In October, I addressed the Indian Shipping Summit in Mumbai. As a commercial lawyer who specialises in Shipping Arbitrations, I thought I would be asked about cargo disputes and Bills of Lading. The Indian Shipping Community however, despite always being a profoundly commercial group, had one thing on their minds that overtook even their bottom lines.

International world trade relies on the ability of traders to transport huge amounts of goods on giant moving structures across the most hostile seas in the world. These traders face enough challenges from nature and illfortune. It is nothing short of outrageous that, over the last few years, shipowners and seafarers have been forced to add the very real threat of violent piracy to the dangers of their normal lives.

Piracy is a major threat not only to the shipping industry, but also to peace throughout the globe - if the world does nothing to stand up to people who use AK-47s and grenades to take the property of others, then what will stop thieves adopting the same tactics on the land?

The Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia is now almost a no-go area for international ships. The most recent large scale act of piracy took place during the Indian summit, when the Italian Capesize bulker Monte Cristo was captured in this area. The crew managed to hide in their citadel, while the rest of the world wondered what could be done.

It is a matter of great satisfaction that an international NATO force took charge and freed those men, but that is something that has not happened enough. More commonly, ransoms are paid for seafarers and cargo, meaning that expensive 'Kidnap and Ransom' insurance policies have added to the cost of shipping.

The individual navy vessels from different countries that attempt to counter piracy are few in number and grossly inadequate for the task of patrolling the whole of the Indian Ocean. There is at present no co-ordinated approach. As a result, pirates are often captured only to be fed and returned to Somalia, free to go back to their old work of piracy.

Combine efforts

If international forces are to co-ordinate in order effectively to tackle piracy in the long term, I believe that they must combine their efforts into a UN naval task force. This force could then concentrate on patrolling the coast
of Somalia, from where the vast majority of the pirates emerge. I hope that we will all be surprised by the effect that could be brought about by such a force monitoring all small vessels leaving Somalia's coastline to ensure they were genuine fishing vessels.

With that in mind, I have used my position as a permanent member of the IMO to force the issue. I had intended to move a resolution at the IMO for this purpose, but I will not now do so, as the outgoing secretary general of the IMO has informed me that he himself with be moving this resolution. At the IMO's GeneralMeeting in November, I was hoping to contribute to the pressure that will be required to create a Naval task force that may be able
to save many lives, as well as a lot of money, by taking control of the Indian Ocean back from the pirates.

Short of the creation of a UN naval taskforce, it is not going to be practical to control the plague of piracy. The Somali pirates are effectively the same as any other terrorist. The only difference is that while international terrorists have so far indulged in acts of terrorism for the sake of their professed political causes, Somalia's pirates indulge in terrorism only to fill their own pockets.

Arming ocean going vessels will go some way towards dealing with pirates, but for this course of action to work, many obstacles must be overcome. For example, Egypt will not allow vessels passing through the Suez Canal to carry on board guns and ammunition (since believed to have been reversed).

What also is of concern is the growing 'industry' around piracy. The total loss to the international trade community on account of piracy in 2011, thus far, is estimated to be $2 bill. Out of this total, only about $110 mill represents ransom paid to the pirates, just over 1% of the total loss. The rest of the loss is
mainly represented by increased insurance premiums, the cost of adapting ships to higher security standards and payments made to the specialist security companies, which have sprung up to deal with piracy.

Sarosh Zaiwalla

Senior Partner of Zaiwalla & Co Solicitors & Permanent Representative to IMO