46 Piracy

Submitted by Nautilus International

Congress notes with concern the marked rise in the number of pirate and armed attacks on merchant shipping. Congress also notes that the levels of violence being used against seafarers have also increased dramatically. Whilst significant attention has been paid over the past year to piracy off the coast of Somalia, Congress notes that this is a global threat and that seafarers in many other parts of the world are also facing the risk of being robbed, held hostage or attacked.

Congress welcomes the deployment by the UK and other EU member states of naval vessels to protect merchant shipping in the waters off Somalia. However, Congress also notes that the problem of piracy cannot be solved on the high seas, but needs long-term political and developmental support to address the root causes.

Congress therefore calls for the TUC to campaign for:

i) the UK and other EU member states to continue to maintain and develop protection for merchant shipping in high-risk areas

ii) the UK and other EU member states to intensify political and developmental initiatives to address the factors that help to create piracy

iii) shipowners to take more precautions to protect their employees, including increasing crew levels in dangerous areas and installing alarms and other defensive equipment

iv) resisting pressure for merchant ships and seafarers to be armed

v) improvements to the international conventions covering ship security and safe crewing levels.