GENERAL INTRODUCTORY STATEMENTS
12 Addressing the meetings in the countries concerned, the IMO representative thanked the Government representatives present for the courteous manner in which the IMO group had been received and expressed the hope that through open and frank discussions, the meeting would contribute to the concerted efforts undertaken worldwide to eliminate piracy and armed robbery against ships. He was pleased to note the presence of high ranking officials from various departments of the Government with an interest in combatting piracy and armed robbery against ships.
After introducing the IMO group, he gave the history of IMO's involvement in this kind of maritime crime and concluded by providing information on recent developments and relevant activities in IMO.
He said that IMO first faced the issue of piracy in 1983, following a submission by Sweden to the 13th session of the Assembly expressing concern over attacks on merchant ships, even at considerable distances from the nearest coast. IMO's reaction was the adoption of resolution A.545 and the addition of a relevant item on the agenda of the MSC. Since then, some 1300 reports had been received by IMO and this approximately represented only one-third of such unlawful acts committed worldwide.
Because attacks on ships by pirates and armed robbers continued unabated over the years which followed, in 1993 IMO sent a working group to the three States bordering the Malacca Strait on a fact-finding mission and in an effort to prompt appropriate action at both national and regional level to improve the situation in the strait. That mission, the positive results of which were warmly welcomed by the maritime community at large, was followed by a similar mission in 1994 to countries within the South China Sea.
As a result of this effort, the MSC issued MSC/Circ.622 (making recommendations to Governments on how to tackle the issue) and MSC/Circ.623 (containing relevant guidelines to shipowners, ship operators, shipmasters and crews).
The IMO representative went on providing information on the background which led the MSC, at its sixty-seventh session, to ask the Secretary-General to enter into consultations with Governments in whose waters attacks by pirates seemed to have an endemic character and, following the successful conclusion of those consultations, to send missions of experts to the countries concerned. This was the first mission undertaken under the anti-piracy project approved by the MSC, which was made possible thanks to financial contribution by Governments and international organizations.
The IMO representative explained that the principal purpose of the mission was to increase awareness of the problem; impress upon the Governmental representatives concerned the need for action; and, more importantly, motivate political will to act at national and regional levels. The mission also aimed at encouraging the countries visited to participate in the regional seminar and workshop IMO was planning to convene in Singapore from 3 to 5 February 1999 for countries bordering the South China Sea and the Malacca and Singapore Straits.
He then went on mentioning the terms of reference for the mission, as had been agreed during consultations in London between representatives of the three Governments concerned and the IMO Secretariat. He added that a summary of the report of the mission would be submitted to MSC 70 (December 1998) and the full report to MSC 71 (May 1999).
