26 May 2004 07:23
Russian sailors trained to counteract piracy, terrorism
Moscow, 26 May: Russian sailors are being urgently trained in modern techniques to counteract piracy, Sergey
Saritskiy, the head of the Russian Federation Transport Ministry's shipping security directorate, told ITAR-TASS.
"If an attempt to seize a vessel is made, sailors should remain quiet, follow the rules and regulations and not
resort to violence," he said.
Saritskiy explained that according to the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code [ISPS] which comes into
force on 1 July 2004 all crews must have a security measures plan and undergo special training on what to do if their
vessel is seized by pirates or terrorists. He added that by 1 July "all merchant ships are to have been checked by
the International Maritime Organization (IMO), otherwise they will not be able to enter the majority of the world's
ports".
He said that so far only about 35 of Russia's 1,009 merchant ships have passed a piracy and terrorist security
test and have been registered according to the new code [ISPS].
However, the ministry believes that "all merchant ships flying the Russian flag will be able to pass the check
by the deadline". Saritskiy added that "over 80 per cent of vessels' security plans have already been
approved by the ministry and are ready to be sent to the IMO", which guarantees that certification will be done on
time.
Only nine of Russia's more than 30 foreign trade ports have been deemed ready for certification. The sea
security issue is especially topical at present because of the current piracy and terrorist threat at sea. According to
the IMO 445 attacks on vessels were registered in 2003, which is 20.3 times more than in 2002.
As a result of attacks by pirates 21 people have been killed and 70 have gone missing.
[ITAR-TASS news agency] |
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