A special system will be launched next year to tackle smugglers and pirates on the Kingdom's coasts, it was announced by Navy Maj. Gen. Awwad Al-Bluwi, Chairman of the National Committee for Sea Disasters in the Directorate General of the Frontier Guard. Regarding piracy in territorial waters, Al-Bluwi said no piracy could be carried out in our region “because of our modern monitoring systems.” He said the Kingdom is continually updating its systems, in cooperation with other Gulf countries. He said all reports issued recently by the International Maritime Organization confirm that there has been a decrease in pirates carrying out criminal acts, despite the tremendous increase in such operations in international waters. As for the reasons for the growing number of pirate attacks at sea, Al-Bluwi said international conflicts, poverty and lack of law and order all play a role. __
