Corsairs in the Crosshairs: A Strategic Plan to Eliminate Modern Day Piracy
Hijacked on the High Seas, Pirates Free Tanker After Ransom, Pirates Outmaneuver Warships off Somalia, U.S. Captain Is Hostage of Pirates,—these are just a small sampling of the headlines concerning the treacherous situation created by the actions of Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden during the final months of 2008 and the beginning of 2009. According to the International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB) Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC), the number of maritime hijackings and hostage takings in 2008 far surpassed any previously recorded annual tally since the IMB was established in 1992. In 2008 there were 293 incidents of piracy worldwide, with pirates hijacking 49 ships, firing upon 46, and taking 889 crew members hostage. Between all of these incidents, 32 crew members were injured, 11 murdered, and 21 missing now presumed dead. The pirates have also become increasingly violent—they used guns in 132 incidents in 2008 as opposed to in only 72 the year before. And the attackers are also becoming more daring, attacking ships further from land and hijacking at every opportunity. This surge in piracy is largely due to the increased lawlessness in the Gulf of Aden, which, with 111 incidents, demonstrated over a 200% increase compared with 2007.
