OREANDA-NEWS. April 27, 2011. The conference entitled “Piracy: arranging response measures”, convened on the initiative of Russia’s International Maritime Law Association, took place in Moscow between 19-20 April 2011. Sovcomflot’s Executive Vice-President Vladimir Mednikov addressing to the conference participants noted that the current anti-piracy efforts cannot eliminate the problem as it needs to be dealt with by an International Tribunal.

According to the statistics, 75% of pirate attacks took place in the Somali and Gulf of Aden regions. The losses inflicted on the world economy by such crimes amount to USD 7 – 12 billion annually.

The number of vessels hijacked over the last two years has grown sharply, the gangs having become more aggressive and well-equipped, with more people involved. Only in 2010, 445 attempted attacks were registered, 54 of them ending in hijacked ships. Hundreds of people and dozens of vessels are still being held by pirates and the situation has yet to improve.

From 1 April 2011, the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) significantly widened the borders of the zone of pirate activity risk, to cover the whole Western part of the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea.

Every year around 100 vessels owned by SCF Group pass through the above-mentioned risk zone.

Many major shipping companies, including SCF, conclude contracts with security firms as a means of preventing potential pirates’ attacks. Until now, this anti-pirate measure is considered to be the most effective one. However, providing shipboard access for armed security units brings certain legal complications in terms of regulating such activities and their possible consequences.
Since the tanker Moscow University, owned by Novoship (part of SCF Group), was held by pirates for more than 20 hours before being released in May 2010, no Sovcomflot vessel has sailed through the affected region without armed guards. In the latest half-year, three attempted attacks on SCF ships have been successfully repelled.

Speaking at the Conference with a presentation “Piracy risk evaluation” Vladimir Mednikov, Sovcomflot’s Executive Vice-President, noted that separate efforts by some states and shipping companies are not sufficient to solve the piracy problem. It is necessary to adopt an integrated anti-piracy programme at the level of international organizations, and the UN in particular.
“By today, neither international maritime law nor national legislation provide an effective tool for starting criminal proceedings against those involved in piracy”, - stated Vladimir Mednikov. Eight out of ten detainees remain free and continue to make a living by piracy. It is also impossible to fight against those who organise piracy or act as an accomplice to pirates. The cash-flows and the pirates’ shore bases – these are the elements which should be at the centre of the world community’s attention, of the UN and the interested states. The piracy problem should be solved ashore.”

The International Maritime Tribunal could become an important step in fighting piracy. Russia has earlier proposed to set up this international organisation.

During the Conference, the General Meeting of Russia’s International Maritime Law Association elected Vladimir Mednikov as its President.