Despite an decrease in piracy around Somalia and in adjacent waters, the IMB PRC is encouraging ships to use BMP5 recommended practices when crossing these waters, as Somali pirates still have the ability to attack.
There are still pirates. Piracy has disappeared throughout most of the world, but it still exists near third-world countries and areas where organized crime is a major force. Most pirate attacks occur in the Indian Ocean, although some are attempted around the South China Sea.
The IMB’s latest global piracy report since the beginning of 2021 recorded 38 incidents, up from 47 in the same period last year. The IMB Pirate Reporting Center (RPC) reported that in the first three months of 2021, 33 ships were attacked, two were attempted, two ships were shot, and one ship was hijacked.
Although piracy has declined since its peak in 2010, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) still records hundreds of piracy attacks each year, with more than 200 in 2018 alone. At the United Nations, the problem is global: 276 piracy or piracy. Armed robbery of ships reported worldwide in 2010.
Piracy Still Exists Around Southern Asia
According to the organization’s report on piracy, there were no attacks in the Sulu Sea and the Celebes Sea in 2015, and there were 21 attacks in 2016. Although the South China Sea has suffered the most attacks, East African piracy, mainly carried out by Somalia, ranks second.
According to data from the Risk Control Group, the pirate attacks in the Strait of Malacca in mid-November 2013 reached a world level, surpassing the pirate attacks in the Gulf of Guinea. As of 2008, the vast waters of the Gulf of Aden along the coast of East Africa have become the most dangerous waters for pirate attacks in the world.
Targeted attacks on foreign ships really began in the mid-2000s, when pirates began to hijack ships regularly and demand large sums of money for them to return. In another incident, a fishing boat hijacked on February 8, 2021 was used by pirates as a base ship for other attacks.
In January this year, a warship rushed forward to rescue a container ship that was attacked off the coast. For example, in November, the Italian fleet used helicopters to hunt down pirates on Danish ships.
Piracy Persists Out of Somalia and Will Continue Unless toSpped
Whatever the factors that have contributed to Somali piracy, timely action is needed to curb piracy activities, say regional government officials, fisheries executives and freight forwarders. Several global bodies monitor piracy, including the International Chamber of Commerce, which also provides advice on preventing and repelling pirate attacks.
Prince, who is studying global piracy in partnership with the US Department of Defense, told The Globe Post that there are many factors associated with hot spots of piracy activity.
It is difficult for such states to solve problems with piracy, because they are economically weak and do not have the necessary resources to adequately counter piracy attacks. In addition, many countries are reluctant to pay to imprison pirates, so they are often brought back to their pirate life with little disincentives.
In addition, some villages in the affected coastal areas have hired organized pirate gangs to drive out or contain foreign fishing fleets in the absence of Coast Guard law enforcement.
The Types of Ships Pirates Attack
The pirates also tried to attack cruise ships and sailing ships in order to find lucrative goods inside. Modern maritime piracy activities often involve pirates approaching and boarding larger and slower ships on small and fast ships to take away car parts, oil, valuables, communications equipment and other goods, or hijack ships, ships, etc.
Modern pirates usually attack merchant ships, but they are also known for attacking private yachts and cruise ships, stealing the personal belongings of crew and passengers instead of attacking the cargo of ships. The headlines reported that pirates went to sea to kidnap crew members, but a previous report indicated that 72% of pirate attacks occurred on moored ships, when pirates stole the ship or took goods and property from the “crew”.
Efforts to End Piracy
The American non-governmental organization One Earth Future Foundation, in a recent study of maritime piracy, estimated that Somali pirates extorted about $ 177 million in ransom in 2009 and $ 238 million the following year.
According to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) of the International Chamber of Commerce, the Gulf of Guinea accounted for 90% of reported kidnappings at sea in 2019, with crew numbers increasing by more than 50% to 121. Ship hijacking, the most serious and visible manifestation of maritime piracy has also decreased since 2010.
In fact, piracy hasn’t changed for heavily armed pirates. While the pirates of the Golden Age lived their lives at sea, modern pirates generally rely on shore and attack in speedboats. The pirates of the Golden Age often abandoned their crew members who rebelled against them, while today they leave their victims abandoned and hit the road in their ships.
Modern Pirates and Organized Crime
Many modern pirates are related to the government and organized crime, such as pirates in Somalia and the Far East. According to reports, some pirates in the South China Sea are working under the protection of the Chinese government. Some arrested Somali pirates and senior officials tried to justify the outbreak of piracy off the coast of East Africa on the grounds that foreign ships were engaged in illegal activities off the coast of Somalia.
Piracy in the South China Sea takes place in the waters of Malaysia, which causes concern for the country’s authorities. Some of the areas attacked by sea pirates are Anambas, Natuna, and the Merundung Islands, where pirates reportedly attack ships at night rather than during the day. Maritime patrols have proven extremely effective in reducing piracy in the Gulf of Aden area; their absence from the Gulf of Guinea is considered one of the reasons why pirate attacks continue there.
Reception to Pirate Attacks Worldwide
As a limited number of countries begin to take action against piracy that floods their coastal waters, increasing global instability has exacerbated the threat of piracy. Modern pirates pose a real threat to maritime ships around the world, and may even kill victims at sea.
These pirates came from Somalia, which was severely affected, and caused trouble to the Indians and ships of other countries. In the Caribbean, another hot spot for piracy, it is usually related to drug trafficking, but in the Bay of Bengal, where the border between India and Bangladesh is not clear, local ships are usually targeted rather than international traffic.
Piracy is a frequent activity that is much more common than in the news. News channels report daily new incidents where pirates attack the crew and rob the ship or hijack the ship, and even harm the crew when their ransom demands are not met by the authorities.
Piracy in the 21st century (commonly known as modern piracy) has occurred in many waters around the world, including the Gulf of Guinea, the Strait of Malacca, the Sulu Sea and the Celebes Sea, the Indian Ocean and Falcon Lake. Although this golden age ended in the 18th century, piracy still exists in some parts of the world, especially in the South China Sea. Although piracy has existed since ancient times, the golden age of piracy was in the 17th and early 18th centuries.
