During the meeting of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia held at United Nations Headquarters in New York on May 29, 2009, representatives from the Republic of Liberia, the Bahamas, the Republic of Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Panama signed the New York Declaration, a commitment to best management practices to avoid, deter or delay acts of piracy. The New York Declaration is an agreement between the signatory flag states which condemns acts of piracy and armed robbery against vessels and seafarers and recognizes that self protection measures taken by vessels can be highly effective in avoiding, delaying and deterring acts of piracy.

By signing the declaration the above mentioned governments have made a commitment that requires all vessels flying their flag to adopt and document self-protection measures as part of their compliance with the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code.

Furthermore, as specified in MSC.1/Circ.1335, the IMO Maritime Safety Committee, considering the distinctive nature of the incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships in waters off the coast of Somalia, decided that guidance specific to the area was warranted and agreed to promulgate the Best Management Practices for use by shipowners, ship operators and managers, companies, shipmasters, ship security officers.

As a result and as part of the Liberian Administrations efforts to disseminate the industries Best Management Practices (BMP) amongst shipowners, ship operators and managers, companies, shipmasters, ship security officers and to assist vessels in complying with the anti-piracy requirements, we have teamed up with, ICTS Europe - a UK based Security Company, and together developed a computer based training (CBT) program specifically designed for the use of merchant ships in the waters off Somalia. The objective of the program is to train crews in the practices that are necessary to avoid, deter and delay acts of piracy.