Maritime Piracy Today

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Maritime Piracy Today
Topic 8

• Based on research of Grad. Students
• Jove Graham and Kristen Lau
• Global Trade, Transportation and Logistics
  Program
• UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
• Fall, 2006

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What is Piracy?

• Includes illegal acts of violence, detention, or
  depredation for private ends committed by the
  crew or passengers of one ship against another,
  or persons or property on board that ship.
• Occurs in international waters, outside the
  jurisdiction of a state, and usually outside
  security patrolled or monitored areas.
• -1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the
  Sea
• The International Maritime Board (IMB) uses a
  broader definition that includes acts occurring
  in ports or territorial waters.

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Types of Piracy
PIRACY
Small Scale Steal from the Crew
Large Scale Steal from the Crew and the Ships
Cargo
Phantom Ship Steal the Ship
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Small Scale Piracy

• Rob the crew and depart
• Attacks usually take place whilst the vessel is
  at anchor or in port
• Ships safe is often targeted
• Occasionally the ship is taken to be sold

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Large Scale Piracy

• Rob the crew and steal the cargo
• Cargo that is easily disposed of is usually
  targeted, such as timber, metals and minerals
• Occasionally the ships engines are taken
• Usually part of a larger criminal organization

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Phantom Ships

• Steal the ship
• Re-paint, re-name, re-flag, and re-register the
  ship
• Offer the services of the ship to a shipper
• Sail to an undisclosed destination
• Unload the cargo to be sold, and then repeat the
  process
• Nearly always part of a larger criminal
  organization

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The Return of Piracy

• Maritime piracy made a big comeback with the end
  of the Cold War

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The Return of Piracy
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Still A Problem Today?

• Incidents of piracy tripled between 1994 and 2004
• For 2005
• 266 reported attacks
• 652 hostages taken
• 16 Ships high jacked
• 16 billion of damage

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Why has piracy grown so much?

• Decline in the size of world navies
• Better technology available to pirates
• Shrinking crew sizes
• Increased shipping volume
• Lack of incentives and will for enforcement

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Piracy Hot Spots

• Recently the number of piracy incidents has
  dropped worldwide
• Unfortunately, high levels of piracy still remain
  
• in certain hotspots around the world
• Piracy Hotspots
• 1) Indonesia
• 2) Bangladesh
• 3) Nigeria
• 4) Somalia
• 5) Malaysia

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Piracy Hot Spots Indonesia
The Straits of Malacca
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Is Anyone Trying to Stop Piracy?

• International efforts strongest in concentrated
  area of piracy
• International Maritime Board
• International Chamber of
• Commerce
• Mostly shipowners responsibility

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How Can Ships Defend Themselves?

• Firehoses
• Horns
• Bow wave
• Non lethal weapons
• GPS monitoring
• Electric Fencing
• Vigilance!

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High Profile Piracy Attempts

• UN Food Aid high jacking off Somalia
• Seaborne Spirit attack off Somalia
• Chaumont tanker high jacking

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Resources
Worldwide Piracy Reports
http//www.nga.mil/portal/site/maritime