Piracy in the 21st century

Piracy in the 21st century (commonly known as modern piracy) has taken place in a number of waters around the globe, including the Gulf of Guinea, Gulf of Aden,^[1] Arabian Sea,^[2] Strait of Malacca, Sulu and Celebes Seas, Indian Ocean, and Falcon Lake.

Due to the crisis in Bolivarian Venezuela, issues of piracy returned to the Caribbean in the 2010s, with the increase of pirates being compared to piracy off the coast of Somalia due to the similar socioeconomic origins.^[3] In 2016, former fishermen became pirates, appearing in the state of Sucre, with attacks happening daily and multiple killings occurring.^[4] By 2018 as Venezuelans became more desperate, fears arose that Venezuelan pirates would spread throughout Caribbean waters.^[3] Many could have turned to piracy due to larger ships from other countries entering a Low Income Country's (LIC) (for example Somalia) water for resources such as fish and most of the people living in LICs have jobs as fishermen. Eventually, the larger ships will leave 'permanently' because of the lack of fish and the fishermen won't have any income to gain.

Piracy on Falcon Lake involves crime at the border between the United States and Mexico on Falcon Lake. The lake is a 100-kilometre-long (60 mi) reservoir constructed in 1954 and is a known drug smuggling route.^[5]

A turf war between rival drug cartels for control of the lake began in March 2010 and has led to a series of armed robberies and shooting incidents. All of the attacks were credited to the Los Zetas cartel and occurred primarily on the Mexican side of the reservoir but within sight of the Texas coast. The so-called pirates operate "fleets" of small boats designed to seize fishermen and smuggle drugs.^[6][7]

While the events have been referred to colloquially as piracy, all the waters of Falcon Lake are considered either US or Mexican territorial waters and therefore are not technically piracy under Article 101 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.^[8]

Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea affects a number of countries in West Africa as well as the wider international community. By 2011, it had become an issue of global concern.^[9][10] Pirates in the Gulf of Guinea are often part of heavily armed criminal enterprises, who employ violent methods to steal oil cargo.^[11] In 2012, the International Maritime Bureau, Oceans Beyond Piracy and the Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Program reported that the number of vessels attacked by West African pirates had reached a world high, with 966 seafarers attacked during the year.^[12]

Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea has evolved over the first decade of the century. For some time, smaller ships shuttling employees and materials belonging to the oil companies with any involvement in oil exploration had been at risk in Nigeria. Over time, pirates became more aggressive and better armed.^[10] As of 2014, pirate attacks in West Africa mainly occur in territorial waters, terminals and harbours rather than in the high seas. This incident pattern has hindered intervention by international naval forces. Pirates in the region operate a well-funded criminal industry, which includes established supply networks. They are often part of heavily armed and sophisticated criminal enterprises, who increasingly use motherships to launch their attacks. The local pirates' overall aim is to steal oil cargo. As such, they do not attach much importance to holding crew members and non-oil cargo and vessels for ransom. Additionally, pirates in the Gulf of Guinea are especially noted for their violent modus operandi, which frequently involves the kidnapping, torture and shooting of crewmen. The increasingly violent methods used by these groups is believed to be part of a conscious "business model" adopted by them, in which violence and intimidation plays a major role.^[11]

By 2010, 45 and by 2012 120 incidents were reported to the UN International Maritime Organization.^[9] However, many events go unreported. Piracy acts interfere with the legitimate trading interests of the affected countries that include Benin, Togo, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. As an example, trade of Benin's major port, the Port of Cotonou, was reported in 2012 to have dropped by 70 percent.^[10] The cost of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea due to stolen goods, security, and insurance has been estimated to be about $2 billion.^[9] According to the Control Risks Group, pirate attacks in the Gulf of Guinea had by mid-November 2013 maintained a steady level of around 100 attempted hijackings in the year, a close third behind Southeast Asia.^[13]

Piracy in the Indian Ocean has been a threat to international shipping since the beginning of the Somali Civil War in the early 1990s.^[14] Since 2005, many international organizations have expressed concern over the rise in acts of piracy.^[15][16] Piracy impeded the delivery of shipments and increased shipping expenses, costing an estimated $6.6 to $6.9 billion a year in global trade according to Oceans Beyond Piracy (OBP).^[17] According to the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), a veritable industry of profiteers also arose around the piracy. Insurance companies significantly increased their profits from the pirate attacks as insurance companies hiked rate premiums in response.^[18]

Combined Task Force 150, a multinational coalition task force, took on the role of fighting the piracy by establishing a Maritime Security Patrol Area (MSPA) within the Gulf of Aden^[19] and Guardafui Channel.^[20] By September 2012, the heyday of piracy in the Indian Ocean was reportedly over.^[21] According to the International Maritime Bureau, pirate attacks had by October 2012 dropped to a six-year low, with only one ship attacked in the third quarter compared to thirty-six during the same period in 2011.^[22] By December 2013, the US Office of Naval Intelligence reported that only 9 vessels had been attacked during the year by the pirates, with zero successful hijackings.^[23] Control Risks attributed this 90% decline in pirate activity from the corresponding period in 2012 to the adoption of best management practices by vessel owners and crews, armed private security on board ships, a significant naval presence, and the development of onshore security forces.^[24]

Pirates in the Strait of Malacca near Indonesia are normally armed with guns, knives, or machetes. The pirates in this area also attack ships during the night. If vessels sound an alarm, the pirates usually leave without confronting the crew.^[25] Pirates in the Singapore Straits attack at night, while ships are underway or anchored.^[25]

According to the Control Risks Group, pirate attacks in the Strait of Malacca had by mid-November 2013 reached a world high, surpassing those in the Gulf of Guinea.^[13]

The Sulu and Celebes Seas, a semi- enclosed sea area and porous region that covers an area of space around 1 million square kilometers,^[26] have been subject to illegal maritime activities since the pre-colonial era^[27] and continue to pose a maritime security threat to bordering nations up to this day. Recently, the abduction of crew members is the most common illicit activity, with most of the incidents being ascribed to the violent extremist group Abu Sayyaf. Since March 2016, the Information Sharing Centre (ISC) of the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) reports a total of 86 abductions,^[28] leading to the issue of a warning for ships trespassing the area.^[29]

Image	Flag (owner)	Name (class)	Crew (cargo)	Status	Date of attack	Coordinates
					Date of release	Ransom demanded
	Bangladesh	Dilruba (Fishing)	unknown (unknown)	Attacked	February 2001	unknown
					n/a	n/a
Boarded off Patharghata. In a gun fight leaving one crew member wounded, the pirates stole supplies worth $139,373.
	Panama	Lingfield (Tanker)	unknown (classified)	Attacked	March 7, 2001	unknown
					n/a	n/a
Attacked near Bintan, Indonesia and boarded by eight pirates who, after tying up and blindfolding the ship's three senior officers, stole $11,000 from the ship's safe.
	Panama	Jasper (Cargo)	unknown (unknown)	Attacked	March 9, 2001	unknown
					n/a	n/a
Looted of $11,000 off the coast of Kosichang, Thailand by what was suspected to be members of a Thailand organized crime organization.
	Indonesia	Inabukwa (Cargo)	unknown (unknown)	Attacked	March 15, 2001	unknown
					(2 weeks later)	n/a
Boarded off the coast of Malaysia and, after marooning the crew on a nearby uninhabited island, the pirates escaped with the ship's cargo of tin ingots and pepper valued at $2,170,000. The ship was recovered by Filipino authorities two weeks later, following the arrest of the pirates.
	Panama	Marine Universal (Cargo)	unknown (unknown)	Attacked	May 2001	unknown
					n/a	n/a
Boarded by four pirates while at an anchorage in Lagos Harbor, Nigeria. Armed with long knives, they took one sailor hostage, and later threw him overboard.
	United States	Maersk Alabama (Cargo)	23 (17,000 metric tons)	Hostages rescued	2009-04-08	unknown
					2009-04-12	n/a
Boarded by four pirates while en route to Mombasa, who attacked from another hijacked vessel. After a prolonged struggle with the crew, the pirates escaped the ship via lifeboat with the captain, Richard Phillips. Philips was rescued from the lifeboat three days later by US Navy SEALs, who killed three pirates. A fourth pirate, Abduwali Muse, was detained and convicted of hijacking and kidnapping in the United States.
	Thailand	MV Prantalay 11, 12, and 14 (Commercial fishing boat)	unknown (unknown)	Hijacked	2010	unknown
					n/a	n/a
The attack took place near the EEZ of India; however, the pirates took the boats and fisherman back to Somalia. The pirates held them for ransom until they received what they had asked for.
	Italy	MSC Melody (Cruise ship)	unknown (unknown)	Attacked	2009	unknown
					n/a	n/a
About 800 kilometres (500 mi) off the coast of Somalia, pirates tried to attack an Italian cruise ship carrying nearly 1,500 people in 2009. An Israeli security team had been contracted to protect the cruise liner. Security personnel returned fire when the pirates started firing at the ship. The presence of a security team caused the pirates to turn around and abandon the attack.
	United States	SY Quest (Sail boat)	unknown (unknown)	Hijacked	2011	unknown
					n/a	n/a
In February 2011 Somali pirates killed four American hostages. The pirates hijacked a sail boat from the Arabian Sea and took the people aboard hostage, including a retired couple from California. When the US Navy got too close, the pirates panicked and shot the hostages. A navy spokesperson said they did not understand why the hostages would be killed, when the pirates' motive is to hold hostages for ransom.[citation needed]
	Bahamas ( Isle of Man)	Galaxy Leader (Cargo)	unknown (unknown)	Hijacked	2023	unknown
					(ongoing)	n/a
In November 2023 during the Israel–Hamas war, Yemeni Houthis hijacked a Japanese-operated, British-owned cargo ship in the Red Sea, by landing on top of the deck from a helicopter.[30][31] The Houthis claimed the ship was Israeli, a claim that Israel denied.[31]
	Liberia ( Monaco)	Central Park (Tanker)	22 (phosphoric acid)	Hijacked	26 November 2023	unknown
					26 November 2023	n/a
In November 2023, amid the Israel–Hamas war, the Central Park, a tanker ship owned by Zodiac Maritime, was attacked in the Gulf of Aden by suspected Somali pirates. The crew of the USS Mason (DDG-87) came to the Central Park's assistance and captured five pirates.[32]

• Piracy in the Caribbean
• Piracy in the Persian Gulf
• Piracy in the Singapore Strait
• Piracy in the British Virgin Islands
• Piracy in the Strait of Malacca
• Piracy off the coast of Somalia
• Piracy around the Horn of Africa
• Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea
• Piracy on Falcon Lake

• Live Piracy Map. Recent piracy incidents listed by the Piracy Reporting Centre of the International Maritime Bureau.