BANGLADESH

The government has lodged a strong protest with International Maritime Bureau (IMB) against its depiction of piracy incidents in Bangladesh.

"We have recently sent IMB a letter protesting the way it depicted the piracy situation in Bangladesh," said additional foreign secretary Mohammad Khurshed Alam at a press briefing on Monday.

The Kuala Lumpur-based Bureau reported a number of piracy incidents in Bangladesh without proper investigation.

Bangladesh is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Laws of the Seas (UNCLOS), and according to its definition, no incident of piracy took place in the country, Alam said.

"The IMB never investigated a single incident reported to it, though we urged them to come to Bangladesh to see the actual situation," he said.

At least in two incidents, ships reported to the IMB about pirate attacks in Chittagong, but the reality is the ships never came to Bangladesh, he said.

"In the letter, we have annexed all the evidence."

The misreporting of piracy by the ships has maligned the image of Bangladesh and it has a detrimental effect on trade and commerce as well, Alam said.

Insurance companies used to charge $500 for each trip to the ports located in the west of India, but now they have increased the rate to $150,000 as it is a piracy-prone area, he said.

"Each year about 2,400 ships come to Bangladesh and this year only 11 incidents of petty theft or robbery were reported. But due to the misreporting by foreign ships, the image may take a dip and insurance companies may increase their rates for Bangladesh."

Coast Guard and Chittagong Port Authority have taken a number of measures to protect the ships, Alam said.

In several cases, ships reported incidents of theft or robbery hours after the incident, he said.

"…if the incident takes place mid-night, they report four or five hours later, meaning the ships do it intentionally," he explained.