Page 18 - INTERCARGO - Annual Report_2021
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ANNUAL REVIEW
Piracy and Armed Robbery at Sea
Piracy and armed robbery at sea For ships operating in areas with reported piracy and armed
robbery cases, the best advice is to obtain access to the lat-
continue to be headline concerns est guidance and best practice, carry out a risk assessment
in 2021. The International Maritime and follow industry best practice.
Bureau (IMB) Piracy Reporting It is necessary to register and liaise with navy forces, to re-
quest support and protection. During these communications
Centre recorded 68 incidents vessels may be sent updates on the security situation of in-
of piracy and armed robbery tended sea passages and potential vulnerability to attack.
in the first half of 2021. Every It is essential that suspicious activities and incidents are no-
tified to regional reporting centres. This not only enables the
incident reported is a blow to the navy to effectively deploy their assets and assist ships in an
confidence of seafarers serving emergency, but also helps the centres to send out alerts to
other ships to raise their awareness of the security situation
on board ships around the world. of the region. The Admiralty Maritime Security Charts show
Regions of main concern include the format, contacts and other detailed information for rou-
tine reporting.
the Gulf of Guinea and the waters
The shipping industry including INTERCARGO welcomed the
of South East Asia. launch of an important initiative - the Deep Blue Project - by
the Nigerian authorities in June 2021. Managed by the Nigeri-
an Maritime Safety Agency (NIMASA), the multi-agency pro-
ject will significantly increase maritime security in the region,
an area blighted by piracy, armed robbery, and other mari-
time crimes. It is the hope of the shipping industry that the
Deep Blue Project, coordinated with other navies and pro-
grammes through the mechanism of the GOG - Maritime Col-
laboration Forum/SHADE, will seriously impact on the ability
of pirate groups to prey on merchant shipping. It is anticipat-
ed that it will make a significant impact in reducing piracy and
armed robbery, protecting seafarers, ships, and the essen-
tial trade that serves the peoples of countries in the region.
A continued downward trend in Somali piracy has prompt-
ed leading shipping organisations including INTERCARGO
to reduce the geographic boundaries of the ‘High Risk Area’
(HRA) for piracy in the Indian Ocean, which will apply from 1
September 2021. A comprehensive new approach to assess-
ing international maritime security threats is to expected to
be completed by 31 December 2021 to allow shipowners and
operators to fully gauge the risk of voyages worldwide.
International shipping industry associations including INTER-
CARGO have joined forces and maintain a dedicated Mari-
time Global Security Website at maritimeglobalsecurity.org
providing anti-piracy guidance.
The website also lists the external links to relevant organisa-
tions playing a role in the fight against piracy, including con-
tact information for military/navy sources in the main regions
concerned. Most of these sources provide daily and weekly
incident reports. The contact information also allows incident
For more information on this topic please visit: reports to be delivered to email inboxes.
intercargo.org/topics/piracy
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