Piracy in the 21st Century
The number of pirate attacks worldwide decreased between 2010 and 2024. However, pirates were still a threat in global hotspots for piracy, such as the Gulf of Aden, the Gulf of Guinea, and the South China Sea. With a new increase in pirate activity, particularly in the South China Sea, many shipping companies and ships have been affected. This means that vessels must take special measures in relation to pirates, which can push up the cost of the journey significantly. Despite this, they still sail through these zones, as they are geographically important to shipping and trade.
These pirate attacks greatly affect the shipping world, both legally and commercially. For example, protection measures against pirates include sailing faster, which uses more fuel, which costs more and produces greater CO2 emissions. Another consequence is that the ship can be damaged, leading to costly repairs, and the crew may even be kidnapped and held at ransom, which could cost even more. From a legal point of view, piracy has an extremely expensive consequence. This is because the contracts for the hire of the ship, which are known as ‘charterparties’ must cover the extra measures that a ship must take, as well as saying who pays for those. Philippa Hopkins KC mentions that ‘I know people who’ve been directly involved in the legalities of getting ships and crew out when there has been a pirate attack.’
Mrs Hopkins says that ‘the types of attack involved are typically a bit different’. The South China Sea pirates are primarily interested in the cargoes of the ships they attack, while the Gulf of Guinea and Gulf of Aden pirates ‘K&R’ (kidnap and ransom). Crews who are captured are ‘often subjected to very harsh treatment and sometimes even lose their lives’. Although paying the pirates who kidnap and ransom crews is discouraged, ‘the payment of ransom is not illegal’.
This brings us on to the question: why does piracy happen? John Ruan, managing director of Oriental Global Logistics (OGL), says that the countries around the Gulf of Aden (Somalia, Yemen and Djibouti, etc.) are ‘less developed countries – they don’t have the agriculture or industry, so they are unable to make a living through a proper job.’ He then goes on to mention that they are not being helped as much because many people think that ‘all countries need to develop themselves’. Therefore, they turn to piracy to earn money. Despite this, however, ‘the pirates themselves have poor living conditions and probably get paid the least’, says Daisy Ruan, a former MÆRSK employee.
So, with all these attacks on ships and crew, how can they combat piracy? According to Mrs Hopkins, ‘in the last 20 years or so, participants in the shipping industry have worked together to come up with a series of documents known as BMP – “Best Management Practice” – in relation to piracy, and shipowners are encouraged to follow the guidance in those documents.’ Furthermore, Mrs Ruan thinks that ‘the most useful weapon for a ship to deal with piracy is speed’, and that the ship must ‘sail at 18 knots, which should be sufficient to fend off the majority of intended piracy attacks’.
Finally, Mrs Hopkins states that ‘piracy is a menace to global shipping’. It ‘adds significantly to the expense and difficulty of transporting goods’. Mrs Ruan says that ‘it’s a huge cost to international trade’. The increase in piracy is a serious threat to global trade and needs to be combatted.
Reported by Patrick H and Thomas R