As Somali Piracy Grows Bolder, NATO Stays the Course
21.05.12
Despite Defense Department budget cuts and ongoing military operations, pirates in the waters off the coast of Somalia won’t see a decrease in naval military presence any time soon. NATO allies recently agreed to continue through 2014 the Ocean Shield operation – a counter-piracy naval operation off the Horn of Africa protecting merchant ships from pirate attack. This is welcome news to many ship owners and charters, which have seen an increase in the number of pirate attacks in the Indian Ocean. In 2011, Somali pirates attacked 439 vessels, fired on 113 of them, hijacked 45, and took 802 hostages. The pirate threat and the international response seem only to be escalating.
Piracy in the Indian Ocean threatens human life, regional stability, and international commerce, costing the global economy $7 billion to $12 billion annually. To address this issue, the National Chamber Foundation (NCF) recently hosted “ High Risk on the High Seas: The Economic Impact of Piracy in the Indian Ocean ,” an event featuring comments from industry and government experts on the challenge of piracy and the threat to commercial interests in the Indian Ocean.
Source: Security Debrief