May 2013 May 10th, 2013 marked a full year in which not a single ship was hijacked by Somali pirates. What has happened to these once numerous marauders of the Indian Ocean? Beginning in 2005 and making a measly $315,000 ransom for a vessel named Feisty Gas, the number of incidents and the sum of ransom […]
Don’t Pay the Pirates
A special Piracy Ransom Task Force based in the United Kingdom recently recommended that the shipping industry cease paying ransoms to pirates after they hijack ships. Since the piracy epidemic began in 2008, the task force estimates that over $300 million USD in ransoms has been paid to various groups of Somali pirates. These recommendations […]
Pirate Demands
The thriving black-market industry of piracy cost the world economy an estimated $7 billion in 2011, and pirates themselves netted about $160 million in ransoms alone, according to a recent report from the International Maritime Bureau. Although international cooperation and the education of shipping companies is finally resulting in a reduction of overall pirate attacks, the […]
Nigerian Pirates Target U.S. Vessels
Why U.S. Flagged Vessels make alluring targets for pirates and why Nigeria is the new piracy hot spot. By Tony Portelli “The U.S. Government will make no concessions to individuals or groups holding official or private U.S. citizens hostage. It is U.S. Government policy to deny hostage takers the benefits of ransom, prisoner releases, policy […]