SUA convention: Here is All you need to know

First things first. If you find it difficult to understand IMO conventions, nothing is wrong with you. Conventions are written in the language of international laws which is not the language me and you would normally speak. It is the language of the maritime lawyers. And till the time we are not practicing maritime law, we do not need to worry about the language of the conventions. But seafarers, specially senior officers need to understand the essence of each convention related to the maritime field. At the least we need to know what each convention aim to achieve. In my previous articles, I tried to simplify some of the conventions like Hague-Visby rules, CLC convention, Fund convention and Salvage convention. Today I will try to simplify SUA convention which is"Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Maritime Navigation". Why do we need SUA convention Have you watched the movie "Captain Philips"? Even if you have, allow me to give a brief about the story for the benefit of those who haven't watched the movie. The story is about the container ship Maersk Alabama which was attacked & boarded by the Somalian pirates.