IMO pledges support to avert piracy off Somali coast
IMO pledges support to avert piracy off Somali coast
15:08, November 03, 2009 
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The UN International Maritime Organization (IMO) has vowed to help Somalia contain piracy off its coast and in the Gulf of Aden, including through assisting in the creation of a national coast guard.
According to a UN news release received here Tuesday, IMO Secretary-General Efthimios Mitropoulos discussed the issue with the Prime Minister of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG), Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke, during their meeting last week in London.
During the meeting, Mitropoulos emphasized the importance of putting the code of conduct -- of which Somalia is a signatory -- into effect.
Mitropoulos said that the IMO, in cooperation with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC), will provide the requested assistance.
In addition, it will, through its technical cooperation programme and assistance from Member States, help Somalia to establish a national coast guard.
The Prime Minister said that piracy off his country's coast needed to be tackled from the land side as well as from the sea, and requested help to halt attacks from the two main piracy networks (one in the central region of Somalia and one in Puntland) through the establishment of information-sharing centres.
He also stated that the country is reviewing its national legislation to ensure that pirates are prosecuted within Somalia, and requested the IMO' s help in this regard.
The past year has witnessed an upsurge in piracy off the coast of the Horn of Africa nation, which has been riven by factional fighting and had not had a functioning central government since the overthrow of Siad Barre in 1991.
In January, Indian Ocean and Red Sea countries pledged to cooperate in seizing, investigating and prosecuting pirates off the Somali coast in a stepped-up campaign to curb a scourge that has wrought havoc with international shipping, including UN delivery of emergency food aid.
The code of conduct, signed in Djibouti, calls for shared operations, such as nominating law enforcement or other authorized officials to embark in the patrol ships or aircraft of another signatory.
Somali pirates have seized dozens of ships over the last two years, taking in tens of millions of dollars in ransom money. The pirates are believed to be holding seven ships in all.
The Somali pirates who come from specific regions and clans, far away from the war-ravaged capital have thwarted efforts by the coalition of warships patrolling the world's most dangerous waters to end the menace.
An estimated 25,000 ships annually cruise the Gulf of Aden, off Somalia's northern coast. Over 10 ships and 200 crew members are still held by Somali pirates.
The Gulf of Aden, off the northern coast of Somalia, has the highest risk of piracy in the world. About 25,000 ships use the channel south of Yemen, between the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.
Source: Xinhua
According to a UN news release received here Tuesday, IMO Secretary-General Efthimios Mitropoulos discussed the issue with the Prime Minister of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG), Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke, during their meeting last week in London.
During the meeting, Mitropoulos emphasized the importance of putting the code of conduct -- of which Somalia is a signatory -- into effect.
Mitropoulos said that the IMO, in cooperation with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC), will provide the requested assistance.
In addition, it will, through its technical cooperation programme and assistance from Member States, help Somalia to establish a national coast guard.
The Prime Minister said that piracy off his country's coast needed to be tackled from the land side as well as from the sea, and requested help to halt attacks from the two main piracy networks (one in the central region of Somalia and one in Puntland) through the establishment of information-sharing centres.
He also stated that the country is reviewing its national legislation to ensure that pirates are prosecuted within Somalia, and requested the IMO' s help in this regard.
The past year has witnessed an upsurge in piracy off the coast of the Horn of Africa nation, which has been riven by factional fighting and had not had a functioning central government since the overthrow of Siad Barre in 1991.
In January, Indian Ocean and Red Sea countries pledged to cooperate in seizing, investigating and prosecuting pirates off the Somali coast in a stepped-up campaign to curb a scourge that has wrought havoc with international shipping, including UN delivery of emergency food aid.
The code of conduct, signed in Djibouti, calls for shared operations, such as nominating law enforcement or other authorized officials to embark in the patrol ships or aircraft of another signatory.
Somali pirates have seized dozens of ships over the last two years, taking in tens of millions of dollars in ransom money. The pirates are believed to be holding seven ships in all.
The Somali pirates who come from specific regions and clans, far away from the war-ravaged capital have thwarted efforts by the coalition of warships patrolling the world's most dangerous waters to end the menace.
An estimated 25,000 ships annually cruise the Gulf of Aden, off Somalia's northern coast. Over 10 ships and 200 crew members are still held by Somali pirates.
The Gulf of Aden, off the northern coast of Somalia, has the highest risk of piracy in the world. About 25,000 ships use the channel south of Yemen, between the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.
Source: Xinhua
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