There are no stupid questions!

As I lecture, to young sparks, in moments of lull, my mind drifts to how safe it is to lecture in a class as against my previous avatar as a sea farer. The reason I make this statement is because the number of seafarers in captivity and held for ransom by Somalian Pirates has crossed the figure of five hundred and has gone largely un-noticed, even as many of us go about our daily business of trying to figure out which restaurant we would like to visit at the weekend or which politician is going to give it to us in the neck, next.

Even as I write this piece, hundreds of seafarers are risking their freedom every day to allow ships to move through the busy international marine corridor linking West with East, called the Gulf of Aden, thereby ensuring that oil, chemicals and gas, food, raw materials and finished products all reach their destinations unhindered. Interestingly it is said that almost everything that floats today has an Indian on board.

But think for a moment of how these seafarers feel as they prepare for a transit of the Gulf of Aden ( How do their families feel? ), studying Best Management Practice specific to their situation, erecting defences such as razor wire and water cannon, practising protective procedures and manoeuvres. Practicing time and again for that one emergency that may surface at short notice.

Over 90% of global trade, including crude oil, goes by sea.Now think for a moment how every one of us would be affected if our seafarers said enough is enough and cargoes were delayed as they were re-routed round South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope or Sea farers demanded increased remuneration as risk and hardship allowance.

A while ago a young gun asked me if pirates really looked like Capt Jack Sparrow, in Pirates of the Caribbean. I said, yes, except that, they had eye patches covering both eyes, instead of one.I did not add that, today, pirates are armed with shoulder fired missiles as against the cutlass that Sparrow, wielded! I was joking, but the sad part is that many of us are operating with blinkers, cloistered in an unreal world, and the description would well suit many who live in a safety that is taken for granted.

Another enterprising youngster asked me, if it was true that a naval man had a wife in every port? While I'm a firm beliver in the dictum, that there are no stupid questions, this one took my breath away and, that is a story that will be reserved for another time...................