Better anti-piracy strategy is needed
A report by a a maritime watchdog shows that despite intensified efforts, piracy is on the rise, mainly off the coast of lawless Somalia.
The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) says in a report that piracy hit an all-time high in the first three months of 2011, with 142 attacks worldwide.
The report says that a total of 97 attacks were recorded off Somalia in the first quarter, up from 35 in the same period last year.
Worldwide, marauding sea bandits’ hijacked 18 vessels and took 344 crew members as hostage, and kidnapped six seafarers from their boats. A further 45 vessels were boarded, and 45 more reported being fired upon.
At the last count, on 31 March, IMB figures showed that Somali pirates were holding captive 596 crew members on 28 ships.
Pirates are also becoming more violent. The IMB report says that at least two crew members were killed in piracy incidents this year.
The increase in attacks came despite an intensification of the international effort to prevent piracy. There are more warships in the region equipped with advanced weapons and surveillance and communication gear than ever and they do respond to distress calls from vessels under pirate attack. As such, the natural assumption was that there would be a decline in pirates’ activities. According to the IMB report, there is also a dramatic increase in the violence and techniques used by pirates in the seas off Somalia.
The increase in the number of attacks could be attributed to an increase in the number of attacks.
Many desparate Somalis are turning to piracy, given the accounts of the riches the pirates are gaining through hijacking ships with crew abroad and holding them for ransom.Tens of millions of dollars have been paid by shipowners in return for the relese of hijacked ships and crew members. The pirates spend part of the ransom money to acquire modern weapons to help them ply their trade.
Effectively, the root reason for Somali piracy is the lawless in that country and the growing strength of gunmen there. There is no indication yet the main insurgent group Al Shabab is involved in piracy, but it is a certain possibility that people associated with it are also linked to pirates.
Experts have sounded the warning bell thal militant groups could hijack ships and use them to carry out attacks.
Another fear is that large tankers carrying oil and other flammable chemicals are vulnerable to armed pirates.
There have been many efforts at coming up with an effective strategy to fight off piracy, but the numbers released by the IMF show the ineffectiveness of the efforts.
The UAE is playing its part in the posh, but other countries in the region and beyond should also step up their efforts. The world needs a better strategy to eliminate the problem of piracy once and for all.
A report by a a maritime watchdog shows that despite intensified efforts, piracy is on the rise, mainly off the coast of lawless Somalia.
The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) says in a report that piracy hit an all-time high in the first three months of 2011, with 142 attacks worldwide.
The report says that a total of 97 attacks were recorded off Somalia in the first quarter, up from 35 in the same period last year.
Worldwide, marauding sea bandits’ hijacked 18 vessels and took 344 crew members as hostage, and kidnapped six seafarers from their boats. A further 45 vessels were boarded, and 45 more reported being fired upon.
At the last count, on 31 March, IMB figures showed that Somali pirates were holding captive 596 crew members on 28 ships.
Pirates are also becoming more violent. The IMB report says that at least two crew members were killed in piracy incidents this year.
The increase in attacks came despite an intensification of the international effort to prevent piracy. There are more warships in the region equipped with advanced weapons and surveillance and communication gear than ever and they do respond to distress calls from vessels under pirate attack. As such, the natural assumption was that there would be a decline in pirates’ activities. According to the IMB report, there is also a dramatic increase in the violence and techniques used by pirates in the seas off Somalia.
The increase in the number of attacks could be attributed to an increase in the number of attacks.
Many desparate Somalis are turning to piracy, given the accounts of the riches the pirates are gaining through hijacking ships with crew abroad and holding them for ransom.Tens of millions of dollars have been paid by shipowners in return for the relese of hijacked ships and crew members. The pirates spend part of the ransom money to acquire modern weapons to help them ply their trade.
Effectively, the root reason for Somali piracy is the lawless in that country and the growing strength of gunmen there. There is no indication yet the main insurgent group Al Shabab is involved in piracy, but it is a certain possibility that people associated with it are also linked to pirates.
Experts have sounded the warning bell thal militant groups could hijack ships and use them to carry out attacks.
Another fear is that large tankers carrying oil and other flammable chemicals are vulnerable to armed pirates.
There have been many efforts at coming up with an effective strategy to fight off piracy, but the numbers released by the IMF show the ineffectiveness of the efforts.
The UAE is playing its part in the posh, but other countries in the region and beyond should also step up their efforts. The world needs a better strategy to eliminate the problem of piracy once and for all.
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