day standoff. One crewman was found dead, apparently shot during the initial hijacking.

Vulnerable ships
Many nations have sent warships to the Gulf of Aden, the piracy-prone stretch of sea off the coast of Somalia. Tineke Netelenbos, chairperson of the KVNR, says the measures are not enough, as shown by the small, slow MV Marathon.

“The issue is there are vulnerable ships that make less than ten knot speeds and they cannot participate in this group transit. There are also ships with a low freeboard and especially the Dutch fleet has many of these ships.

They are very easy to enter because if you sail in the group transit, it’s necessary to protect your own ships during a period of more than 20 minutes, and if you have a low freeboard that’s not very easy to do.”

Ms Netelenbos says some ships don’t even feel safe when sailing in armed convoys. “We are very disappointed and we don’t understand his position,” Ms Netelenbos said.

Medical care
Minister of Defence Eimert van Middelkoop says ships should make use of the existing protection offered by the EU task force operating off Somalia. Mr van Middelkoop told the Dutch Radio 1 that placing soldiers on Dutch ships would be “irresponsible,” citing legal complications and high costs.

Another reason offered by Mr van Middelkoop is that soldiers on board commercial vessels could not be guaranteed timely medical care in the event of serious injury. Jean Debie, chair of the Dutch Union for Defence Employees, says he shares the concern.

“We as unions have demanded that when soldiers are deployed, they are no more than two hours away from an operating table in case of injury. Our position is that you should not deploy soldiers in areas where there are no Navy ships around that can guarantee that.”

Ms Netelenbos does not think the argument was valid. 

“We have a Royal Dutch Navy with well-trained personnel and with doctors on board the navy vessels in the area, so if you want, you can arrange everything.

The problem is [Minister van Middelkoop] doesn’t want to spend any Euros to protect the Dutch flag.”

Monopoly
Mr Debie agrees finances appear to be a problem. Dutch politicians have made steep cuts in the defence budget over the past years. He says the Netherlands is now seeing the consequences.

“If the Netherlands wants us to be deployed across the spectrum of violence, all over the world, then you have to be prepared to maintain a defence force capable of doing so.”

Shipping companies sailing through Somali waters are increasingly hiring private security to protect their vessels. Ms Netelenbos says Dutch shipping companies do not consider this a good solution.
   
“First of all, it is prohibited by Dutch law and that means that the captain of the ship will have serious problems if something goes wrong. And in the Netherlands, the government has a monopoly on carrying weapons to protect the Dutch flag, so I think when we ask for help, they have to offer this help.”

Minister van Middelkoop says ships unable to join an armed convoy could be eligible for an individual escort from a navy warship.

Listen to the full interview with Tineke Netelenbos of the Royal Association of Netherlands Shipowners :