Piracy

Piracy and armed robbery threaten seafarers and the maritime industry today, particularly off Somalia, in the Gulf of Guinea and in the South China Sea (a live piracy and armed robbery report can be found here). The international community has been successful in driving down rates of capture of ships and seafarers in the Indian Ocean, and piracy rates are down to levels seen in the 1990s. But there is continued pirate activity, notably off the coast of West Africa and in South East Asia. Some of this is very violent, and a worrying trend is seafarers being taken off ships to be held for ransom ashore.

Our Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Programme, part of our Regional Programme, was established in 2011 as a pan-industry alliance of shipowners, unions, managers, manning agents, insurers and welfare associations, formed to address the three phases of 'pre-, during and post incident'. It aimed to implement a model of assisting seafarers and their families with the humanitarian aspects of a traumatic incident caused by a piracy attack, armed robbery or being taken hostage. We continue to offer the following support to seafarers and their families affected by piracy:

• 'Good practice' guides for use by shipping companies, manning agents and welfare associations to support both seafarers and seafarers' families
• Pre-departure piracy awareness training for seafarers
• Access to an international network of trained first-responders with appropriate skills within partner and associated organisations through SeafarerHelp, ISWAN's free, 24-hour, multilingual helpline
• Relief funds for seafarers and their families affected by piracy

Additional documents

• Good Practice Guide - Piracy (French)
• BMP5 - Best Management Practices to Deter Piracy and Enhance Maritime Security in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea