Oil marketers raise alarm over piracy risks to vessels

Oil marketers are raising alarm over increased threats to vessels delivering crude oil to the Kenyan coast, due to piracy.

These threats are likely to led to an increase in local pump prices, as marketers match up increased costs in securing deliveries for refining in the country.

Already, they are being charged highly for these products and there are fears the charges will be passed on to consumers.

KenolKobil, one of the marketers, on Wednesday indicated that threats from pirates had resulted in a number of vessels reconsidering their journey through the Indian Ocean.

Kenya relies on crude oil for its domestic consumption from the Middle and Far East countries.

“There have been many piracy attacks in the Indian Ocean, placing uninterrupted supplies of petroleum products to Eastern Africa at risk,” noted the firm in a statement to newsrooms.

Lawlessness

The piracy phenomenon in the has over the last one year posed a threat to vessels and cargo ships.

This has been attributed to the lawlessness in neighbouring Somalia.

Recently, pirates attacked a vessel that was on its way back to the Gulf after delivering products to Mombasa for local oil marketers.

“As a result there are all indications that vessel owners will declare the entire Indian Ocean a War Risk Zone,” noted the statement from the marketer.