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Further UN action on piracy
5 June 2009
The third plenary meeting of the United Nations Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia, meeting in New York on 29 May, agreed a series of further measures to tackle the continuing problem of piracy. It endorsed the creation of an international trust fund to help defray the expenses associated with the prosecution of suspected pirates, as well as other activities.
Panama, Liberia, the Bahamas and the Marshall Islands – which account for 50% of the world's shipping – signed the New York Declaration, in which they agreed to proclaim internationally recognised best management for protection of ships against piracy attacks. The declaration also requires that all ships flying their flags adopt self-protection measures to comply with the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code.
Continuing measures by the UN include land-based counter-piracy projects.
Meanwhile at the International Maritime Organisation's recent meeting in London, shipping organisations reiterated their opposition to the arming of ships to counter the piracy threat. Giles Noakes from BIMCO, the largest international shipowner organisation, said: “Armed guards on ships are inappropriate and an admission of failure by the international community to guarantee the safe passage of merchant ships under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.”
IMO secretary-general Efthimios Mitropoulos said that the IMO had made “abundantly clear” its concerns over ships carrying civilian armed guards.
Despite the presence of an international naval force in the Gulf of Aden, there seems to be no end to the threat of piracy in these and other waters. There are reports that a chemical tanker was attacked by armed pirates in the Red Sea, the first such case in these waters.
There are also reports that the tanker, Stolt Strength, which was held by Somali pirates for over five months before it was released in April, came under pirate fire in the Gulf of Aden again on 2 June, the same day as an unsuccessful pirate attack on another tanker, the British-owned, Isle of Man-flagged British Mallard.
Somali pirates also opened fire on the Greek-owned United Lady on 1 June. The ship took anti-piracy measures to prevent a boarding.
In other waters, armed pirates attacked a tug off Pulau Aur in Malaysia and stole cash and belongings from the crew. This is reported to be the fifth such attack on tugboats in this area this year, and reflects a rise in piracy in South East Asia, particularly the South China Sea and Malaysia.
All attacks and suspicious sightings should be reported to the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre, Tel: +603 2031 0014 (24 hours), Email:imbkl@icc-ccs.org.
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