Piracy has been around since man first took to the oceans. The Golden Age of Piracy is a thing of the past but piracy is still a global problem today. According to the IMB, International Maritime Bureau, global piracy figures for the first 9 months of 2009 have already surpassed the total number of attacks recorded in 2008.
IMB Piracy Map 2008
This map shows all the piracy and armed robbery incidents reported to the IMB Piracy Reporting Center during 2008. Red = Actual attack, yellow = attempted attack.
Commercial Crime Services, a division of the ICC
The increase in attacks on ships is directly attributed to an increase in piracy activity in the Gulf of Aden, East Coast of Somalia, the Red Sea, the Bab el Mandab Straits and the East Coast of Oman.
Pirate attacks are down for the third quarter of 2009 (63 incidents compare to 103 and 140 for the first and second quarters respectively). The presence of naval assets in the region as well as enhanced security measures by vessels have made it difficult for pirates to succeed in their attacks.
Piracy hasn't changed much over the centuries. Pirates still travel waters that see a lot of commercial traffic. Confusing and ill-defined national boundaries make jurisdiction hard to determine, a fact pirates rely on for escaping the risk of capture and arrest. The reasons for becoming a pirate today mirror those of the Golden Age of Piracy, pirates are the product of a failed state whose poverty and war is spilling beyond its borders and into the ocean.
~~ Sneak Peek ~~
