There is growing pressure on nation states and their naval forces to do more to protect vessels in the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea as the number of piracy attacks and assaults on vessels in the region continues to soar.

Lat week security officials from Ethiopia, Yemen, Djibouti and Somalia gathered in Nairobi to discuss how to protect the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden from growing threats.

The two-day Maritime Law Enforcement Dialogue, facilitated by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) with support from the European Union, INTERPOL, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), focused on strengthening information-sharing and cooperation across the region.

“If you are talking about threats, the current attacks on the freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz have an impact on Gulf of Aden because [they are] affecting maritime security. Pirates use this opportunity and the distraction of the maritime forces globally to do more attacks in this area, because they know that everyone is busy [looking in another direction],” said Abdurrahim Muhammad Ali of the Djibouti Maritime Authority.

The Red Sea and Gulf of Aden form one of the world’s most important maritime corridors, linking regional economies to international markets. Any disruption can affect shipping routes, supply chains and the movement of goods far beyond the region.

According to Mostafa Elbanna, UNODC’s regional coordinator for the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden under its Global Maritime Crime Programme, the region faces a complex mix of interconnected challenges.

“This is a great time to have this kind of discussions and dialogue with different agencies and law enforcement to talk about their challenges, and also the way forward when it comes to maritime security,” he said.

However International Maritime Organisation (IMO) secretary-general, Arsenio Dominguez, has called for more practical solutions and renewed cooperation to restore freedom of navigation

He explained to date, at least 70 attacks on international shipping have been verified by IMO, with 19 seafarers killed.

Dominguez added: “Six months since the conflict in the Middle East began, the situation in the Strait of Hormuz is unresolved.

“Thousands of seafarers in the region continue to live and work under conditions of heightened risk and uncertainty.

“While some ships and their crews have been able to leave the Persian Gulf, up to 400 ships carrying around 6,000 seafarers have been unable to depart safely since the conflict began.

“The impacts of this crisis are grave – both in the short and long term. The disruption of vital supply chains for fuels, fertilizers and other commodities has consequences for communities and economies around the world.

“In July, the IMO Council adopted a resolution on the protection of vital shipping lanes, reaffirming that the right of transit passage through straits used for international navigation must not be threatened, impeded, denied, hampered, impaired or suspended. It called for a coordinated and sustainable return to unhindered navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.”

He continued: “Renewed political will and cooperation is needed to deliver on this commitment.

“I call on all Member States and the shipping industry to work together with IMO and the wider United Nations system, to advance practical solutions to restore the freedom of navigation through the Strait.

“The deterioration of maritime security around the globe – from the Black Sea to the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden – is detrimental to us all. But it is particularly distressing for the thousands of innocent seafarers affected.”