Maritime Domain Awareness. The Key to U.S. Global Maritime Security

This article discusses how some ship owners quietly pay millions of dollars in ransom. The high-stakes drama of the M/V Maersk Alabama, seized some 250 nautical miles off the Somali coast in April 2009––the first U.S.-flagged ship to be captured by pirates since the early 1800s––underscored U.S. resolve against this threat: No negotiation and no ransom. This incident also underscored global threats to maritime safety and security—threats that respect no nation’s borders. In these burgeoning acts of piracy, many centered in the broad expanse of the Gulf of Aden and western Indian Ocean, modern-day buccaneers––in reality no more than lawless thugs––capture and hold vessels and crews for millions of dollars in ransom. In 2008, for example, pirates received some $30 million in ransom for the release of “sea-jacked” vessels, and pirates seized 42 vessels off the coast of Somalia alone. Globally, pirates held 889 mariners hostage as ransom negotiations dragged on. The International Maritime Bureau reported pirates murdered 11 mariners, and another 21 were missing and presumed dead. These trends continued throughout 2009 and into 2010, and included attacks in South American and Caribbean waters. Ominously, pirates are willing to conduct operations at greater distances from shore––more than 600 nautical miles off Somalia, for example––and are displaying more sophisticated tactics, techniques, and procedures. That said, shippers also have to be concerned about traditional military threats and what are now being described as “irregular” or “hybrid” threats that combine the conventional with the unconventional and the nation-state with transnational actors. Many of these threats originate in or take advantage of the anonymity afforded by the maritime domain. Understanding the nature of these and many other challenges is critical to global security.

• Record URL:
  http://uscg.mil/proceedings/archive/2010/Vol67_No2_Sum2010.pdf
• 
• Authors:
  • Stubbs, Bruce B
• Publication Date: 2010

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Photos; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 8-10
• Serial:
  • Coast Guard Journal of Safety & Security at Sea, Proceedings of the Marine Safety & Security Council
  • Volume: 67
  • Issue Number: 2
  • Publisher: U.S. Coast Guard
  • Serial URL: http://www.uscg.mil/proceedings/

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crimes involving transportation; Freight security; Hijacking; Maritime industry; Maritime safety; Piracy; Security; Water transportation
• Subject Areas: Marine Transportation; Security and Emergencies;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01167010
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 30 2010 8:22AM