VLADIVOSTOK. Feb 24 (Interfax) - The Philippines capital Manila is currently hosting a conference of maritime union leaders from the Asia-Pacific region, who are expected to come up with suggestions on ways to combat piracy.
"It was announced at the opening ceremony that pirates attacked 406 vessels around the world in 2009, and 867 sailors are currently being held hostage," a spokesman for the Far Eastern branch of the Russian Sailors' Union told Interfax.
The two-day forum involves delegations from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, China, South Korea, Russia, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Pakistan and Japan. Russia's delegation is headed by Nikolai Sukhanov, chairman of the Far Eastern branch of the Russian Sailors' Union.
The participants in the conference will try to formulate their proposals regarding the fight against piracy, which is viewed as a matter of great concern particularly by China, South Korea, the Philippines and India because their ships are targeted by sea pirates most frequently, the spokesman said.
On Wednesday, the forum also addressed training programs for young sailors in Asia-Pacific states.
"The maritime unions are worried about the fleet's shortage of navigation officers and mechanics. There is a deficit of nearly 20,000 fleet officers today. This figure could reach 27,000 by 2015," the spokesman said.