Page 19 - INTERCARGO - Annual Report Report 2022 - 2023

INDUSTRY TOPICS INDUSTRY TOPICS
ANNUAL REVIEW

Ballast Water Management For more information on this topic please visit: Piracy For more information on this topic please visit:
intercargo.org/topics/ballast intercargo.org/topics/piracy
and Armed Robbery at Sea

Be aware of the sea areas and

ports affected by piracy and
armed robbery. Report all attacks
and suspicious sightings to local
authorities as per IMO circular

MSC.1/Circ.1334 and to relevant
Navy’s reporting centres if
practical.

The International Involving new regulations and the fitting and operation of According to information made available in IMO’s GISIS ing the latest maritime security information from organisa-
equipment that had previously not been used on ships , the module, 131 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against tions supporting the Voluntary Reporting Area (VRA). Best
Convention for the Control implementation of the Convention has, unsurprisingly, led to ships were reported as having occurred or been attempt- Management Practices 5 (BMP5) will continue to provide

and Management of a number of challenges. ed in 2022. The areas most affected included the Straits the necessary guidance for shipping to ensure that threat
of Malacca and Singapore (72), West Africa (21), and South and risk assessments are developed for every voyage to
Ships’ Ballast Water and These especially relate to the performance of ballast water America (Pacific) (14), followed by Indian Ocean (9), South mitigate the risks presented by remaining security threats
treatment systems, the operating conditions and locations
Sediments (Ballast Water of vessels, and the global coverage of technical support for America (Atlantic) (6), South America (Caribbean) (4), South in the relevant region.
China Sea (4) and Arabian Sea (1).
Convention) entered into the systems involved. It is important to note that while ships The shipping industry maintains a Maritime Global Se-
are certified for global trade, many of the available systems The number of incidents that took place in the Gulf of Guin- curity Website. The site contains guidance and external
force on 8th September, are not certified or able to perform in all locations and con- ea (West Africa) decreased in 2022 by 17 compared to the links, and the site is navigated using the drop-down menus
2017. ditions that vessels may trade in, and this is particularly true same period in 2021, when 38 incidents were reported. specifying the type of risk/issue, or the geography. Interna-
for the bulk carrier fleet. This constitutes a decrease of 45%. However, turning to tional shipping industry associations including INTERCAR-
2023, three very serious hijacking incidents were report- GO have joined forces to continue updating this resource.
INTERCARGO has co-sponsored a number of papers to
ed with 15 crew members being kidnapped in the region. (https://www.maritimeglobalsecurity.org).
IMO on the Convention Review, in particular on challenging
The Navy reporting office MDAT-GOG advised mariners
water quality. It is hoped these ongoing discussions at the
to exercise caution when transiting this area and register
IMO will also play a part in solving some of the other ballast
with the MDAT-GOG as early as possible before entering
water management issues faced by ship operators.
this region, also updating MDAT-GOG on their position fre-
It is also important that we have an holistic approach to quently to receive timely advice and alerts.
regulation. Shipping is on a journey to decarbonise, which
Reports showed that a total of 59 incidents were reported
in the short term to mid-term will mean finding efficiencies
in Asia during January-June 2023. No piracy incident was
and, ultimately, using less power. However, regulations such
reported during this period.
as the Ballast Water Management Convention effectively re-
quire vessels to use more power and thus produce more The shipping industry will continue to monitor and advise
emissions, meaning that one environmental regulation can on maritime security threats to assist the safe transit of ves-
potentially have a negative effect on another. The regula- sels and the seafarers who crew them. Pre-voyage threat
tors should recognise the consequences of all regulations and risk assessments should still be carried out consider-
and how they may impact each other.

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