MARITIME PIRACY
RUMUN --- NORWAY
Kalyaan Sola
&
Radha Desai
Kalyaan Sola & Radha Desai
Franklin High School
DISEC
NORWAY
Maritime piracy, the acts of piracy and armed robbery against vessels in territorial
waters and the high seas, is an intolerable crime amongst the international waters. Over
the past decade there has been an emergence of maritime piracy off the coast of Somalia,
and only recently around major ports such as Singapore and off the coasts of some
southeast Asian countries. Once thought to be mere legend and as fantasies in books,
piracy has become a reality. Norway is gravely concerned about the violent attacks
against vessels at sea which have increased by 58% (also a drastic increase in the usage
of heavier weaponry from the past year)1. Maritime piracy impedes the progress of
humanitarian aid, world trade, and poses an immense threat to the international Maritime
Industries (IMI) and general seafarers as well.
This issue is of great concern to the Norwegian government since it thwarts
efforts to provide humanitarian aid to countries in need such as Ethiopia and Somalia. As
much as 80% of Humanitarian Aide is transported over seas and must pass through the
pirate infested areas along Somalia’s coast2. if further preventative actions are not
implemented, as many as 3-3.5 million Somils and 2 million other victims that are
dependant on humanitarian food programs and supplies provided by the World Food
Program (WFP) will suffer3, creating a major crisis.
1
http://www.un.org/apps/news/search.asp
2
www.un.org/apps/news/story.aspnewsid=24839&cr=somalia&crl=piracy
3
http://www.un.org/apps/news/search.asp
The Norwegian ship industries have suffered a major loss. A majority of incidents
often result in a loss of life. The death toll related to piracy has almost tripled over the
past year, from 19-23 deaths in 2007 to a staggering 48-54 deaths as of August-1st-2008
of which 17 were Norwegian maritime officials4. Let alone another EUROS 3.4 million
in damaged equipment and vessels. Maritime Piracy results in a USD 13-16 billion loss
world-wide in goods alone5. These heinous acts directly impact Norway, an estimated
annual loss of EUROS 2.7 million.
Norway’s position on this “terrorism of the seas” is fairly straight forward by
proposing a combative plan that curbs maritime piracy. The Laws of the Sea (est. dec-
10th-1982) sets out the foundation to work towards combating piracy and armed robbery
of vessels. Norway, has proposed an effective plan through a joint partnership with IMO
(International Maritime Organization), IMB (International Maritime Bureau), the UN
Security Counsil, and other members of the European Union (EU). This plan proposes
that able nations such as the Dutch, French, Danish, Norwegian, and Canadian navies
provide naval escort vessels and if necessary, air craft support, for all WFP run activities
that rely on shipping/transportation of humanitarian aid across the oceans/seas. “Without
escorts, those ships will not arrive. Without that aid, more people will die.” –Ban Ki-
Moon (UN Sec-Gen.). As of recent, a Ukrainian cargo ship laden with tanks, RPGs
(Rocket Propelled Grenades) and ammunition was hijacked by pirates. This recent
incident further probes Norway to propose another plan to provide military naval escorts
for vessels transporting military equipment/supplies and to allow authorized crew
members to be armed in need of defense against pirate atacks. The Norwegian
4
http://www.un.org/sc/ctc/pdf/CTC-IMO_Contribution_TCD_Rev.pdf
5
http://www.geocities.com/cdelegas/PIRACYWEBSITE_stats.html
government will not tolerate the theft of Military equipment that has been seized to be
used by rebel and insurgent forces. Norway will earmark EUROS 8 million for financial
aide regarding the fight against Maritime Piracy. Norway, along with other EU nations
and with the cooperation of the Somalian government was able to ratify a resolution to
provide a UN led naval police force to keep peace among the Somalian coast line during
the summer sessions this year (RES: 1814-1816)6. the ratified document was adopted by
the UN and was put into affect
All-in-all, the Norwegian government wants to effectively rid the world of piracy
amongst the oceans/seas through a collaborative and comprehensive plan that provides
naval escorts for WFP and military activities that rely on transportation amongst the
oceans/seas in which the international delegation will support. This leads to safer
environments for seafarers, more opportunities for industry, promotions of world trade,
and will help the distribution of humanitarian aide to those in need.
6
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P6-TA-2008-
0519+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN