SHIP masters are advised to exercise high vigilance and caution when transiting or trading in pirate prone areas, especially in the Gulf of Aden.Asian Shipowners Forum (ASF) safe navigation and environment committee (SNEC) said ship masters must make full use of the voluntary reporting system set up by Britain Maritime and Trade Office and to navigate in the Maritime Security Patrol Area as demarcated. “Attacks in the African region ranked the highest, accounting for over 56 percent of the world’s total number of attacks,” SNEC said in a statement after its 15th interim meeting recently. “Ships transiting the Gulf of Aden are most vulnerable and subject to higher risk of attack and hijack,” it said. So far this year, more than 50 vessels had been attacked, with many hijacked by heavily-armed pirates mainly with the aim of demanding heavy ransom from shipowners, it said, adding that most vessels were operated by Asian shipowners. The SNEC strongly condemned the attacks, saying “they seriously threaten the safe navigation of ships and put at high risk the lives of the crew on board.” It said the marine environment also faced the high risk of pollution as most vessels that have been attacked were fully laden tankers, VLCCs and chemical tankers. In June this year, the United Nation Security Council passed Resolution 1816 authorizing foreign naval vessels and aircraft cooperating with the transitional government in Somalia to enter the country’s territorial waters to repress piracy and armed robbery at sea. In spite of this resolution, the attacks have continued unabated. Following the grave concerns of Asian shipowners, the committee urgently appeal to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and maritime nations to exercise strong political will to combat the problem. “Where possible, governments are urged to strengthen the coalition naval and air forces in the Middle East,” it said. SNEC, however, said the International Maritime Bureau in its half-year 2008 report indicated that the number of attacks worldwide had dropped by 9.52 percent. There are 114 incidents reported from January to June 2008 compared with 126 incidents in the same period in 2007. The committee said incidents of piracy and armed robbery in the Asian waters had continued to decline, with 45 incidents in the first half of this year compared with 49 cases in the same period last year. The ASF 15th interim meeting was attended by 24 representatives of shipowner associations from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Chinese Taipei. The Federation of Asean Shipowners’ Associations was represented by delegates from Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The Star-ANN | 
