Suchergebnisse

For many, laws and regulations are inescapable with their apparent global reach, whereby, governments across the world establish laws and regulations governing their respective countries and states. With such an extensive reach, the common person may never raise the question of what rules and regulations they must follow. However, with over 60% of the world's oceans being considered international waterways, the question of law and order on the high seas is a pertinent one. This article narrows the scope of international maritime law to that of piracy, exposing the reader to insight into international maritime piracy law, its application, and framework, as well as its shortcomings and faults. The successful application of international maritime piracy law is dependent on demand from the international community, as such, this article hopes to provide the reader with an increased sense of awareness and an introductory basis on international maritime piracy and security.

It can be easy to forget the critical role that maritime transport plays in the global economy, but international maritime transportation is still responsible for around 90% of global trade. Protecting the maritime infrastructure essential for this trade from terrorism is a major concern for the international community. This book originates from the NATO Advanced Research Workshop (ARW) Counter-Terrorism Lessons from Maritime Piracy and Narcotics Interdiction, held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in May 2019. Participants in the three-day workshop included policymakers, senior military officers, and academics from NATO member states, international organizations, and two partner nations: Colombia and Israel. Their extensive discussions focused on methods for protecting critical maritime infrastructure, such as ports, supplies, and personnel, from seaborne terrorist attacks. Presentations and roundtables also addressed the human and social factors that contribute to the defense against terrorism in the maritime domain. The book is divided into three sections: organized crime and narcotrafficking; maritime piracy; and terrorism, and aims to bridge the gaps between these three substantive areas of maritime security research. These have remained largely separate areas of research in the past, with the result that valuable maritime security lessons from counter-piracy and counter-narcotics operations have not been fully incorporated into counter-terrorism best practice. The book facilitates the transmission of lessons learned from counter-piracy and counter-narcotic operations to formulate recommendations for best practice and technological innovations to manage maritime terrorism, and will be of interest to all those working in the field

Australian merchandise trade is extremely important to the Australian economy, generating more than $350 billion per year. Due to Australia's location and the location of its major trading partners in Northeast Asia, the sea is by far the most practical and cost-efficient way to transport massive amounts of trade. In terms of volume more than 99 per cent of merchandise trade is transported by sea. The continuation of this trade is essential to Australia's well-being. The most direct routes to and from Australia's trading partners are through the Indonesian archipelago. Alternative routes are significantly more time and fuel consuming. Each year ships transporting Australia's international trade make more than seven thousand passages through Indonesia. Indonesian sea-lanes therefore are the most important shipping lanes in the world to Australia. Immediately after the Asian financial crisis in 1998 piracy levels in Indonesia began to soar, peaking at 121 attacks in 2003. Since that time however, the number of attacks each year has been decreasing steadily. The issue has nevertheless received much attention from shipping companies, foreign governments and the press. Contrary to the stereotypical image of piracy on the high seas, most acts of piracy take place within a state's territorial sea, making it 'armed robbery against ships' rather than piracy. Only one-third of attacks in Indonesia were against ships underway; pirates typically target vessels that are berthed or at anchor. They also rarely initiate a confrontation with the crew. Instead they usually prefer to slip on and off vessels without ever having been spotted. Also contrary to the stereotype, most "pirates" are not swashbuckling buccaneers, but merely petty thieves operating in ports and anchorages. Their aim is not usually to hijack ships or even steal the ship's cargo; rather they tend to target small, portable items such as stores, safety equipment and personal effects. This report aims to determine whether piracy in Indonesia is impacting upon Australian international trade transiting the archipelago. It is difficult to know precisely how many ships transporting Australian international trade have been affected by piracy because the vast majority of ships servicing Australia are foreign vessels or foreign-flagged vessels. Due to the small-scale nature of piracy, however, these attacks do not constitute a major security or economic risk to Australian international shipping. Therefore Australia cannot justify investing large amounts of resources to reducing the number of attacks, especially as the majority of them occur within the domestic mandate of Indonesia. Rather than involving the RAN, more practical solutions that could be undertaken both by Indonesia and other countries would be primarily land-based. The most pressing issues are the improvement of security at Indonesian ports, suppressing corruption in Indonesian law enforcement agencies, and reducing the primary incentive to become involved in piracy by reducing unemployment levels and improving the situation of underpaid workers, especially Indonesian law enforcement personnel.