APR unions suggest military patrols for merchant ships

VLADIVOSTOK, March 2 (Itar-Tass) - The seamens unions of countries in the Asia-Pacific Region, which are holding their forum in the Philippine capital Manila, believe that military patrols posted aboard merchant vessles can reliably guard the ships from Somali sea pirates.
On Wednesday, the trade union delegations, among them that of the
Russian Seamen's Union (RSU), adopted a resolution calling on the military of all countires to step up struggle against piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the IndianOcean through placing units of armed soldiers aboard merchant ships, Nikolai Sukhanov chairman of the Far Eastern regional organization of the RSU, who is participating in the forum, told Itar-Tass from Manila by telephone.
The resolution also urges the shipowners to think out new sea lanes that would run in circumvention of the areas in which active sea pirate groups seize merchant vessels.
The leaders of the seamen's unions of Pacific Rim countries also
intend to call on all countries to take urgent measures to free from
captivity about 800 seamen, who are currently held hostage by the Somali pirates.