Modern Piracy

The modern definitions of piracy include/understand the following actions:

the Removal people with ransom demand;
the flight;
the murder;
the Sabotage.

Whereas 97% of the goods and 60% of the oil products circulate today on the seas of the world, these richnesses attract covetousnesses.

Significant areas

The Pirate S of today prevail primarily in the areas of South Asia and Southeast Asia (in particular in the southernmost China Sea), of South America, the Golfe of Aden, the Red Sea, but also the coasts of the Somalia, in the Golfe of Guinea, in the Caribbean Sea and along the coasts of the South America. According to the international maritime Office, more than 4.000 acts of piracy was recorded during the twenty last years. They use rather small and fast boats, and benefit from the restricted number team members on the ships cargo liners. They can also transform their boats into transport or fishing vessels, in order to avoid and to thwart the inspections. In the majority of the cases, the pirates are not interested in the transported goods, but rather in the personal businesses of the crew and the contents of the safe, which can contain important quantities of currency intended to pay the personnel and the Taxe S harbor. It also happens that the pirates get rid of the crew and drive the ship in a port in order to sell the cargo and in very rare cases to transform its identity and to resell it.

Modern piracy develops for several reasons:

an incapacity of certain countries to manage the safety of their territorial water;
the crews of the ships cargo liners very few and are not armed (a score of men on a ship of 150 meters);
the trading vessels move at low speeds (between 20 and 40 kilometers per hour), are little operating and, charged, they can be rather low on water thus allowing an easy boarding;
the crews, embarking for one nine months duration on average, come mainly from the countries in the process of development (Asia - Africa) and receive the major part of their wages in liquid on board.

By extension, one also speaks about piracy when there is act of poaching , for example at the time of prohibited fishings of protected spaces (in the zones of economic exclusiveness). This relates to all parliculièrement the légine, fish very required localized in the Z.E.E of the Southern Lands.

Attacks

The attacks generally occur night, between 01:00 and 03:00, in zones called “at the risk” (Southeast Asia, Détroit of Malacca, south of the Red Sea, Golfe of Aden, coasts of Somalia, Golfe of Guinea…) in open sea or in anchorages.

Only an attentive day before as well as a fast reaction of the officer of the watch by an operation or the release of the general alarm can possibly dissuade the pirates to continue their action.

Since 2006, the ships cargo liners have a whole a system “of quiet alarm” by satellite in answer to the development of piracy. This warning system, activated manually on board two secret kept places, does not have any physical demonstration on the ship but sends data by satellite communication.

There exists a hierarchy of the acts of piracy:

the small shadies of the sea act as groups very few and their actions are often impromptu being connected more with plunder. A group of them is responsible for the assassination of Peter Blake in the estuary of the the Amazon in 2001.
In top of the hierarchy one finds some gangs international dependant on some powerful Mafia S and Asian Triade S directed by powerful business men.
Another type of pirates is consisted terrorist groups, as that which in October 2000 attacked the building US Adhesive of the American navy to damping in the Yemeni port of Aden while making jump a boat faggot of explosives, making 17 died and 42 wounded.

Years 1993 to 2004

The number of pirate attacks has triplet between 1993 and 2003. First half of the year 2003 was the worst six-month period ever recorded, with 234 pirate attacks, 16 died, 52 wounded and 193 team members taken as an hostage in the world. 182 cases of piracy were listed by the Station control room of the piracy of the maritime International office (IMB - International Maritime Office ) for first half of the year 2004, including 50 near the Indonesia, the majority in the Détroit of Malacca. The IMB also notes that in 2004, the Tanker S (transport of oil and gas) and the cargo liners transporting of the raw materials are the most popular targets with 67 attacks on tankers and 52 on the cargo liners.

Piracy always used the technological means most advanced available: the modern pirates obviously have recourse to the firearms (such as famous AK-47), to the mobile Téléphonie, the outboard motor boats, etc One even supposes that certain pirates listen to the communications of the clandestinely satellite S, in order to obtain information on the movement of the ships and to determine the risk which they present in the event of attack.

Year 2006

A recent study led by the maritime International office shows that the number of attacks of piracy in the world is in reduction. 3 first quarter of 2006 counts 174 attacks , that is to say 31 attacks of less than during three first quarter of 2005 (which was of 205). However, in Southeast Asia, the navigability is not strictly made safe by all the countries, it is thus current there to lose ships and their crew. This is why the Statistique S concerning piracy are probably not exact.

On the 174 officially recorded attacks:

in 113 cases the pirates are assembled on board;
there were 11 cases of diversion;
163 cases of taking of hostages;
20 team members were kidnapped;
6 team members were assassinated.

Although piracy decreases, of the black spots very bad results preserve:

the Bangladesh with 33 incidents makes port of Chittagong the most dangerous in the world;
the Nigeria with 9 attacks.

The strait of Malacca is not classified any more dangerous sea route by Lloyd' S.

External bonds

Charts of the acts of piracy in 2006
Last weekly report on piracy in the world
Chart updated of the acts of piracy

Books

Pirate of the seas of today, Jean-Michel Barrault, ED. Gallimard, 174 pages.
Pirate of Légines (southern Indian Ocean), Jacques Nougier, ED. Harmattan, 2003,201 pages; ISBN: 2-7475-4459-1

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