http://www.tankeroperator.com/ViewNews.aspx?NewsID=11040
Following
the incidents in the Gulf of Oman, and specifically the Strait of
Hormuz, over the past few months, the International Bargaining Forum
(IBF) has designated the Straits a Temporary Extended Risk Zone.
This means that seafarers who are subject to an attack in the zone, are
entitled to a bonus and doubled death and disability compensation.
This follows a period of discussions by the IBF’s Warlike Operations
Areas Committee over the past weeks, who have been closely monitoring
the situation and the risk to shipping.
Speaking at the conclusion of the talks, the Joint Negotiating Group’s
(JNG) Chairman Capt Koichi Akamine said that the discussions “were never
going to be easy.”
“After the initial attacks in the Gulf of Oman in May and June, one may
feel the need to act quickly to designate a risk area. However, it is
important in such events to step back and assess the real threat to
shipping and the most appropriate measures to take. The JNG is confident
that it has now introduced a designation which properly addresses
concerns by seafarers transiting the Straits,” he explained.
“While this is a sensitive political issue and today has only affected
tankers and potentially British-flagged vessels, it was our desire that
the IBF show leadership and move quickly to reflect the concerns of the
seafarers transiting this region,” David Heindel, the ITF Seafarers’
Section Chair, said.
The new Extended Risk Zone is defined by the following co-ordinates but
excludes three nautical miles off the main coastlines of the United
Arab Emirates, Oman and Iran:
On the West: A line joining Ra’s-e Dastakan (26°33’N –
55°17’E) in Iran, southward to Jaztal Hamra lighthouse (25°44’N –
55°48’E), in the United Arab Emirates (the common limit with the Persian
Gulf).
On the East: A line joining Ra’s Limah (25°57’N –
56°28’E), in Oman, eastward to Ra’s al Kuh (25°48’N – 57°18’E), in Iran
(the common limit with the Arabian Sea).
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