IMO countries condemn vessel attacks as meeting opens

: Oil products
24/03/18

International Maritime Organisation's (IMO) member countries have today condemned attacks against commercial vessels in the Red Sea and offshore Somalia, urging the international community for a unified response.

All of the opening statements of the IMO's 81st meeting of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), which started today, were focused on recent vessel attacks.

Delegates said that "seafarers are paying the price" of Yemen's Houthi actions, deploring the loss of seafarers' lives and the impact of the attacks on the environment.

A direct attack on the bulk carrier True Confidence in the Gulf of Aden at the start of March killed members of the ship's crew, marking the first fatalities from attacks on commercial shipping by Yemen's Houthi militants.

Delegates also pointed to the economic and environmental damages of the Red Sea traffic disruption, which are impeding freedom of navigation, and the subsequent potential increase of carbon emissions as a result of longer routes taken through the Cape of Good Hope.

Some delegates also commented on the recent piracy attacks off the coast of Somalia, praising Indian navy's recovery and rescue of Maltese-flagged MV Ruen, which had been hijacked for about three-months. The delegate from Somalia condemned the piracy attacks, and added that the Somali government is working with Turkey to rebuild the Somali navy. The delegate from Tanzania added that international cooperation must also be accompanied by international support and recognition by the governments of Somalia and Yemen to put a cease on the respective attacks, while others pushed for increased "naval presence" in the region.

By Hussein Al-Khalisy

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