Price lowered for Dutch marines
(BRUSSELS2) Pressure from shipowners played a role. The Minister of Defence, Hans Hillen, has agreed to review the tariffs for the protection of ships by the Navy soldiers in the risk areas of the Indian Ocean.
Too expensive, Marines?
Even if they recognize that the presence of marines on board their ships is the " better guarantee for the security of the transport of goods in areas where pirates are rampant shipowners considered that this (public) service was much more expensive than that of private companies and that it harmed the " competitiveness of the Dutch pavilion. The contribution of shipowners for these ship protection detachment teams (VPD) will thus be reduced from 8.300 euros to 5.000 euros per day. Which puts the bill for 14 days of navigation, at 70.000 euros instead of 116.000 euros “, thus explained the Minister in a letter sent to the shipowners and the deputies of the 2nd chamber.
Five VPDs deployed in the last three months
Remember that the Netherlands has not authorized private armed guards on board ships flying its flag, preferring to make soldiers available for sensitive journeys. According to a final report drawn up by the minister, Defense has received 17 requests from the merchant navy over the past three months. One request did not meet the established criteria: it was a request for preventive assistance on a route well outside the area where the Somali pirates operate. Only 5 have therefore been followed by an effective deployment of marine commandos on board these ships: the Your Shines, from Singapore to Malta (April 11 to May 5); the Talisman, from Jebel Ali to Singapore (May 10-31); the Tern Singapore to Bahrain (June 6-20); Target from Sjarjah to Abu Zenima and back (June 16 to July 11); the Tern again, from Bahrain to Singapore (June 25 to July 7). Five requests were withdrawn because the owners indicated that the cost of a VPD was too high. Four other requests were not retained because the time between receipt of the request and the start of the VPD deployment was too short. This left 7 requests corresponding in fact to five deployments.
Demand lower than forecast
The demand for support is, in fact, lower than expected. The defense budget for 2012 thus provided 23,4 million euros for the deployment of VPDs, of which 11,3 million euros was paid for by the shipowners. But this budget has so far only been used up to 3,8 million €, half of which (1,6 million) paid by the shipowners. The Hague thus envisages the deployment of 175 VPD teams in 2013. A figure to relate to the size of the Dutch merchant navy (1160 ships).
