Piracy

Subject : Geography

Context- Anti-Maritime piracy bill is being discussed in LS.

What is piracy?

Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates.

Regions of piracy-

The Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Guinea, Strait of Malacca, Sulu and Celebes Seas, Indian Ocean, and Falcon Lake (Canada).

Status:

India currently does not have legislation on matters of piracy on the high seas.
India ratified the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1995 but was yet to enact it through the bill.

Need for the bill:

Indian Penal Code (IPC) is not valid for foreigners in international waters: Previously, pirates were prosecuted under the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC). However, India’s sovereignty is delimited by the outer boundary of its territorial waters— 12 nautical miles from the coast. Acts of piracy committed by a foreigner outside India’s territorial waters cannot be an offence under the IPC, and those accused in piracy cases have been acquitted due to the lack of jurisdiction.
Incidence of Piracy: the Gulf of Aden has been one of the deadliest areas in the oceans due to a large number of piracy incidents. Due to an increased naval presence in the Gulf of Aden, it has been observed that piracy operations are shifting towards the east and south, which increases their proximity to India’s west coast.
g. 18 Indians aboard a crude oil carrier were kidnapped off the coast of Nigeria in 2021.
Securing the Sea Lanes of Communications (SLOCs) from piracy.
Sea lines of communication (SLOC) is a term describing the primary maritime routes between ports, used for trade, logistics and naval forces.

UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS, 1982):

It is an international agreement that establishes the legal framework for marine and maritime activities.
It divides marine areas into five main zones namely– Internal Waters, Territorial Sea, Contiguous Zone, Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the High Seas.
It is a set of rules to govern the oceans and the use of their resources. It is based on the idea that all problems related to oceans are interrelated and need to be addressed by the global community as a whole.
UNCLOS governs all aspects of ocean space, including delimitation, environmental control, marine scientific research, economic and commercial activities, transfer of technology and the settlement of ocean-related disputes.