28 During the discussion which followed, the participants noted with concern that incidents of piracy and armed robbery in some parts of the region were drug-related. The seminar, therefore, recommended that the same resources (both equipment and personnel) used for combating drug trafficking should also be deployed for anti-piracy operations and that this would make for a more economic use of assets.
29 The participants noted that lack of operational agreements might work in favour of the criminals. Countries in the region were therefore urged, wherever possible, to enter into suitable operational agreements so as to improve the effectiveness of their naval patrols.
30 The participants, realizing the involvement of several competent national authorities in anti-piracy planning and execution and that this often leads to unavoidable bureaucracy, stressed the need for co-ordination of all agencies involved.
31 The participants further discussed the effect that media coverage had had on the fight against piracy and armed robbery against ships. There was agreement that the media were generally only interested in the sensational aspects of piracy and that this could be counter-productive to the national efforts because it sometimes had portrayed the criminals in a positive or macho image.
32 During the presentation of the national reports and the discussions that followed, it emerged that the profile of the pirate and armed robber in the region and his modus operandi were different from those in other parts of the world. It was therefore agreed that, during the workshop session, MSC/Circ.622 and MSC/Circ.623 would be reviewed with the aim of recommending:
.1 special measures applicable to the region for incorporation in the guidelines; and
.2 amendments for the Maritime Safety Committee to take into account as appropriate in any future revision of the circulars.
33 The seminar having received the reports of the two Working Groups established to review the contents of the guidelines annexed to MSC/Circs. 622 and 623, adopted these reports, with certain amendments, as shown in annexes 4 and 5 and took their recommendations into account in preparing and adopting the resolutions referred to in paragraph 35.
34 The Secretariat was requested to:
.1 convey the outcome of the workshop to the Singapore seminar and workshop for information and action; and
.2 bring to the attention of the Maritime Safety Committee at its seventy-first session in May 1999 the amendments proposed by the Brasilia and Singapore seminars and workshops inviting it to take action as appropriate.
