Piracy Impact On Maritime Industry

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PIRACY: IMPACTS ON MARITIME INDUSTRY

C. Shawn Goode
HLSS311 Boo2
May 24, 2014

PIRACY: IMPACTS ON MARITIME INDUSTRY
Maritime shipping has become one of the most important ways of commercial transport with the new markets and the increase into the world economies. At present more than 80% of world trade is conducted by sea . The Pacific historically has been one of the most active maritime trading grounds. Linking the American and Asian continents the majority of the world’s shipping passes through the seas of Southeast Asia, East Asia, and South Asia.
Piracy is the direct threat to maritime security for ship owners. Other crimes such as maritime terrorism and the use of phantom ships are far less common, although still a significant issue. The International Maritime Bureau’s Piracy Reporting Center (IMB-PRC) defines piracy as “an act of boarding or attempting to board any ship with the intent to commit theft or any other crime and with the intent or capability to use force in the furtherance of that act”.
Several key factors show the degree in which a vessel may be threatened. First, when there seems to be a high level of traffic which may limit a vessel’s maneuverability. Maneuverability can be utilized to avoid another threatening vessel. Heavy traffic also allows for perpetrators to take cover behind other vessels before the attack. Second, the lack of maritime law enforcement patrolling waters has been significant in the growth of the attacks.
The growing number of large private vessels carrying valuable goods has become the pirates’ main target. These larger vessels have become easy targers as tey are larger, slow moving and difficult to protect. Most are run by skeleton crews which ensures that they are e...

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... on private ships has become one of the most effective ways to fend of piracy. Most guards are former military forces that board private ships to provide successful security measures against piracy.
When attackers are apprehended, many legal and judicial roadblocks the prosecution and incarceration of pirates is one of the most important elements in fighting against attacks. The support by all divisions to prosecute and incarcerate the offenders will play a key role in keeping the attackers at bay. Many times prosecutors will not try a case due to witness availability; the origin of the attacker is many times are not the country he is tried in, and the economic stakes the country undertakes to try the cases. The unknown expense may be the cost of not apprehending attackers and not prosecuting those and keeping them behind bars is far too costly to imagine.

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