IMO Head’s visit with Ban Ki-moon
Q: Is the number (of piracy attacks) going up or down?
KS: Last year, the number of successful attacks has been reduced thanks to the strong and tougher efforts of the navies and at the same time the application of the Best Management Practices by the shipping companies. But the actual number of successful pirates has been reduced; very much.
Q: Does that mean that the pirates are getting the message that this isn’t going to be an easy job for them to undertake?
KS: We have to understand, we have been dealing with this matter for over five years. We can see some good progress but at the same time still there are big issues and are disrupting international trade. We have to maintain strong action to eradicate piracy off the coast of Somalia.
Q: Do you think piracy off Somalia can be eradicated or just controlled?
KS: We have good signs of reducing the incidents. With the effort of United Nations I’m sure and we can eradicate this menace of the piracy off the coast of Somalia.
Q: You’ve been in New York to meet the secretary general Ban Ki-moon, to discuss piracy. What did you tell him?
KS: Most importantly we discussed the possibility of strengthening the cooperation between the UN and IMO for anti- piracy measures. Mr. Ban, kindly agreed, with the views I have on how to deal with capacity building in the region, to handle the piracy off the coast of Somalia.
Q: What will that capacity building include?
KS: There are many aspects. We have established original mechanism of cooperation that is called the Djibouti Code of Conduct. We’d like to train the law enforcement officers including coast guard people. At the same time we want to establish mechanism of monitoring the activities. We’d like to train the legal officers so that pirates will be properly prosecuted.
Above interview is adapted from IMO Audio Podcast
For more information , visit the official site of International Maritime Organization
