2012 Maritime Security Challenges

Perceived as a global threat, piracy seems to have outpaced the efforts of the international community in 2011 to restrain it. Although the Coast of Somalia has been the main focus of piracy attacks, such activities have been affecting even some other parts of the world.

The cost of measures taken to prevent and fight the piracy threat reportedly range from $7 billion to $12 billion every year. There is a tendency that such costs might exceed $18 billion in 2012. Regional economies lose up to $1.25 billion annually and rerouting ships to waters reporting less piracy tendency costs up to $3 billion.

All attempts to struggle against the sea piracy call for clear guidelines and rules to be established. There are some events set to take place in 2012 that might introduce a new perception on how to overcome maritime security challenges.

The Mogadishu Roadmap accounts for the most promising attempts to establish a maritime security policy for Somalia. It offers a framework for preventing piracy and increasing the maritime security. Since piracy is not the only maritime security challenge in Somali waters, there is a considerable need for developing and implementing a maritime security policy for Somalia that will deal with maritime criminal activities and security threats along the 3000 km long coastline.

The policy was expected to be finalized by January 2012 and the strategy should be drafted by March 2012.

Although the Naval Ships participation in ensuring the security of vessels on the seas will decrease in 2012, maritime operators and companies will be striving to invest even more in maritime security. These plans will comprise private navy escort, armed guards onboard ship, new onboard technology and equipment to fight piracy attacks.

Many international organizations have been pursuing efforts to assess and assist with national legislations. The IMO Project Implementation Unit is directed towards determining whether a state has its sea-going law-enforcement agencies empowered to conduct arrests under its piracy legislation and whether these forces have been trained in empowering this legislation. Another considerable concern is to determine if a state has adopted sufficient piracy legislation to make it a worthy benefactor of counter-piracy capacity building activities.

A workshop delivered to enhance the process of enforcing national piracy law at sea and the legal proceeding needed to achieve prosecution was held in 2011. There is a high expectation that more complete laws to resist pirates will be introduced in 2012.

Piracy has evolved into a serious business thus it requires a comprehensive government approach, efficient, interoperable and affordable maritime security cooperation and awareness infrastructure. Anticipating further maritime security challenges and a strategy to engage them might lessen the broader problem of instability and economic collapse.

[mappress]
World Maritime News Staff, January 19, 2012