PIRACY NEWS

UN must take central role in global fight against piracy

AN INTERNATIONAL anti-piracy meeting attended by delegations from 66 nations has proposed that the United Nations play a role to coordinate an international force to combat piracy off Somalia. A draft chairman’s statement from the Kuala Lumpur International Conference on Piracy and Crimes at Sea obtained by Lloyd’s List highlighted several measures to tackle piracy off Somalia including a direct request for the UN to consider “the possibility of taking joint measures through the contact working group on piracy... to suppress acts of piracy and armed robbery against ships off the coast of Somalia”.

US mulls law to put military on its ships

The US House of Representatives has hinted that lawmakers might take matters into their own hands and introduce legislation requiring military personnel on board US flag ships in piracy-prone regions, if US Department of Defence (DoD) and US Coast Guard (USCG) officials do not come up with a similar plan by June.

Readers back Russian call for piracy court

A SURVEY of Lloyd’s List readers – a group not traditionally inclined to support Moscow’s foreign policy agenda – has found that 85% backed Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s call for an international court to tackle Somali piracy.

Watch on the coast

THE UK, says a committee charged with looking at the security of borders, is vulnerable to terrorist menace by sea.

Hollywood calling

NEWS that the 55-year-old Maersk Alabama master Richard Phillips has appointed Creative Artists Agency to represent his interests as he sifts through book and film offers begs the obvious question: who should play the lead role in the inevitable blockbuster?

Shipowner calls for more naval forces after attack

A GREEK shipowner whose bulk carrier came under attack in the Gulf of Aden early yesterday has launched an impassioned plea for more naval protection in the area.

Why finesse, not force is the key to negotiating with pirates

The hijack of Maersk Alabama has made it almost certain that some US-flag ships will carry firearms. The head of the company that operates Biscaglia, the first US-owned ship hijacked off Somalia, sees this as a bad idea — and a bad omen, writes Rajesh Joshi

Preventing piracy

Maritime security specialists from US think tank Rand Corp talk to David Osler about a complex problem that may require some unconventional solutions

Atalanta piracy drive fails to woo doubters

GERMAN owners are not entirely satisfied with the European Union’s anti-piracy mission Atalanta, writes Friederike Krieger.

Military repels raid on Total platform

NIGERIAN military personnel have repelled an attack by armed gunmen on an offshore drilling platform operated by French oil major Total, writes David Osler.

Nigeria pirate attacks going unreported, warns IMB Industry left in dark about risk of violence

THE International Maritime Bureau has warned that serious under-reporting of piracy attacks off Nigeria is hampering the fight against increasingly violent incidents.

IMO told faster ships are needed for food aid

SENIOR European Union naval staff want commercial shipping to provide faster and more up-to-date vessels to ensure that World Food Programme aid arrives safely at east African ports, writes Jerry Frank.

Japan sends air support for destroyers on Gulf of Aden anti-piracy patrol

JAPAN has sent two maritime patrol aircraft to east Africa to bolster anti-piracy surveillance operations in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, writes Keith Wallis.

US Navy pinpoints traits of vessels at ‘high risk’

CHARACTERISTICS of vessels most in danger of being boarded in the Gulf of Aden, and of those most likely to escape the attention of pirates, have been profiled by US Navy Intelligence, writes Nigel Lowry in Athens .

Pirates’ greater firepower raises stakes for owners and insurers

Potential use of missiles and grenades is adding to the complexity of the risk environment