INTERTANKO Weighs in on Piracy Issues

Ongoing success of international naval anti-piracy operation depends on full cooperation from ships.

Captain Richard Farrington, Chief of Staff of the EU Naval Force, and co-chairman of the Shared Awareness and De-confliction (SHADE) mechanism, updated a recent meeting of Working Group 1 of the UN/IMO's Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) on the latest operational achievements, development and planning of the international anti-piracy operation in the Gulf of Aden.

Focusing on Information Exchange, the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) and the IRTC Military Coordination Guide, he advised that as many as 25% of ships passing through the Gulf of Aden still have not registered with MSCHOA (The Maritime Security Centre – Horn of Africa) and have not applied the Best Management Practices (BMPs).
 

Crucially he pointed out that 7 out of 8 vessels hijacked recently had not been reporting their movements to UKMTO (United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations), and not one of the eight was registered with MSCHOA although all were registered with flags that had signed up to the BMPs. On the other hand out of 15,000 vessels with registered transits, only two had been successfully hijacked and one of these was not implementing BMPs. INTERTANKO also pointed out the following metrics:

• 25% ships transiting GoA not registering with/reporting to naval anti-piracy operation, nor applying Best Management Practices
• 7/8 recently hijacked ships not reporting movements
• 0/8 recently hijacked ships registered with Maritime Security Centre
• 2/15,000 vessels with registered transits successfully hijacked

Captain Howard Snaith, INTERTANKO's Marine Director, stated at a public conference in London this week that it is crucial that ships passing through this area register with MSCHOA and report to UKMTO and at the same time implement Best Management Practices. He emphasised that the average pirate attack lasts only 11 minutes, and therefore that a policy of "detracting, deterring, delaying" by implementing BMPs, reporting to UKMTO and registering with MSCHOA is the most effective way of avoiding a hijacking situation.

PHOTO: Maersk Alabama, courtesy of MARAD.