Pirates top agenda

At the annual “Shipping and the Law” conference in Naples, piracy quickly became the hot topic, as Neville Smith reports

From at least one point of view, the timing of the recent “Shipping and the Law” conference in Naples could hardly have been better. The confirmation just a few days previously that the Italian government would allow the use of vessel protection detachments (VPDs) and private armed guards onboard Italian-flagged ships was welcomed by ship owners’ association Confitarma, which had helped broker the deal.