|
|
Ship masters are warned to
exercise high vigilance and caution when
transiting or trading in pirate prone areas,
especially in the Gulf of Aden.
Asian Shipowners Forum (ASF) safe navigation and
environment committee (SNEC) said ship masters
must make full use of the voluntary reporting
system set up by Britain Maritime and Trade
Office and to navigate in the Maritime Security
Patrol Area as demarcated.
“Attacks in the African region ranked the
highest, accounting for over 56% of the world’s
total number of attacks.
“Ships transiting the Gulf of Aden are most
vulnerable and subject to higher risk of attack
and hijack,” SNEC said in a statement after its
15th interim meeting recently.
So far this year, more than 50 vessels had been
attacked, with many hijacked by heavily-armed
pirates mainly with the aim of demanding heavy
ransom from shipowners, it said, adding that
most vessels were operated by Asian shipowners.
The SNEC strongly condemned such deplorable and
dangerous acts of piracy and armed robbery by
the pirates operating from Somalia as “they
seriously threaten the safe navigation of ships
and put at high risk the lives of the crew on
board”.
It said the marine environment also faced the
high risk of pollution as most vessels that have
been attacked were fully laden tankers, VLCCs
and chemical tankers.
In June this year, the United Nation Security
Council passed Resolution 1816 authorising
foreign naval vessels and aircraft cooperating
with the transitional government in Somalia to
enter the country’s territorial waters to
repress piracy and armed robbery at sea.
In spite of this resolution, the attacks have
continued unabated.
Following the grave concerns of Asian shipowners,
the committee urgently appeal to the
International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and
maritime nations to exercise strong political
will to combat the problem.
“Where possible, governments are urged to
strengthen the coalition naval and air forces in
the Middle East,” it said.
SNEC, however, said the International Maritime
Bureau in its half-year 2008 report indicated
that the number of attacks worldwide had dropped
by 9.52%.
There are 114 incidents reported from January to
June 2008 compared with 126 incidents in the
same period in 2007.
The committee said incidents of piracy and armed
robbery in the Asian waters had continued to
decline, with 45 incidents in the first half of
this year compared with 49 cases in the same
period last year.
The SNEC is also aware of the greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions from ships that was discussed at IMO’s
first inter-session meeting.
Three main issues discussed at the IMO meeting
were the development of a CO2 design index, a
CO2 operational index together with a ship
efficiency management plan and economic
instruments with the potential to reduce GHG.
“While SNEC has a strong commitment to protect
the global environment and encourage sustainable
technologies, it must be stressed that any
measures developed should be the result of
careful study.
“It must clearly defined both the short-term and
long-term goals that are realistic and pragmatic
for implementation,” it said.
The ASF 15th interim meeting was attended by 24
representatives of shipowner associations from
China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Chinese
Taipei.
The Federation of Asean Shipowners’ Associations
was represented by delegates from Indonesia,
Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and
Vietnam. |
