The sharp reduction in pirate activity off the Somali coast since 2010 has cut the annual cost (for anti-piracy measures) to shipping companies in half (to about $3 billion). That is a huge relief to the shipping companies, the sailors on those ships and the people of East Africa who saw imports get a bit more expensive to pay for the increased security costs.
This is all a big change from just a few years ago. In 2010 pirate activity had reached levels of activity not seen in over a century. But over the next three years the problem was fixed. By 2013 attacks on ships by Somali pirates had declined 95 percent from the 2010 peak and the activity is going lower in 2014.
Sea Transportation: Fighting Piracy Pays OffMonday, 26 May 2014 | 00:00
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- Category: Pirateria
- Published on Sunday, 25 May 2014 22:18
- Hits: 2667
United Kingdom Marine Trade Operations (UKMTO): Piracy Report, May 17th-23rd 2014
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- Category: Pirateria
- Published on Sunday, 25 May 2014 22:16
- Hits: 2611
Monday, 26 May 2014 | 00:00
A busier week for reports, with UKMTO logging three incidents, although the incident on May 21st wasn’t immediately reported to them, which doesn’t help domain awareness. All incidents should be reported to UKMTO immediately, in order to ensure other ships nearby can be alerted to possible pirate activity.
On with the reports:
On with the reports:
20 May – 12 52.5N 43 12.03E. At 0747 a vessel reported being approached by 4 skiffs with 3-4 POB to within 0.7nm. The Skiffs circled around the vessel for approximately 20/30 minutes. No weapons or ladders were sighted. The security team showed weapons and the skiffs moved away.
Pirate Hijack Thwarted as Report of Cost to Merchant Shipping Released
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- Category: Pirateria
- Published on Sunday, 18 May 2014 03:44
- Hits: 3299
Handy Shipping Guide
Misery of Long Term Captives Revealed as Situation on both African Coasts Compared
AFRICA – Oceans Beyond Piracy (OBP), a project of Marcel Arsenault’s One Earth Future Foundation, has released its annual report detailing the economic and human costs of African maritime piracy, a study which in the past has drawn criticism with some critics stating that the costs of maritime crime to freight and passenger interests mentioned are estimated, inflated and sometimes even made up entirely. The report, titled ‘The State of Maritime Piracy 2013’, examines the costs incurred as a result of pirate activity occurring both off the coast of Somalia, as well as in the Gulf of Guinea, and is released just after the most recent attack in the Indian Ocean
Police: Boko Haram kill one Chinese, 10 missing in Cameroon
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- Category: Pirateria
- Published on Monday, 19 May 2014 03:17
- Hits: 2630
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YAOUNDÉ (Cameroon), May 17 ― A Chinese national was killed and 10 others were feared kidnapped after an overnight attack in northern Cameroon believed to have been carried out by Boko Haram militants from Nigeria, a police said today. Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau speaks at an unknown location in this still image taken from an undated video released by Nigerian Islamist rebel group Boko Haram. Today, police said Boko Haram Islamists attacked a camp of road workers and killed a Chinese national while 10 others were feared kidnapped. ― Reuters pic He said the camp where the Chinese road workers stayed was usually guarded by soldiers from Cameroon's elite Rapid Intervention Battalion. “Their numbers were thinner these past few days because many of them had gone down to Yaounde” for the traditional military parade marking National Day on May 20, the official said. The police officer said the militants also attacked the police post in Waza overnight and raided its armoury. ― AFP -
Piracy Costs Fall, But Its Roots Remain, Says Report
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- Category: Pirateria
- Published on Tuesday, 13 May 2014 07:04
- Hits: 2614
Decline in Hijackings Off Somali Coast Has Nearly Halved Costs to Shipping
May 7, 2014 1:18 p.m. ET
LONDON—A big decline in hijackings off the Somali coast has nearly halved the cost of piracy to the shipping industry, according to a new report, although maritime attacks have grown off West Africa and more than 50 hostages remain in captivity.
A panoply of countermeasures, among them armed guards and patrols by military ships, has all but eliminated successful hijackings. That has pushed down costs of ransom payments, insurance premiums and expensive rerouting of ships around problem zones, says the report, produced by Oceans Beyond Piracy, a Colorado-based nonprofit that since 2010 has charted global