Maritime Piracy: Reasons, Dangers and Solutions

This testimony discusses maritime piracy, and notes that it is economically driven. The pirates' main goal is profit, and the ships owners would like to keep their operating costs as low as possible. Between 2003 and 2008, there were 1,845 attempted or actual piracy acts. The bulk of the attacks occur around the Horn of Africa and the Gulf of Aden. Two underlying factors are important enablers of piracy: the huge volume of cargo that is shipped by sea, and the need for ships to traverse through congested maritime bottlenecks. In addition the use of skeletons crews as cost cutting measures makes piracy more likely. Security monitoring of waters has decreased due to the pressure to provide security on land. An increase in small arms, globally, has made it easier for pirates to be armed for their attacks. Ship owners are willing to pay ransom demands, and this provides incentives for pirate attacks. All these factors merge to provide a fertile ground for pirate attacks. Areas for further research are discussed, in order to help combat this maritime threat.

Record URL:
Corporate Authors:
RAND Corporation

1776 Main Street, P.O. Box 2138
Santa Monica, CA United States 90407-2138

United States House of Representatives

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
Washington, DC United States 20515
Authors:
- Chalk, Peter
Publication Date: 2009-2

Language

English

Media Info

Media Type: Web
Edition: Testimony
Pagination: 9p

Subject/Index Terms

TRT Terms: Costs; Economic conditions; Economic factors; Maritime safety; Piracy; Profits; Security; Ship lines; Water transportation
Geographic Terms: Gulf of Aden; Horn of Africa
Subject Areas: Marine Transportation; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies; I80: Accident Studies;

Filing Info

Accession Number: 01208107
Record Type: Publication
Report/Paper Numbers: CT-317
Files: TRIS
Created Date: Oct 21 2010 8:02AM