Anti-piracy seminar in Muscat

Reported here, a regional meeting on maritime security:

Chris Trelawny, IMO representative and who spoke on behalf of IMO Secretary-General Efthimios E Mitropoulos, praised efforts by the littoral states of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Sea, including Oman, to forge better links on maritime security.

The seminar will discuss international developments in combating the phenomenon and seek to find a regional framework for close cooperation between countries on the rim of the Red Sea, Strait of Bab Almundab and the Gulf of Aden, and come up with recommendations to control it. It will also study a proposal to set up a regional information centre that will offer assistance to ships in the event of attacks by pirates.

Besides officials from countries in the region, the delegates include representatives from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Interpol, International Chamber of Shipping, UN Monitoring Group on Somalia and the Italian and British navies.