by Chris Folsum

Created on: April 19, 2009

One might think of it as the 911/411 dispatcher of the seas. Like a local police department, the dispatchers are not crime fighters but they provide invaluable information to those who do fight these crimes. Information that is provided by victims, informants, other agencies, etc, which is passed on to those in charge of investigating crime and preventing and to those wishing to avoid it, is the start of the criminal justice process both on land and at sea.

Unlike a police depatment or even the coast guard, IMB is not a government agency. The International Maritime Bureau is a non-profit organization which is a special division of the International Chamber of Commerce, ICC. It is only one of many tools needed to fight piracy. Developed 25 years ago, its function is to gather and share information with governments and organizations in order to prevent maritime fraud and malpractice. It's main task is to protect integrity of international trade. Since knowledge is often the most valuable tool when it comes to fighting and avoiding crime, the IMB is a valuable resource in the fight against piracy; the IMB provides timely advice to its members which helps reduce vulnerability. The website (www.icc-ccs.org) also explains how it has saved traders and shippers millions of dollars through the use of such methods. The fact that it is not paid for by tax payers, but is a non-profit organization allows it to gather intelligence in any jurisdiction and share it with those in charge of protecting specific jurisdictions, or those traveling along those routes.

The methods used include using expert knowledge of the shipping and trading industries among well placed contacts world wide which identify and investigate fraud, along with spotting new criminal methods and highlighting other threats to the trade industry. It's sort of a combination CIA and FBI of the seas. This division has protected businesses since 1981 from fraud and like crimes which can hurt businesses and the world economy.

In 1992, the IMB responded to the alarming increase pirate activity by creating the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center. Critics who say that the IMB has done little in the fight against piracy are not considering the fact that many incidents went unreported, or under-reported. Unreported crimes are an invitation for more criminal activity, when unsuspecting vessels entered unchartered waters; now known as piracy hotspots thanks to the IMB. While piracy is a rampant problem at the present time, it would be even more severe without the information provided by the bureau both to local law enforcement, and warning ships about hotspots. This has prevented even more incidents from occuring than that which currently are. While its obvious how many pirate attacks have occurred since the creation of the IMB Piracy Reporting Center, its impossible to say how many attacks its helped shippers and traders avoid.

One thing the IMB can take credit for is the new world wide awareness to the problem of piracy. The website offers a live piracy report which gives details of the latest incidents. From the looks of it, the shipping lanes of our seas are just as busy with crime as the streets of a major metropolitain area such as Los Angeles. In the first 18 days of April 2009, there have been 18 reported acts of piracy worldwide. Take a look at Live Piracy Report located on the web at http://www.icc-ccs.org/index.php?option=com_fabrik&view=table&tableid=26&calculations=0&Itemid=82.

Awareness is going to be key in solving this problem, and the IMB is providing that for all who should take responsibility in stopping future acts of piracy.

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