Piracy:
The act of boarding any vessel with intent to commit theft or any other crime, and with
intent or capacity to use force in furtherance of this.
Hot spots:
Somalia, Indonesia and Nigeria
Vulnerable route through Gulf of Aden and Red Sea, the Malacca and Singapore Straights
and the Gulf of Guinea.
Temporal variation:
Avoids strong summer monsoon winds
Causes:
Relative poverty, dysfunctional government, loss of traditional fishing and organised crime.
Somalia, Gulf of Aden
Threat:
• Fish stocks natural capital as ecosystem service but depleting stocks and quotas.
• Exploitation of global commons
• Secondary income in LIDS + fish can be 50% dietary protein
• Line blurred; fisherman vigilantes against illegal-fishing realised economic benefit of
ransoms.
• $18 billion cost to local economy (largest hotspot).
Management:
• Investment decreased $6-2 billion as international navy + armed guards re-assigned
for migrant crisis
• 2017 Somali pirates hijacked 1
st commercial ship in 5 yrs.
• Best Management Practices for Protection (BMP4) against Somali piracy = practices
for ship operators.
• Regional maritime security vital
• Cormac McGarry Maritime Risk Analyst = “While we have recorded a limited surge
in Somali pirate activity in the 1st ½ of the year, it is unlikely to span beyond its
current scope.”
Gulf of Guinea
Threat:
• Driven by unemployment; almost 2/3 below poverty line
• Failed governance → overfishing in 1990s
• Toxic waste dumping crippled industry
• ‘Petro-piracy’ of tankers, drilling platforms + supply vessels
• Hijacking and ransoms up to $550,000 per ship
• 28 attacks in 2013 and increasing
• Supplies 20% Europe’s gas and oil – International interest
• Fishing oil + trade benefit 450 million African consumers.
Management:
• Yaoundé Code of Conduct = 5 coastal zones + different nations contribute to
management.
• Multi-national patrols reduced Zone D illegal fishing but 107 incidents to IMB Piracy
Reporting Centre in 2018.
• Aims to improve judicial systems + create sustainable economy to manage natural
disaster consequences (food aid)