A letter response from the Gulf of Aden

While waiting for our vessel, SuperFerry 5, at the Eva Macapagal Super Terminal for our return trip to Cebu, I got an idea of why ship travel has been beaten (although the vessel we took was full) by the fares of the budget airlines. While we were waiting on the docks to load our motorcycles, I found that the passengers on the economy class section were literally herded in long lines just to enter the Super Terminal. We left the Port of Manila for dinner and when we got back, the lines were still there.

Get yourself an economy fare on any budget airline and you won’t get stuck lining up outside just to get inside the airport terminal. The time you spent just trying to get inside the terminal is more than enough time to fly from Manila to Cebu! Perhaps Manila and Cebu port authorities should change their “pila” attitude for economy passengers and believe me, travel by ferryboat will be less stressful!

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Talking about taking ships, I got this belated comment from a ship captain who commented on our article on solving ship piracy:

“Dear Mr. Avila, I’m an avid reader of your column, ‘Shooting Straight.’ Being a seaman what strikes me most was your opinion regarding ‘Helping endangered Pinoy sailors in the Gulf,’ Philippine STAR dated 22 April 2009. Sorry, for not putting in my own earlier as newspapers always come to us on board late.

“Early this morning, 05 May 2009, as we were passing the Gulf of Aden, the Somali pirates were at their worst again. They attacked a westbound tanker and a cargo ship in the maritime security corridor and luckily these two vessels with mostly Filipino crews were not captured and brought to a coast in Somalia for ransom. Stories coming out from the hostages that were set free talk of deprivation and the psychological trauma their families suffered while the ransoms were being negotiated. Our government not being able to provide us better opportunities at home — we seamen keep ploughing on, not for ourselves, but for our country and families. This is a job risk that we have accepted to improve our lot.

“Looking at the helpless situation we are in, I agree with you that since our Navy is so decrepit (where is now the money for the supposed Navy modernization program?), corruption in our government and military cannot let us send naval assets to this area to protect our seamen. To support even just a couple of destroyer escorts, much bigger frigates, would drain our country’s financial resources… resources that might as well be spent for our teachers.

“The Multinational Force led by the NATO and the US is having its hands full containing these nefarious business activities of the Somalis. The commander of the EUNAVFOR estimates that they will need about 50 warships to be effective to neutralize these pirate attacks. Coalition warships in the area don’t have that number. They cannot respond immediately to the call for assistance of the merchant vessels when being attacked by the pirates (I have hard known listening to the safety net every time my vessel passes this particular area) in the maritime safety corridor.

“Malacañang is ill-advised to ban Pinoy seafarers from sailing this gulf. It is very ridiculous. You are correct that it is not practical for shipowners or a foreign ship captain to sign off their Pinoy crews every time a vessel passes by the Gulf of Aden. Most of us seamen will go hungry if the ban is truly enforced.

“You were proposing for our combat-hardened troops to be dropped off onto the ships with Pinoy crews during their transit area. And more boldly together with the US military, know how to chase off the pirates in their lairs in Somalia. This would be a logistical nightmare and impractical as so many ships pass the area every hour bound for Europe from Asia and vice-versa. As for sending our troops to hunt pirates, this must have an international go-ahead and to be financed by the world community and if our people will willingly accept our soldiers being brought home in coffins, casualties will follow in this kind of military operations. 

“I’m proposing that the Philippine government do more than the press releases and photo ops and that our leaders should convince the UN and the world’s shipowners to permit the vessels, us, passing this area to carry arms on board in order to protect our ships... This is the most economical, considering that some shipping companies employ security teams before their ships pass the Gulf of Aden. Ask the seamen in Luneta; for sure most of them will agree. Sometimes you have to escalate violence in order to stop violence!! Yours Truly, Capt. Wilfredo G. Lamera, Master of the Bulk Carrier Lioness C. at the Gulf of Aden Maritime Security Corridor.”

Thanks Capt. Lamera for this very incisive letter from the Gulf of Aden.

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For e-mail responses to this article, write to [email protected]. Bobit Avila’s columns can also be accessed through www.philstar.com. He also hosts a weekly talkshow, “Straight from the Sky,” every Monday, 8 p.m., only in Metro Cebu on Channel 15 of SkyCable.