India for clear damarcation of piracy-hit waters of Indian ocean

NEW DELHI: India has asked Indian Ocean region countries for a "clear" demarcation of piracy-infested waters and sought setting up of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to promote inter-operability and understanding among the navies active in the area.

During the recently concluded Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) in South Africa, Indian Navy Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma also raised the issue of deployment of armed guards on-board merchant vessels.

Highlighting Indian Navy's role in containing piracy in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), Admiral Verma said that there should be a clear demarcation on the zone of piracy, according to Navy's Assistant Chief, Foreign Cooperation and Intelligence (FCI), Rear Admiral Monty Khanna.

Briefing mediapersons on the IONS, held in Cape Town between April 10 and 13, he said, "As far as insurance agencies (in the shipping industry) are concerned, they mark out the entire area (IOR) as the piracy-affected waters and that results in rise of the insurance rates which impacts us and all the trade that is plying in this area."

Based on the concept of Western Pacific Naval Symposium which was started in 1988 as a forum for discussing maritime issues of countries in the Western Pacific Ocean region, IONS facilitates similar interaction between the countries in the IOR.

In the wake of recent incident off the Kerala coast where two Indian fishermen were killed by armed guards on-board an Italian merchant tanker, Indian Navy also raised the issue of deploying armed guards on commercial ships.

"The issue (of deploying armed guards on merchant ships) was highlighted. It is the issue that everyone is grappling with right now," Rear Admiral Khanna said.