Shippers want naval blockade off Somalia

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Western shipping officials called Monday for a military blockade along the coast of Somalia to stop a surge in pirate attacks.

The officials, attending a shipping conference in the Malaysian capital, also asked the United Nations to draw up clear rules of engagement to enable foreign navies to intercept pirate vessels heading out to sea.

Somali pirates have caused havoc in one of the world's busiest shipping lanes this year, hijacking dozens of ships including a Saudi Arabian supertanker loaded with $100 million worth of oil, the biggest hijacking in history.

The International Association of Independent Tanker Owners, whose members own 75 percent of the world's fleet, said the blockade could be the answer to the problem, which is forcing shipping companies to avoid the Suez Canal and send cargoes on a longer and more expensive journey around southern Africa.

"The other option is perhaps putting a blockade around Somalia and introducing the idea of intercepting vessels leaving Somalia rather than to try to protect the whole of the Gulf of Aden," Peter Swift, managing director of the association, told reporters.

In Brussels NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told a news briefing that the alliance did not intend to block ports.

"The Security Council resolutions as they are do not include these types of actions and as far as NATO is concerned these are not on the cards," he said.

Speaking at the same news conference, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana did not respond directly on the issue but said an EU naval mission due for launch on December 8 would have "robust" rules of engagement.

Pirate attacks in Somali waters this year have driven up insurance costs for shipping firms and the decision to divert cargo risks pushing up prices for manufactured goods and commodities.

So far this year, there have been 95 pirate attacks in Somali waters, with 39 ships hijacked.

The Baltic and International Maritime Council, the world's largest private shipping organization, felt that a naval blockade could work.

"It could prevent the so-called mother ships from going back to the port to re-supply and go out and continue their pursuit of merchant ships," Thomas Timlen, its Asian liaison officer, said.

"It would be one way to, first of all, reduce the range of the pirates now have off the coast of east Africa."

(Reporting by Jalil Hamid; Editing by Richard Williams)