The operation will be funded by a $110 000 grant
for two years from the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF)
Seafarers’ Trust. It expected to probe between 30-40 serious piracy incidents
a year.
The new service aims to provide governments with
prompt information about attacks so that they can take action against pirates
without unduly delaying voyages. IMB Director Pottengal Mukundan said the service
should thus be able to meet the requirements both
of law enforcement agencies
and of shipowners. A further task will be to provide counselling for crew members
who have been victims of pirate attacks.
"Only governments can be fully effective in
suppressing piracy. Yet national law enforcement agencies complain that delays
in receiving information about attacks prevents them from reacting fast enough
to achieve results," Mr Mukundan said. "For their part, shipowners
are understandably reluctant to have their vessels tied up for prolonged periods
pending investigations."
Investigators attached to the new service will
be rushed to the next port of call of a vessel that reports an assault, interview
the crew. They will analyse the extent of losses and make a visual record of
injuries or damage. This evidence will be submitted to the relevant law enforcement
authority so that it can start investigations early.
In the past, attempts to bring pirates to justice
have failed through lack of evidence, aggravated by the reluctance of some ships’
masters to break tight schedules in order to allow crew members to testify.
Many of the attacks are in East and South-East
Asian waters. The investigating teams will be supplied by the ICC-Piracy Centre
in Kuala Lumpur, supplemented as needed by operatives from the IMB’s London
headquarters.
International
Maritime Bureau