Tag: UN

It will be launched on United Nations World Maritime Day, 29th September An industry response to the human cost of piracy will be launched on United Nations World Maritime Day, 29th September.Maritime Piracy: a Humanitarian Response is a crossindustry programme designed to help seafarers and their families, who are being left traumatised by the growing threat of modern, often violent, piracy - so far this year there have been more than 186 attacks by Somali pirates.The event, in London, will hear from a number of guests including Dr Peter Swift, programme chair and former managing director of INTERTANKO, Roy Paul of the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) Seafarers' Trust, leaders of international shipping organisations and psychiatric consultant Dr Marion Gibson.Source: Shipmanagement International

ICS, BIMCO, INTERTANKO and INTERCARGO demand a The global shipping industry (represented by the Round Table of international shipping associations) has called for the establishment of a United Nations force of armed military guards to tackle the piracy crisis in the Indian Ocean, which it says is spiralling out of control.In a hard hitting letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), BIMCO, INTERTANKO and INTERCARGO demand a "bold new strategy" to curb rising levels of piracy which have resulted in the Indian Ocean resembling "the wild west".The letter states: "It is now abundantly clear to shipping companies that the current situation, whereby control of the Indian Ocean has been ceded to pirates, requires a bold new strategy. To be candid, the current approach is not working."Regretting the increasing necessity for shipping companies to employ private armed guards to protect crew and ships, the letter continues: "It seems inevitable that lawlessness ashore in Somalia will continue to breed lawlessness at sea."The shipping industry organisations - which represent more than 90% of the world merchant fleet - say they fully support the UN's long-term measures on shore aimed at helping the Somali people but are concerned that ...

Without urgent action, emissions are set to more than double by 2050 "Europe's efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions from aviation under the EU emissions trading scheme have hit the headlines this year not only in Brussels, but in Washington, Beijing and New Delhi, where the unilateral move is seen as controversial. But at the UN climate summit in Durban, South Africa, later this year, the EU has a chance to broker a fair global deal to reduce the massive emissions from another source, international shipping.If they seize it, they can get agreement on emissions reductions for the entire worldwide fleet of big, polluting ships and avoid negative impacts on developing countries that could lead to another diplomatic spat.Better still, setting a global carbon price for shipping would raise billions of euros for tackling climate change in developing countries. By securing further emissions cuts and new sources of climate finance, such a deal would help tackle two of the biggest challenges for the Durban conference.Like aviation, emissions from international shipping are high and rising fast. Shipping accounts for approximately 3% of global emissions - greater than those of Germany and around double those of Australia. A single ship can emit ...

The report is not complete The handover of a long-postponed UN inquiry report on an Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound ship in 2010 that killed nine Turks has been delayed again, a UN spokesman said.The UN announcement came as Israel and Turkey traded blame for the delay in the delivery of the final report to the office of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon."At this stage, the report is not complete," UN spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters in New York."The secretary general does hope that the members of the panel will be able to work on coming to a consensus," he said.The so-called Palmer report has been delayed repeatedly to allow for Israeli-Turkish rapprochement talks. Washington has been concerned at the rift between two countries that had been strategic partners in an increasingly stormy Middle East.UN officials originally suggested the report by a four-man inquiry panel could be finalised in February, then April, July and, most recently mid-to-late August. Diplomats had said the report would be handed over to Ban's office as early as yesterday.Haq said it was not clear when the report on the findings of a UN inquiry into the seizure of the Mavi Marmara last year would be ...

International sanctions against Iran's national shipping line As sanctions bite against Iran, its national shipping line is believed to be putting unsafe ships to sea to try to beat them. Are Asian nations prepared for the costs of a disaster?International sanctions against Iran's national shipping line in response to Tehran's nuclear ambitions are intensifying. The world's largest container carrier, Maersk, has suspended operations at three Iranian ports, while the US Treasury Department has launched legal action against 121 companies and individuals affiliated with the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping (IRISL).The latest round of measures, aimed at Iran's ballistic missile and nuclear programmes, came after IRISL was ostracized by the international maritime community with mortgage foreclosures on its ships and saw access to insurance greatly limited, prompting speculation IRISL is facing its own death knell.However, as IRISL limps on, a new and potentially deadly risk has emerged - particularly in East Asia, where the monitoring of IRISL's fleet has improved dramatically, but surveillance still remains patchy.'Any Iranian ship in Asian waters should send alarm bells ringing as Iran tries by all means to escape sanctions imposed for its involvement in nuclear weapons proliferation,' says Carl Thayer, Emeritus Professor with the University ...

Helping the courts in Somalia attain international standards to handle trials of pirates Helping the courts in Somalia attain international standards to handle trials of suspects arrested for engaging in maritime piracy off the East African coast can be an important step in combating the scourge in the Indian Ocean, the top United Nations legal affairs official told the Security Council."Achieving international standards will be a critical step because it will open the way for naval States to be able to enter into arrangements with Somali authorities for the transfer of piracy suspects apprehended at sea," said Patricia O"Brien, the Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs in a briefing to the Council.Ms. O"Brien was outlining to the Council the legal options contained in the reports by the Secretary-General and his former Special Adviser on Legal Issues Related to Piracy off the Coast of Somalia, Jack Lang, on how Somalia and the international community can legally step up counter-piracy efforts.On the modalities of establishing specialized anti-piracy courts inside Somalia as recommended in Mr. Lang"s report, Ms. O"Brien said the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) are already helping local authorities in the Somaliland and Puntland regions ...