The call was reiterated at their annual meeting in Singapore from April 28-30 that was attended by representatives of national shipowners' associations from 33 countries to discuss key issues concerning the global shipping industry.
"After two years of increasingly violent armed attacks, enough is enough! The current situation, with over 200 seafarers being held hostage by Somali pirates at any given time, is totally unacceptable," said ICS chairman/ISF president Spyros Polemis.
"However, our immediate concern is the most unhelpful US Presidential Order (of April 13) on security in Somalia, which suggests that those involved in the payment of ransoms to release ships' crews could be subject to criminal sanctions," he said.
"Words cannot describe our frustration. This is a very serious matter, and there is a most urgent need for the US to provide clarity on the precise meaning of this, frankly, extremely confusing presidential order."
Other key developments included the ICS reiterating its commitment to help governments at the UN International Maritime Organisation (IMO) deliver a "bankable" package to reduce the global shipping industry's CO2 emissions substantially, before the next United Nations Climate Change Conference in Mexico in December 2010.
"An agreement at IMO on so called Market Based Measures is proving more of a challenge," he said. "MBMs must be demonstrated to deliver genuine and direct environmental benefit, rather than simply being used as a source of revenue for governments, or to compensate for lack of progress in other industry sectors," said. Mr Polemis.
"Shipping is already the most carbon efficient form of transport, but we are not a 'cash cow.' Any MBMs adopted must also be applied equally to all ships, regardless of flag, in order to avoid significant market distortions," he said.
Source : HKSG, 05.05.10.
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