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Industry campaign hits the big screen in battle against Somali piracy
Press Release
5th October 2011
SOS SaveOurSeafarers, a high profile, shipping industry anti-
piracy campaign is taking its message to celluloid with the launch
of a short video highlighting the human and economic cost of Somali
piracy.
The six-minute video was launched this week at the
Safety4Seainternational maritime security conference in Athens and
highlights the significant threat of Somali piracy attacks for the
worldwide seafarer community and potentially for world trade
itself.
The video, which is also being posted on YouTube, uses a mixture
of hard-hitting real life interviews, and the latest technology to
create a "Hollywood style" action sequence where a ship is captured
and hostages taken. This is followed by some hard-hitting thoughts
from a former hostage, from the EUNAVFOR Chief of Staff, and from a
member of the SOS Steering Group.
Commenting on the launch of the video, Bill Box from
SaveOurSeafarers, said: "Whilst recent incidents such as the
high-profile kidnappings of Judith Tebutt and Marie Dedieu have put
the issue in the headlines, these two incidents barely scrape the
surface of this ongoing crisis.
"Seafarers have been constantly under threat from Somali pirates
for the last five years, with at times more than 800 innocent
seafarers being held hostage for months on end in appalling
conditions and facing mental and physical torture at the hands of
their captors. Piracy costs the global economy as much as
£12billion a year and continues to threaten key transport routes
through the Indian Ocean."
"The aim of our video is to take the campaign message to a wider
audience and to gain support outside as well as inside the maritime
industry, calling for more determined government action
against Somali piracy."
The campaign, launched in March this year, is made up of
the largest ever grouping of international seafarers'
organisations, shipping companies and shipping industry
associations. It has already received backing from the British,
Philippine and Georgian governments and has seen support from 180
countries.
Full information on the campaign and the video can be found at
www.saveourseafarers.com
The video can also be viewed by the following direct link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLqwVpPALz0&feature=channel_video_title