Joint Shipping Initiative Funds New Phase of Anti-Piracy Project in Somalia

London (ots/PRNewswire) -

The Joint Shipping Initiative - made up of Shell, BP, Maersk,
Stena and Japanese shipping companies NYK, MOL and "K" Line - today
announced it has given $1.5 million of additional funds to a United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) project to improve the lives of
Somalis and security for seafarers.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140425/708339-a )

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140425/708339-b )

The UNDP's "Alternative Livelihoods to Piracy in Puntland and
Central Regions of Somalia" project aims to reduce piracy off the
coast of east Africa through local economic development, job
creation, training, and business development grants on-shore in one
of the world's poorest countries.

"Development projects that provide an alternative livelihood to
would-be pirates are a vital element of the long-term solution to
piracy," Dr Grahaeme Henderson, Vice President of Shell Shipping &
Maritime, said. "We have been very encouraged by progress so far and
look forward to positive results from this new phase of work."

A lack of jobs and legitimate business opportunities for young
people helps Somali pirate leaders to attract recruits for attacks on
merchant shipping that cost the international community billions of
dollars a year.

By offering alternative livelihood options to these youth, UNDP
and the Joint Shipping Initiative work to prevent the lure of piracy.

"Somalia has one of the world's highest rates of youth
unemployment. Nearly 67% of young people are unemployed. To reverse
this reality, we work with local authorities and community groups to
identify sustainable solutions - such as infrastructure projects,
livelihoods trainings, or reintegration projects - and tailor our
support to match the need," stated UNDP Somalia Country Director
George Conway.

Initiated by Shell in 2013, the Joint Shipping Initiative's first
donation of $1 million helped expand the market building in Adado - a
town in central Somalia - creating hundreds of jobs for retailers and
better sales options for farmers. It also helped improve vital
infrastructure, including building a road to link the isolated Hafun
peninsula with the rest of the country - a project that generated
hundreds of temporary jobs. The road also helps expand opportunities
for trade and business, increasing access to communities in the Hafun
peninsula.

In addition, training courses in skills such as computing,
plumbing, building and clothes-making have been set up elsewhere to
help young Somalis find work, or set up businesses themselves with
the help of small grants.

Today's additional funding meets the Joint Shipping Initiative's
2012 pledge to donate a total of $2.5 million to UNDP's development
efforts in Somalia. It will allow UNDP to start work in the towns of
Alula and Bargal, near the tip of the Horn of Africa, and Balanbal in
central Somalia.

"Piracy is a global problem that takes root in limited economic
opportunities, high youth unemployment rates and poor
infrastructure," Jens Munch Lund-Nielsen, Head of Emerging Markets
Projects in Group Sustainability, Maersk, said. "The problem requires
a land-based solution."

Notes to Editors

- Joint Shipping Initiative funded programmes have already trained over 500
youth in a range of skills including building, electrical maintenance, plumbing,
computing and business, in Eyl, Gara'ad and Hafun. Over 400 business start-up grants
have also been awarded.
- 'Cash for work' schemes that repair and improve local infrastructure generate
income for vulnerable young people and also contribute to local economic and community
development. Examples funded by the Joint Shipping Initiative include improvements to
tertiary roads that increase access to markets, repairs to flood defences and the
construction/repair of a vocational training school, markets and youth facilities.
- The project to extend the market building in Adado employed 500 people during
construction and has created long-term employment opportunities for around 200 people.
The Hafun road rehabilitation project employed 540 people during its life, with
preference given to members of the community affected by a recent cyclone. The tools
provided by the project were then given to the local authority for road maintenance
and other public works.
- The Joint Shipping Initiative was recently recognised for its work against
piracy at the Seatrade Awards in April 2014 when it was awarded the Seatrade Award for
Countering Piracy.

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