Nations join to combat piracy

Shipping nations have agreed on new guidelines to combat rampant piracy off the Horn of Africa, the US State Department announced Wednesday.

The department said that the US, Britain, Cyprus, Japan, Singapore and South Korea had signed the 'New York Declaration' on measures to protect against pirate attacks, such as increasing lookouts and keeping fire pumps ready to repel potential attacks.

''Piracy is a 17th century problem that demands a 21st century solution,'' an official release quoted a senior US State Department official Andrew Shapiro as telling a Washington symposium on high-seas crime.

Efforts were also underway to strengthen cooperation among naval patrols now stationed in the African region, to arrange for the prosecution of suspected pirates and to help Somalia and its neighbours secure their own territorial waters.

''We all understand that piracy is a result of the decades of failed governance in Somalia,'' Shapiro said.

The non-binding declaration also covers smaller shipping countries such as Panama and Liberia, and altogether agrees guidelines for nations accounting for more than 50% of the world's shipping by gross tonnage.

About 33,000 commercial ships ply the Gulf of Aden each year, making it one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

In the first nine months of this year, there have been 140 attacks. The number has risen from 122 attacks in 2008, while 2007 only saw 19 attacks.

This week, Somali pirates freed a Greek ship after they received a $2 million ransom for the vessel and its 21 Filipino crew.

Shapiro highlighted that the area infested by pirates stretches over huge swathes of the west Indian Ocean and into the Red Sea, and that naval vessels will never be able to keep up – putting more responsibility on boat captains and owners.

''Effective defensive counter-measures by merchant vessels will remain pivotal to preventing their capture by pirates,'' Shapiro said.

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