The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has reiterated its support in solving piracy off the coast of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden.

IMO secretary-general Efthimios Mitropoulos has assured Somalian prime minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke that the IMO stands ready to assist Somalia in repressing piracy in the area.

Mitropoulos stressed the importance of the effective implementation of the Code of Conduct concerning the Repression of Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in the Western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden, which was adopted in Djibouti in January 2009.

The code of conduct aims at ensuring cooperation among its signatory countries for the investigation, arrest and prosecution of pirates; the interdiction and seizure of suspect ships and property on board such ships; the rescue of ships, persons and property subject to acts of piracy and armed robbery; and the conduct of shared operations both among signatory States and also with navies from outside the region. Somalia was one of the countries to sign the Code.

Prime Minister Abdirashid Sharmarke observed that piracy off his country’s coast needed to be tackled from the land side as well as from the sea.

He requested assistance to halt attacks from the two main piracy networks -- one in the central region of Somalia and one in Puntland -- through the establishment of information-sharing centres on how the pirates operate and analyzing their money flow.

Sharmarke expressed his eagerness to ensure that pirates were prosecuted within Somalia and that Somalia was reviewing its national legislation accordingly, and that he would appreciate assistance from IMO.

Mitropoulos responded that he would, in cooperation with his counterpart at the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), provide the requested assistance and through IMO’s technical cooperation program and assistance from Member States, the IMO would help Somalia to establish a national coast guard.

Sharmarke and Mitropoulos aslo agreed to pursue Somalia’s capacity-building needs through a Somali delegation visiting IMO to specify such needs in the near future. (EHL)