IMB Calls For Further Action to Curb Somali Piracy
Friday, March 11, 2011
Piracy costs the world economy an estimated USD $7 to $12 billion a year.
The ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB) has come out in support of a joint
campaign launched by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), Intertanko,
Intercargo, BIMCO and the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) that
urges governments to take firm action on the issue of maritime piracy off the
coast of Somalia.
The campaign, aimed at raising awareness of the human and economic costs of
maritime piracy, urges governments around the world to prioritise six key
actions:
Reducing the effectiveness of easily identifiable motherships
Authorising naval forces to hold pirates and deliver them for prosecution and
punishment
Fully criminalising all acts of piracy and intent to commit piracy under
national laws, in accordance with their mandatory duty to co-operate to
suppress piracy under international conventions
Increasing naval assets available in the affected areas
Providing greater protection and support for seafarers
Tracing and criminalising the organisers and financiers behind the criminal
networks
So far in 2011, 13 vessels have been hijacked by suspected Somali pirates, with
a total of 243 crewmembers taken hostage. In addition, six crew were kidnapped
from a vessel that was hijacked and then left adrift in the Indian Ocean. Of
most concern, however, are the seven murders committed by Somali pirates- three
of which were crew on board the hijacked Beluga Nomination.
On 25 February 2011 saw four attempted attacks on vessels over an 8-hour period
in the same area, which suggests the use of the same mother ship. In three of
the four incidents vessels were fired upon, with either with automatic weapons
or rocket-propelled grenades. A further two incidents were reported on 27 and
28 February 2011, the second of which resulted in the successful hijacking of a
vessel and her 24 crewmembers. Given the distances and time involved between
the six incidents, it is a distinct possibility that they were all launched
from the same mother ship.
IMB Director Pottengal Mukundan commented: "The past six months have seen a
significant escalation in pirate activity off the coast of Somalia. Strong
action against suspected motherships is necessary to prevent further attacks.
Recent months have seen robust action by several navies, most notably South
Korea, Malaysia and India, and we urge countries with naval vessels in the
region, in consultation with the shipowners, to follow this lead."
The Save Our Seafarers (SOS) campaign asserts that 90% of the world's food,
fuel, raw materials and manufactured goods delivered by sea. Of this, around
half travels through the pirate-infested Indian Ocean. The Open Earth
Foundation estimates that piracy costs the world economy between USD 7 and 12
billion per year.
Mr Mukundan continued: "There have been reports of greater violence and
mistreatment of the sailors in pirate captivity. This is unacceptable. We urge
governments to commit greater resources to this problem and push for more
prosecution of the pirates- the SOS campaign reports that 80% of those pirates
caught are released without prosecution this is precisely the wrong signal to
send to the pirates"
For up-to-date information on maritime piracy, please visit www.icc-ccs.org.
For more information on the Save Our Seafarers campaign, visit
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