The United States formalised its commitment to have US-flagged ships conduct "internationally-recognised best management practices" against piracy, the State Department said.

The United States signed the so-called New York Declaration, a non-binding political document, on the eve of a meeting of the international Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia at the United Nations, the department said.

The document commits the United States to implement "measures that it has already encouraged and followed," the State Department said in a statement.

"The maritime industry, including that of the United States, was instrumental in creating and implementing these best practices," it added.

"Examples of the best practices developed and implemented by all of the major international shipping industry organisations include increasing lookouts, ensuring that ladders are raised, and readying fire pumps to repel boarders," the statement said.

Panama, the Bahamas, Liberia, and the Marshall Islands — which make up four of the world's largest ship registries — first proposed the declaration, which was also signed by China, France, Britain and other countries.

The signing took place ahead of the fourth plenary session of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia.

The contact group was established under a UN Security Council resolution on 14 January to coordinate actions among states and organisations to suppress piracy off the coast of Somalia.

The signing announcement came as US maritime officials warned that the end of the monsoon season will likely bring an increase in piracy off the Horn of Africa and urged shipping companies to remain vigilant.

More than 130 merchant ships were attacked last year, a rise of more than 200 percent on 2007, according to the International Maritime Bureau.

So far this year, there have been 114 attempted attacks on merchant vessels in the region, 29 of them successful, according to the US Navy.

AFP

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