Spanish Gov’t To Allow Heavy Artillery On Board Tuna Seinersff

Source: EITB

Basque president Patxi Lopez made the announcement on Monday and hopes the central Spanish government will finance a further quarter of the costs, with ship owners making up 50% of the total outlay.


Basque president Patxi Lopez meets with the owners of the Alakrana.

The Basque Government announced that it is prepared to pay 25 per cent of the cost of security on Basque tuna boats that fish in the Indian Ocean. It is also negotiating with the central Spanish government to shell out another 25% of the costs meaning that ship owners themselves would be left with only half of the expense to pay.

On Monday morning, Patxi Lopez met with ANABAC, an association of ship owners that counts Echebasta, owners of the recently hijacked Alakrana, as one of their members. During the meeting, the situation regarding the current hijack was discussed and the president signaled that the main priority at this time should be the eventual release of the kidnapped crew members. Lopez expressed his opinion that the recent restoration of lines of communication was “a sign we are making headway”.

Also discussed during the meeting were future measures which would ensure the safety of tuna fishermen. This comes following a bill recently passed that would allow the presence of arms aboard the ships as well as personnel to operate them. The ship owners were assured that “the order allowing the introduction of more effective heavy artillery for use against hijackers (pirates) is already being passed by the Spanish Government”.

Lopez also revealed that “contacts are being made with European firms” with a view to “ensuring adequate personnel for the operation of such arms”. The lehendakari continued to explain that in Spain, "professionals were being trained to operate such weaponry” and that ways were also being considered for removing a lot of the red tape currently required when foreign security is contracted to travel on Spanish vessels. He concluded by saying that the Basque government would be working alongside central administration to promote urgently needed reforms so they are put in place as soon as possible.