IUA Supports LibDem Call For Action on Piracy

Marie-Louise Rossi, chief executive of the International Underwriting Association of London (IUA), has applauded a call by politicians in the U.K. to support measures to crack down on piracy and armed robbery at sea. And,in commending the initiative of the Liberal Democrats in drawing attention to increasing concern over piracy, Rossi also applauded the work currently being undertaken by IMO to address this issue. At their annual conference in Brighton this week, the Liberal Democrats approved a motion to eradicate armed robbery and piracy by pursuing bilateral and multilateral agreements between maritime nations and coastal states, by providing assistance to coastal states, and by pressing for flag states to make adequate relevant checks in connection with crew documentation, vessel registration and transparency of information. They also advocated working through IMO to ensure that seafarers received proper training under a strengthened STCW Convention. Marie-Louise Rossi congratulated delegates for including the piracy debate in their agenda, and told the conference that she strongly supported the motion. She added that, quite apart from the humanitarian issues involved, the issue was of great concern to underwriters of marine insurance, many of whom were members of the IUA. Piracy is one of the standard enumerated perils in policies of marine insurance. According to the ICC International Maritime Bureau, there were 370 reported cases of piracy and armed robbery against merchant ships last year. The actual figure is likely to be much higher, however, since many incidents are thought to go unreported.