MARITIME SAFETY COMMITTEE
71st session
Agenda item 15
MSC 71/15/6
19 March 1999
Original: SPANISH
PIRACY AND ARMED ROBBERY AGAINST SHIPS
Action taken by the authorities of the Republic of Venezuela in relation to circular
MSC/Circ.880 of 30 November 1998
Submitted by Venezuela
SUMMARY
Executive summary: This document reports on the action taken by the Coastguard Command of Venezuela in connection with the incident involving the M.V. Sea Explorer II, which reported to the Piracy Reporting Centre of Kuala Lumpur that it had been the victim of an act of piracy in the port of Guanta on 26 June 1998, without reporting the incident to the Venezuelan authorities.
Action to be taken: Paragraphs 8 and 9
Related documents: MSC/Circ.880, MSC/Circ.898
Background
1 Circular MSC/Circ.880 of 30 November 1998, on page 1 of its annex under point 4, refers to an incident of "piracy" which occurred on 26 June 1998 on the M.V. Sea Explorer II in the Venezuelan port of Guanta. The incident was reported to the Piracy Reporting Centre of Kuala Lumpur, but not to the Venezuelan authorities, as can be inferred from the lack of information in columns 7, 8 and 10 of the annex.
Action taken
2 The Venezuelan Navy Coastguard Command authorities, on being informed of the existence of circular MSC/Chc.880, embarked on an exhaustive investigation in the port of Guanta in order to ascertain the facts, owing to the lack of any records of the incident involving the M.V. Sea Explorer II, particularly since it appeared to be connected with an act of piracy.
3 The results of this investigation enabled it to be established that no report had been made to the local authorities, and therefore no evidence was found that such an incident had taken place.
