Australia is to provide another $2 million to help tackle piracy in the Indian Ocean. Foreign Minister Bob Carr said Australia would also extend the secondment of an Australian Federal Police officer to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Senator Carr said Somali piracy in the Indian Ocean was a serious international threat.

As of late May this year, 13 vessels and about 280 crew members were being held hostage by Somali pirates who had demanded ransoms of millions of dollars.

"Pirate groups move regularly and use hostages and locals as human shields to protect themselves and extract ransom payments," he said in a statement.

"This puts Australians at risk, including seafarers crewing foreign-owned ships or Australian tourists on pleasure craft or cruise ships. It impacts on international trade and tourism and undermines regional development efforts."

Senator Carr said since 2009 Australia had been supporting the UNODC with funding from AusAID to build the capacity of states in the Indian Ocean region to detain and prosecute piracy suspects.
This work has so far delivered 18 trials and 14 cases involving about 260 suspects.

He said the additional $2 million would further strengthen the rule of law in regional states and combat piracy in the Indian Ocean.

"This new funding brings Australia's total assistance for regional counter-piracy efforts to more than $4.3 million since 2009," he said.

Source: AAP