The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has warned of the potent threat posed by the pirates of Somalia’s coast, owing to the recent increase in attacks on commercial ships.
Urging the ships to follow the advice of the International Maritime Organisation while planning passage through the region, Yuri Fedotov, the UNODC Executive Director in a news release yesterday said, “After three attacks, following a lull of five years, it is clear that Somali pirates are resurgent and intent on continuing attacks on commercial shipping.”
“I urge the international community to be vigilant, to work in close partnership and to hold the Somali pirates accountable,” he added.
Alan Cole, the head of Maritime Crime Programme at UNODC commented, “The threat of Somali piracy has never gone away: it has been suppressed by the good work of the shipping industry and their security teams, navies, and UNODC’s support to the trial and imprisonment of 1,300 pirates.”
