ANY action which might adversely affect shipping engaged in international trade must be avoided, declared the UN's outgoing International Maritime Organisation's secretary-general Kitack Lim, reports Athens's Safety4Sea.
"Ships, cargoes and seafarers must be protected at all times. I invite member states to work together to ensure unhindered and safe global navigation, everywhere, as a prerequisite for maintaining the world's supply chains, and in line with the framework of the Djibouti Code of Conduct," he said.
The statement comes after a series of attacks on the Red Sea, with the latest occurring north of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, targeting a commercial tanker with a rocket, which resulted in a fire.
Previously, on November 26, a tanker with phosphoric acid was taken over by armed men in the Gulf of Aden, said the report.
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