Fuente info Telegraph
Volvo Ocean Race organisers dismiss safety concerns
Safety concerns arising from the decision to send the Volvo Ocean Race fleet through some of the world's most dangerous waters for piracy and political unrest have been played down by race organisers.
By Kate Laven
Published: 6:51PM GMT 16 Mar 2010
The announcement of Abu Dhabi as the port to host the end of the second leg from Cape Town will require the fleet of 70 foot race boats to sail up the east coast of Africa which since October last year has seen increased piracy activity off Somalia, including the kidnapping of British sailors Paul and Rachel Chandler who are still being held hostage.
The race course will also take crews into the Arabian Gulf where sensitivities over disputed territories led to a British crew being detained for five days last December by the Revolutionary Guard in Iran after they strayed into Iranian waters.
"There is always a risk that a boat could be boarded," said Volvo Ocean Race Director Jack Lloyd, who has drawn up a sequence of exclusion zones and waypoints to ensure the fleet maintains 700nms distance off the Horn of Africa and keeps well away from the disputed islands in the Strait of Hormuz.
"We wouldn't be targets in that we won't be carrying millions of barrels of oil but kidnapping is a risk. We have systems in place for negotiations in case there is a kidnapping and the sailors will be made fully aware of the risks so they are prepared, just like last time."
In the last race, crews went from Cape Town to Cochin up the coast of Africa but no incidents were reported except for approaches from vessels trying to sell fish.
"Last time we had reports of piracy in Singapore and this year, there have been attacks off Brazil so we are dealing with issues all over the world. We are taking all the advice we can get," said Lloyd.
Ian Walker, skipper of Green Dragon in the last race in 2008-09 said the precautions taken by Volvo should minimise the risk to crews.
"If the current situation remains then we will have to stand several hundred miles off the Somalian coast to reduce the threat of pirate attack. This is not dissimilar to the last race and can no doubt be controlled with waypoints or scoring gates.
"The fleet will be well advised to have all their paperwork in order as there can be a lot of security and bureaucracy but my feeling is there should be no issues if they stay close to the Oman / UAE coastline."
