International partnership toward piracy combat
The Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia was created on January 14, 2009 pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 1851. This voluntary, ad hoc international forum brings together over 80 countries, organizations, and industry groups with a shared interest in combating piracy. Chaired by the United States in 2013, the Contact Group continues to coordinate political, military, industry, and non-governmental efforts to bring an end to piracy off the coast of Somalia and to ensure that pirates are brought to justice.
Through its five thematic working groups, the Contact Group draws on international expertise and adopts a problem-solving approach towards addressing piracy, working closely with Somali authorities and regional administrations. Working Group 1, chaired by the United Kingdom, focuses on military and operational coordination, information sharing, and capacity building; Working Group 2, chaired by Denmark, addresses legal and judicial issues; Working Group 3, chaired by the Republic of Korea, works closely with the shipping industry to enhance awareness and build capabilities among seafarers transiting the region; Working Group 4, chaired by Egypt, aims at raising public awareness of the dangers of piracy; and Working Group 5, chaired by Italy, focuses on illicit financial flows associated with piracy as well as disrupting the pirate enterprise ashore.
This unique international partnership is contributing toward a significant decline in successful pirate attacks in the region. There has not been a single successful pirate attack in the region to date in 2013, and 2012 saw a nearly 75 percent decline in successful attacks over 2011.
Recent Developments
Apprehensions at Sea
- On January 25, the EU Naval Force vessel FS SURCOUF transferred 12 suspected pirates to authorities in Mauritius for prosecution. The French naval frigate captured the suspected pirates after an attack on a merchant vessel off Somalia’s coast earlier that month.
- On February 25, the EU Naval Force frigate HNLMS DE RUYTER transferred nine suspected pirates to authorities in the Republic of Seychelles. The suspects were captured aboard two skiffs after an alarm report from a merchant vessel on February 19.
Piracy Trials
- On February 27, a federal jury in Norfolk, Virginia convicted five Somali men of piracy for the 2010 attack on the USS ASHLAND. A piracy conviction in the United States carries a mandatory life sentence.
- Trials have been proceeding in the region for 16 suspected pirates detained in April 2012 by the Danish naval vessel ABSALON, operating as part of NATO’s Operation OCEAN SHIELD. A court in Seychelles sentenced three of the pirates to prison terms of 24 years and a fourth to 16 years. Denmark collaborated with Pakistan to secure Pakistani fishermen held hostage by the pirates to serve as witnesses in court. The next step will be to transfer the convicted pirates to serve their sentences in their home country, Somalia.
Prisoner Transfers
- In March, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) organised the latest transfer of piracy prisoners from Seychelles to Somalia. 25 pirates were sent to Bosasso from Montagne Posse prison in the Seychelles in three charter flights. Thirteen of the prisoners had been apprehended by the U.S. Navy and 12 by European Naval Force. Previously 34 pirates had been transferred to Somalia, 29 to Hargeisa in Somaliland and five to Bosasso in Puntland.
Significant Developments
- In December 2012 and January 2013, the Hostage Release Programme administered by the UN Political Office on Somalia (UNPOS) supported the repatriation of 21 hostages from the M/V ICEBERG and the remaining six hostages from the M/V ORNHA. This programme, which is funded by the UN Trust Fund to Support Initiatives of States Countering Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (UN Trust Fund), tracks, monitors and then assists States and shipping companies to recover former hostages abandoned inside Somalia after their release by pirates.
- The Regional Anti-Piracy Prosecution & Intelligence Coordination Centre (RAPPICC) in the Seychelles officially opened on February 25. The RAPPICC will coordinate counter-piracy intelligence and information in order to better target the kingpins and financiers of Somali piracy.
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Piracy Statistics for January 1-April 1, 2013
- 4 attempted hijackings; no successful hijackings
- Hostage seafarers in pirate custody
- 16 on M/V ALBEDO (Malaysia), hijacked November 25, 2010
- 67 on six fishing vessels, including M/V NAHAM (Oman), hijacked March 26, 2012
- 17 held on land from M/V ASHPAHLT VENTURE, LEOPARD, and PRATALAY 4
For further information, you can visit Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia
Source: U.S. State Department