Combating Maritime Piracy: Inter-Disciplinary Cooperation and Information Sharing

Abstract

In recent years, maritime piracy has reemerged as a serious threat to the international community, particularly following the significant increase in incidents of maritime piracy and armed robbery at sea that occurred off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Guinea. As presented in this article, international cooperation is indispensable for combating piracy. To that end, the article argues that a duty to cooperate in the repression of piracy is moored in various international instruments — notably in article 100 of the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) — as well as in general principles of international law. It requires states to adhere to due diligence ‘best efforts’ standards, which, in the context of maritime piracy, entail exercising sincere, concerted, and proactive efforts. The duty to cooperate should serve as a guiding principle in identifying the specific obligations imposed on states. Among those specific obligations is the duty to share relevant information that can assist in preventing piracy attacks and in facilitating prosecution of suspected pirates. It is further submitted that successful undertakings to fight maritime piracy necessitate inter-disciplinary cooperation, namely cooperation among entities whose expertise generally lies in different fields. The article further discusses the main challenges for information sharing and proposes solutions to meet those challenges.