The Piracy

IMO Meeting on Anti-Piracy

A high-level meeting in Djibouti has been convened by IMO to help address the problem of piracy and armed robbery against ships off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden. The meeting, which was opened Jan. 26 by IMO Secretary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos and the Prime Minister of Djibouti, Mr. Dileita Mohamed Dileita, is expected to conclude and adopt, pursuant to a request made by the IMO Assembly in its resolution 1002 of 2007, a regional agreement to assist countries in the region to build capacity to suppress piracy and armed robbery against ships in the Western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden. The opening session was attended by several Ministers of Transport and Ambassadors of countries in the region; high-level representatives of States that have sent naval assets to protect shipping from acts of piracy and armed robbery in the troubled waters off Somalia (including those of China, Italy, Japan, the Russian Federation and the United Kingdom); and officials of international organizations co operating with IMO on this issue (including the United Nations and the World Food Programme). In his opening address, Secretary-General Mitropoulos expressed appreciation to the countries that had to date contributed to the protection of shipping off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden

MARAD, Anti-Piracy Website

The US Maritime Administration (MARAD) issued a compilation of information relating to piracy in waters off the Horn of Africa, including maritime advisories, piracy statistics, a list of ships hijacked, and recommended counter-piracy measures. The information can be found at: http://www.marad.dot.gov/news_room_landing_page/horn_of_africa_piracy/horn_of_africa_piracy.htm (Source: Holland & Knight)

Somali Counter-piracy Operations Effective, Should Continue

UK House of Lords Select Committee states naval 'Operation Atalanta' has turned the tide on Somali pirates but should extend. The House of Lords EU Committee for External Affairs has praised the success of Operation Atalanta in curbing piracy off the Somali coast. However, they say that the operation must be extended beyond its current end date of December 2014 if it is to make a lasting difference in combating the threat.

IUA Supports LibDem Call For Action on Piracy

Marie-Louise Rossi, chief executive of the International Underwriting Association of London (IUA), has applauded a call by politicians in the U.K. to support measures to crack down on piracy and armed robbery at sea. And,in commending the initiative of the Liberal Democrats in drawing attention to increasing concern over piracy, Rossi also applauded the work currently being undertaken by IMO to address this issue. At their annual conference in Brighton this week

Pirates Losing Battle to Capture Ships

Pirates less successful in ship hijacks, still considerable threat says NATO Shipping Centre The NATO  piracy update mentions in its overview of the week, four piracy related incidents in the High Risk Area (HRA):  a Pirate Attack Group (PAG) was disrupted (017/12), one merchant vessel was hijacked (Alert 018/12), one merchant vessel was approached by suspected pirates (NSC 010/12) and one merchant vessel was attacked ( 019/12).

IMO Anti-piracy Code – South Africa Signs Up

Known as 'The Djibouti Code of Conduct' the IMO treaty binds signatories to co-operate in the suppression of maritime piracy The Code of Conduct concerning the Repression of Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in the Western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden (Djibouti Code of Conduct) has been signed on behalf of South Africa by the South African High Commissioner, His Excellency Dr.  Zola Skweyiya, who was attending an IMO Conference on 'Capacity Building to Counter Piracy off the

Oman Navy Affirms Counter-Piracy Involvement

EU NAVFO commander, Rear Admiral Dupuis meets with  Rear Admiral Mohammed Al-Farsi, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Royal Omani Navy, to discuss piracy in the region During a port visit by EU Naval Force Flag Ship FS MARNE in Salalah (Oman), the EUNAVFOR Force Commander Rear Admiral Dupuis flew to Muscat to meet Omani maritime authorities. Discussions focused on the current positive developments in counter piracy and their possible reasons (30 attacks in early 2012 compared with 111 for

Somali Counter-piracy Offensive Paying Off

Piracy off the Somali Coast falls to lowest levels in years as result of tough measures on land & at sea. As Kenyan Defense Forces continue to weaken Al-Shabaab on the ground in Somalia, new reports indicates Somali pirates off the coast have similarly been weakened this year. According to the International Maritime Bureau’s Piracy Reporting Center, “The number of ships signaling attacks by Somali pirates has fallen this year [2012] to its lowest since 2009

SOS Welcomes Robust EU Action on Somali Coast

The SOS SaveOurSeafarers campaign welcomes the extension of the EU counter- piracy operation until end 2014, and the  EU decision to broaden the scope of its naval operation in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean  by extending the naval forces’ area of operations to include Somali coastal territory which allows it to take more robust action on the Somali coast.   This is a bold step towards the goal that the shipping industry and its seafarers embrace - that of seeing

Container Lines Join Forces Against Piracy

The world's three largest container shipping companies have decided to cooperate in the fight against piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. The cooperation between CMA CGM, MSC and Maersk Line includes information exchange on safety measures, piracy policies and procedures as well as coordination to ensure the issue is addressed with all relevant stakeholders. "Our first and foremost concern is the safety and security of our crews