ReCAAP Information Sharing Center announced that it will begin using social media, to directly reach the maritime industry with reports of actual and failed robbery and piracy attempts, critical alerts, and educational material.
In September 2014, the United States became the 20th Contracting Party to the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP), joining 14 Asian nations, four European nations, and Australia to form the first regional government-to-government agreement dedicated to combating piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia.
As part of this effort, the ISC was established under the ReCAAP agreement, and its primary role is to facilitate information exchange through capacity building and cooperative arrangements among Contracting Parties and with maritime industry.
“Since 2006, ReCAAP has built a growing prominence as a center of excellence,” said Rear Adm. Pat DeQuattro, deputy commander of the Coast Guard’s Pacific Area and the United States Governor to ReCAAP. “This is an important step forward in ReCAAP’s progress to bring greater awareness of current and developing threats in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region, and shared understanding to merchant mariners worldwide.”