Maritime Piracy
The recent surge of pirate attacks off the Horn of Africa has focused greater international attention on the perennial problem of maritime piracy. According to International Maritime Bureau figures, 293 incidents were recorded around the world in 2008, roughly 38 per cent of which were attributed to Somali gangs operating in the wider vicinity of the Gulf of Aden, Red Sea and Western Indian Ocean. Perpetrating groups have exhibited the ability to both hijack extremely large ocean-going vessels - the Sirius Star, which was sized in November 2008, was three times the size of an aircraft carrier - and mount assaults far from shore.
The scale of the problem has prompted unprecedented action on the part of the international community, the vast bulk of which has been explicitly militaristic in nature and includes the US' creation of Combined Task Force 151 to monitor a set of maritime corridors in the Gulf of Aden. According to Vice-Admiral William Gortney, the commander of US Naval Forces Central Command, as many as 14 countries have expressed an interest in being part of the joint task force. Assuming each government contributes at least one ship, CTF 151 could number around 18 vessels by end of 2009. The EU's combined Naval Force, NATO and several states have also deployed ships to the Horn of Africa for specific anti-piracy duties.
On the judicial front, the US, UK and EU have all entered into agreements with the Kenyan government; Kenya will act as a third party state to try Somalis suspected of engaging in armed maritime crime.
While the ensuing responses have provided a certain deterrent effect, the expanse of the areas to be covered (over 2m square miles) and than the fact that more than 24,000 ships pass through the Gulf of Aden in any given year, suggests that it will be difficult to comprehensively defeat piracy.
Attend this 60 minute online presentation hosted by Jane’s Intelligence Review and –
- Understand the causes and examine the trends in maritime piracy
- Examine the consequences of a lack of sovereign governance in Somalia
- Analyse Somalia compared with other pirates such as the Malacca Strait
- Assess the effectiveness of maritime responses to piracy
The presentation will include a comprehensive question and answer session during which you will be able to explore and discuss the topic with Jane's analysts in greater detail.
| Join this online seminar for just $299 or £199 (+ 15% VAT for UK customers) and receive a free three month subscription to Jane’s Intelligence Review (click here for further details) as well as archive access to the full presentation and simultaneous audio recording. |
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