By Tsegaye Tadesse
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Ethiopia used to have a navy but, with the secession of Eritrea in 1993, lost its sea outlet and has kept nine ships operating commercially from neighbouring Djibouti.
Ambachew Abreha, managing director of state-owned Ethiopian Shipping Lines, told Reuters the fleet carried 1.8 million tonnes of cargo worth $258 million in 2007-08 fiscal year, compared to 1.5 million tonnes worth $193 million in 2006-07.
The boats export agricultural commodities, and import products like machinery for hydro-power projects, cement and iron for the booming construction sector, and consumer goods.
Future revenue prospects were somewhat clouded by the impact of Somali piracy in waters off the Horn of Africa, he said.
"Insurance premiums for ships operating along the Somali coast, which is considered a war zone, have become expensive. This may seriously affect our services in future," he said, without elaborating on how much the impact would be.
Despite rampant piracy in the region this year, however, not one Ethiopian ship was hijacked this year, Ambachew said.
"There was one incident last month, when Somali pirates attempted to attack our ship, but the moment they saw an Ethiopian flag flying from the mast of the ship , they retreated. We do not know the reason," he said.
Ethiopia has several thousand troops in Somalia supporting the government against Islamist insurgents.
Being a landlocked nation had not dampened Ethiopia's enthusiasm for trading at sea, the official said.
"Ships ply international waters and get services from ports they are visiting. To have your own port or not is of little importance," he said. (Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Andy Bruce).
Source: Reuters, Dec 03, 2008