| Publication |
2009.
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| Summary/Abstract |
On April 12, US Navy Seals staged a dramatic
rescue of an American cargo ship
captain who had been held hostage during
a five-day standoff in the Indian Ocean. The
episode highlighted a problem that has drawn
increasing international attention over the past
year: piracy off the Somali coast. Approximately
125 ships carrying cargo that included oil, weapons,
and chemicals were attacked in 2008. In the
first two months of 2009, another 30 ships were
attacked near Somalia.
To be sure, armed gangs demanding ransom
have successfully boarded only a small fraction of
the 33,000 vessels that annually ply the region's
strategically important waters-waters that include
the Gulf of Aden, the key gateway to trade between
the East and West. Still, several seamen have been
killed or injured, and the global merchant shipping
supply chain has been adversely affected (for
instance through increased insurance premiums).
Some vessels, especially slower ships with low freeboards,
have opted to avoid the area altogether.
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