Tag: maritime piracy

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ITF to organize conference on piracy, illegal fishing

Asia-Pacific regional conference The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) and its affiliated trade unions will hold the Asia-Pacific regional conference here next week to discuss sea crime in the region.Chairman of the ITF's Asia-Pacific Region Hanafi Rustandi said the conference that would last four days on Monday through Thursday was so important for Indonesia that relevant authorities, including the Indonesian Military and the police were also invited to attract the government's attention to sea crimes which have caused losses to the government and affect the livelihood of seafarers."Armed robberies have been on the rise in Indonesia's ports while piracy has been increasing on the Malacca straits, the South China Sea and Somalian waters in the past few years. Several Indonesian cargo and fishing vessels, including their crew members, have been hijacked and released after paying ransoms," he said.Indonesia would also raise issues on illegal fishing and infringement of the cabotage principle, which has exploited Indonesian seafarers, he said."The inter-island trade, or cabotage, is an extremely sensitive issue for most Asia-Pacific countries, there have been far too many incidents involving seafarers and ships because of relaxed legislation. The time has come to look at the issue to invigorate the role of ...

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Problems in identifying pirates

An incident in the Gulf of Oman has once again focused attention on the difficulties under which ships with armed guards embarked can find themselves in these pirate-infested waters. Pirates, for obvious reasons, are moving further and further from their bases on the coast of Somalia and are tending to blend in to the fishing activities that are encountered in these seas. Very large numbers of these small craft fish these waters. Indeed, an estimate from the Omani authorities suggested that up to 40,000 small craft might be found at sea in the north-western sector of the Indian Ocean.Many of these craft are indistinguishable from the skiffs and other local craft employed by the pirates, with only a close inspection identifying boarding ladders and firearms providing a reasonable assumption that the fast craft approaching is a pirate skiff and not an innocent fisherman speeding back to shore with his catch. And it would not be the first encounter that saw a furious fisherman whose lines or nets had been damaged by a passing ship speeding alongside to remonstrate with those aboard the ship that had caused him such damage. With those aboard a ship in a high state of alert ...

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Mozambique: Govt Adopts Code of Conduct on Piracy

Djibouti Code of Conduct The Council of Ministers (Cabinet) on Thursday approved Mozambique's adoption of the Code of Conduct concerning the Repression of Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in the Western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden, also known as the "Djibouti Code of Conduct".The Djibouti Code facilitates the sharing of information among countries in the region and actions to repress maritime piracy.Speaking to reporters shortly after the Cabinet meeting, government spokesperson Deputy Minister of Mineral Resources Abdul Razak explained that Mozambique's accession to the Code "will allow Mozambique to share information among member countries in the region and will give access to technical training and support for the purchase of equipment for the fight against piracy".The Djibouti Code, which became effective on 29 January 2009, promotes the implementation of a number of United Nations Security Council and UN General Assembly resolutions which fall within the competence of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).So far 19 out of 21 eligible countries have signed the Djibouti Code of Conduct. Mozambique and France are yet to sign the Code. With Mozambique adopting the Code, France is the only eligible country yet to join.During the meeting, the Cabinet also ratified two agreements: ...

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Ambassador Issues Rallying Cry On Prosecuting Pirates

Anti-piracy efforts were now focused on "following the money All necessary measures must be taken to punish and prosecute pirates, and governments should adopt a multinational approach to fight the problem, according to the US ambassador to Greece, Daniel Smith.Speaking at the US Department of Commerce's maritime anti-piracy seminar held at Posidonia, Mr Smith criticised the reluctance of certain governments not to pursue cases and said the US was co-operating to implement new prosecution measures."Piracy used to be an ad hoc endeavour but it has now become a highly developed criminal enterprise," he said. "Unless prosecution is enhanced pirates will continue to reap the rewards."Mr Smith said that ransom demands were steadily increasing and said anti-piracy efforts were now focused on "following the money".Mr Smith told shipowners that they simply could not afford not to employ the latest best management practices and added that a vast majority of vessels that had been successfully hijacked in the past had failed to comply with BMP4Source: Intermanager

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US embassy hosts first-ever anti-piracy seminar at Posidonia exhibition

US Ambassador to Greece Daniel Bennett Smith noted that piracy at sea was a crime of global concern The persistent and growing scourge of piracy on the high seas - a problem that is costing billions of US dollars every year - was the focus of the first-ever seminar on available anti-piracy services and technology, hosted by the US embassy in Greece on Tuesday at the Posidonia international shipping exhibition, which is again taking place in Athens on June 4-8.In opening remarks, US Ambassador to Greece Daniel Bennett Smith noted that piracy at sea was a crime of global concern and that counter-piracy patrols - though supported by the United States - were not in themselves sufficient to guarantee ship safety.He pointed out that pirates - from their originally ad hoc, disorganised beginnings - are now using increasingly advanced methods and venturing further and further offshore in what is now becoming a highly developed, transnational criminal enterprise.While referring to cooperative efforts with other nations to investigate and prosecute these crimes and, especially, as he said "follow the money trail" that led to those financing the pirates, he noted they were too often simply let go when caught due to states' ...

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Hunting Somali pirates from the air

Piracy off the Somali coast is estimated to be costing the shipping industry nearly $7bn (4.4bn).Along with the growing terrorist threat, it is one of the main reasons David Cameron has convened this week's Somalia conference in London.Over 100 seafarers and several ships are currently held for ransom in often atrocious conditions.Frank Gardner has become the first British journalist to be allowed aboard an Australian maritime patrol aircraft, as it flew a counter-piracy mission over the Somali Basin.

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International Community Appreciates Considerable Role of Russian Navy in Counter-Piracy Campaign

Said US state secretary deputy assistant International community appreciates considerable role of Russian Navy in counter-piracy campaign, said US state secretary's deputy assistant Tomas Kelly saying that"we very much value Russian participation in the coalition".According to official figures, in the last year Russian warships escorted over 30 convoys through the Gulf of Aden with 168 vessels flying flags of 27 countries including 62 Russian-crewed ships. Security of 448 Russian citizens was ensured. Currently, anti-piracy watch off Somalia is kept by Northern Fleet (NF) destroyer Vice Admiral Kulakov.Experts say actions taken against Somali pirates bring certain results. According to French defense ministry, only 200 pirate attacks were registered in 2011 comparing to 700 ones in 2010. Pirates managed to hijack only 13 commercial ships while in 2010 they captured up to 30 vessels.Director of the Atlantic Council research center Peter Pham considers armed security on board merchant ships has played a large part in reducing pirate attacks. Goal-oriented steps taken by commercial shipping companies hinder piracy in the region, pointed out Pham.However, in spite of all countermeasures, there are still many cases of piracy in the Indian Ocean, and demanded ransoms are permanently growing. According to American organization Oceans Beyond Piracy, ...

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21 Filipinos released by Somali pirates

After being held captive since October 31 last year A Greek-owned chemical tanker, with 21 Filipino sailors onboard, was released from captivity by Somali pirates earlier this month, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Friday.Raul Hernandez, Foreign Affairs spokesman, said that M/T Liquid Velvet was released on June 4 after being held captive since October 31 last year.The Marshall Islands-flagged, Greek-owned chemical and oil tanker has a full crew of 21 Filipino sailors on board."The families of the crew members were already informed by the local manning agency of this development," Hernandez said.He added that the vessel was already sailing towards Salalah in Oman."The DFA has instructed our Philippine embassy in Muscat to meet and extend assistance to the crew members once the vessel docks at the Port of Salalah," the official said.Currently, there are still 45 Filipino seafarers on board five vessels being held captive by the pirates in the Gulf of Aden.Source: Neptune Maritime Security

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Senior Puntland officials visit Bargal, Bari region

There have been a crack down on Somali pirates in the region A group of Puntland officials on Thursday visited Bargal town, Bari region, where there have been a crack down on Somali pirates in the region.The eight member officials led by the area regional governor Abdisamad Mohamed Gallan reportedly travelled to the area to convene a security meeting with the local population.Speaking to the press before leaving the Bosaso town, Mr Gallan said they will hold talks the local with elders in Bargal to chat the way forward in maintaining peace in the area and to rally support for their fight against pirates.Meanwhile, normalcy has reportedly returned to Bali-dini area where there was an aerial attack on Wednesday targeting pirates' base in the area.Puntland's marine forces have been conducting security operations aimed at clearing out Somali sea gangs from the coastal region of Bari.Source: Hayaan Press

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Judges Meet to Fight Piracy Through Justice

Nigerian Justices are brainstorming in Abuja Justices of the High Courts and Courts of Appeal are brainstorming in Abuja at a 3-day maritime seminar jointly organized by the Nigerian Shippers Council and the National Judicial Institute.The seminar which was declared open yesterday by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Dahiru Musdapher, is aimed at discussing recent developments in international maritime law.Musdapher said, "it is imperative to regularly organize seminars on a sustained basis for judicial officers, maritime law practitioners and other stakeholders in the maritime industry."The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, said most maritime laws are international in nature and directed the House Committee on Marine Transport to commence the process of domesticating international maritime laws with a view to getting them passed into law to enable the country's maritime laws to conform with international laws.Source: Daily Trust

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