Aug 15, 2009

ZIM über Alles

by Liberty and Power

There has been a spirited discussion here at L&P about piracy, Somalia, arming ships, etc.

There is one shipping line that has not been hit by the pirates. It is the ZIM Integrated Shipping Services.

Why is this? Because the Israeli crews are armed, to protect themselves and their ship. The pirates are not interested in taking on a crew, perhaps all of which have served and been trained in the Israeli Defense Force (IDF).

They, apparently, don’t need the navies of the world to protect their ships. If I were shipping by container through one of the pirate infested areas, that is the company I would use.

Other shipping companies might take a lesson from ZIM.

Hat tip to John Moore for mentioning ZIM to me.

*In 1988 William Marina was the founding Dir. of the Florida-Israel Linkage Institute at FAU.

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More Comments:

William Marina - 4/14/2009

Actually, I plan a follow-up on Israeli Corporatism, as the Zionists as early as the 1930s, were fans of what was going on in Germany.
Even the link I give to ZIM shows some evidence of this continued thinking and economic structure in Israel today.
They were not happy twenty years ago when I broached some market ideas there.

Jonathan Dresner - 4/14/2009

No, L&P is in my RSS reader list: I look at all the posts, at least the "above the fold" portions.

So were you intentionally being offensive (or "ironic" as the kids say) or just had the pre-war German National anthem going through your head?

William Marina - 4/14/2009

Well, it did get your attention!

Crawdad - 4/14/2009

I humbly stand corrected about the legalities. That is okay though. I believe the free market solution ie., private security firms, to be a better solution to the pirate problem than having the U.S. Navy or other navies providing overwatch.

As outlined by commenters on the earlier posts on this subject, the U.S. being militarily involved is just too problematic.

Jonathan Dresner - 4/14/2009

Pushing it a bit with the title aren't you?

Lester Hunt - 4/14/2009

Interesting! I see on Wikipedia that ZIM was founded in 1945 by the Jewish Agency. I can see how one would not want to tangle with them.

Anyway, I guess that settles the question of whether armed commercial cargo ships are a violation of international law. They aren't.