Are Pirate Ransoms Legal? Confusion Over US (Executive) Order

[Robb]

Source: NYT (AP)

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- Shipping companies with U.S. interests don't know if they are allowed to pay ransoms to Somali pirates anymore after President Obama declared them an ''extraordinary threat,'' even as pirates extended their reach farther than ever toward Asia, hijacking three Thai vessels, officials said Tuesday.

A total of 77 crew members were taken Sunday in the hijackings 1,200 miles (1,900 kilometers) east of Somalia in the Indian Ocean -- the farthest from the Somali coast pirates have ever attacked, the EU Naval Force said. Pirates now hold 14 vessels and 305 hostages, the International Maritime Bureau said.

Pirate attacks have risen over the last year despite increased patrols by U.S. and European warships, in part because the multimillion dollar ransoms keep rising.

The shipping industry has long seen ransom payments to retrieve hijacked vessels, cargos and crews as a cost of doing business. But after Obama last week issued an executive order on Somalia, shipping officials say it's no longer clear whether companies with U.S. interests can legally pay ransoms. The industry is worried because ransoms have been the only way to quickly and safely free hostages.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/04/20/world/AP-Piracy.html?_r=1&ref=world

[ManiacJoe]

1. Text of the EO can be found here:

http://www.marinelog.com/DOCS/NEWSMMIX/2010apr00150.html

Other reported links to the US Treasury site are broken.