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The Secretary-General, therefore, proposed and the Council, at its sixty-ninth session in November 1992 and the Maritime Safety Committee, at its sixty-first session in December 1992, endorsed the creation of a Working Group composed of experts from a limited number of IMO Member Governments, including experts from all three littoral States concerned (i.e. Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore) to consider and prepare a report:
outlining the problem in the Strait of Malacca;
specifying necessary navigational techniques;
recommending safety precautions and enforcement arrangements appropriate for:
crews;
shipowners and operators; and
flag, coastal and port States (individually or collectively on a regional basis); and
specifying the associated financial implications related to the above considerations.
While the Working Group would focus on the situation in the areas around the Strait of Malacca, it was instructed to prepare recommendations which would also be applicable in other parts of the world affected by piracy and armed robbery. The Group's terms of reference, as elaborated by parties concerned during a meeting at IMO Headquarters in January 1993, are given in annex 1.
Following further consultations between the Secretary-General and the Chairman of the Maritime Safety Committee in the aftermath of a spate of accidents in the Malacca Strait area shortly before the Group's departure to the area, the scope of the Group's mission was expanded to cover not only the prevention and suppression of piracy and armed robbery but also enhancement of the safety of navigation and consequentially protection of the marine environment through the Strait.
The Governments of Australia, Greece, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States provided experts for the Working Group and bore their participation costs. The Group was assisted by local experts provided by the Governments of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. The list of experts who participated in the Working Group is attached as annex 2 and the Group's timetable and programme are attached as annexes 3 and 4.
W/9181e