REPORT ON TIIE IMO REGIONAL SEMINAR AND WORKSHOP ON PIRACY AND ARMED ROBBERY AGAINST SHIPS
Singapore, 3 to 5 February 1999
GENERAL
1 In response to the grave concern expressed by several IMO Member Governments and international organizations regarding the increasing incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships, IMO's Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) established in 1984 Piracy and armed robbery against ships as a separate and fixed item in its work programme. Under this item, the Committee receives a summary of all reports on piracy and armed robbery against ships submitted by Member Governments and international organizations in consultative status and these are circulated on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis to IMO Member Governments and international organizations.
2 In addition, the Organization has adopted a number of resolutions and issued circulars on measures to prevent and suppress acts of piracy and armed robbery against ships and has prepared guidance and recommendations for Governments, shipowners and seafarers on preventing and combating piracy and armed robbery against ships.
3 At its sixty-eighth session (28 May to 6 June 1997), the MSC, in reviewing the latest reports submitted, noted with deep concern that the situation had deteriorated in some parts of the world and requested the Secretary General of IMO to enter into consultations, at Ambassadorial level, with the Governments of countries in whose waters acts of piracy and armed robbery against ships had most frequently been reported and if, as a result of such consultations, the Governments concerned indicated a willingness to cooperate with IMO experts, authorized him to organize missions of experts to those countries in a further effort to sensitize them to the need to prevent and suppress such acts.
4 The principal purpose of the missions of experts would be 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.
5 In addition, the MSC instructed the Secretariat to seek the necessary funds to organize, in co-operation with Governments in the regions most affected, technical seminars and workshops to explain the problem of piracy and armed robbery and the Organization's recommendations on how to deal with them.
6 Pursuant to the above instruction, the Secretariat arranged, following consultations with the Embassies and High Commissions in London of the countries concerned the sending of missions of experts and holding of four technical regional seminars and workshops in the South East Asia, South and Central America, West Africa and Indian Ocean regions respectively. Their objective would be to protect the safety of life at sea and the marine environment through assisting the Governments and officials in the countries concerned to enhance their capability for preventing and suppressing acts of piracy and armed robbery against ships.
7 With financial support provided by the Governments of Australia, Denmark, Greece, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Panama, the United Kingdom and the United States, the International Mobile Satellite Organization (Inmarsat), the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and International Shipping Federation (ISF), the Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF), the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (INTERTANKO) and the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), the Secretariat organized a mission of experts to the South East Asia from 5 to 11 October 1998. The mission visited Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines and prepared a report which was eventually submitted to MSC at its seventy-first session. A similar mission visited the Brazilian ports of Santos and Rio de Janeiro on 19 and 23 October 1998 respectively. Between the above dates, a seminar and workshop was held in Brasilia for selected countries in South America and the Wider Caribbean region.
