IMO on Maritime Security and Piracy

 IMO on Maritime Security and Piracy

The IMO has within its mandate to make trade and travel by sea as safe and secure as possibl.To manage and mitigate any threats with the potential to compromise maritime security the Organization develops suitable regulations and guidance through the following:

- Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) and with  input from the Organization's Facilitation  Committee (FAL)  and Legal Committee (LEG).

1. Maritime Safety Committee (MSC): Deals with all matters related to maritime safety and maritime security which fall within the scope of IMO, covering both passenger ships and all kinds of cargo ships.
2. Facilitation Committee (FAL):The Facilitation Committee (FAL) deals with matters related to the facilitation of international maritime traffic, including the arrival, stay and departure of ships, persons and cargo from ports.
3. Legal Committee (LEG): The Legal Committee (LEG) deals with any legal matters within IMO’s scope. This includes liability and compensation issues related to the operation of ships, including damage, pollution, passenger claims, and wreck removal.

 Piracy and armed robbery against ships

1. The threat posed by piracy and armed robbery against ships has been on the IMO's agenda since the early 1980s.
2. In the late 1990s and the early 2000s the focus was on the South China Sea and the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.
3. More recently, since 2005, IMO has focused on piracy off the coast of Somalia, in the Gulf of Aden and the wider Indian Ocean.
4. currently implementing a strategy for enhancing maritime security in West and Central Africa.
5. Information regarding acts of piracy and armed robbery against ships is publicly available (subject to registration) in IMO's Piracy and Armed Robbery module within the Organization's Global Integrated Shipping Information System (GISIS).
6. In addition, IMO provides assistance, to Member States seeking to develop their own national or regional measures to address the threat of piracy, armed robbery against ships and other illegal maritime activities, if and when requested. This was the case of the Code of Conduct concerning the Repression of Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in the Western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden (Djibouti Code of Conduct), agreed between countries in and around the western Indian Ocean and the case of the Code of Conduct concerning the repression of piracy, armed robbery against ships, and illicit maritime activity in west and central Africa  in the Gulf of Guinea region of West Africa.

IMO guidance and best management practices

1. IMO has adopted appropriate guidance aimed at addressing maritime security, as well as piracy and armed robbery against ships.
2. For piracy and armed robbery, this includes Guidance to Governments, ship owners and ship operators, shipmasters and crews on preventing and suppressing acts of piracy and armed robbery against ships; investigation of offences and the use of armed personnel on board ships.
3. Best Management Practices (BMP), which were developed by the shipping industry, outline the appropriate procedures to be employed when responding to acts or attempted acts of piracy and armed robbery against ships in specific regions.
4. The IMO supports the Best Management Practices, which have been spread publicly by the Organization.