Piracy in the Indian Ocean has been greatly reduced in recent years thanks to increased presence of international fleets, and also thanks to private shipping companies using armed-guards aboard their vessels. Unfortunately, the use of armed-guards is surrounded by a murky legal situation. While international rules and regulations remain undefined, many countries have banned ships […]
Business Booms
September 2012 As the threat of piracy in international water peaking in 2011, incidents have recently fallen off. International naval task forces have had a lot to do with it, but so have private security firms that shipping companies have been hiring to personally secure their ships. International shippers spend nearly $1 billion USD securing […]
Pirates and Privateers
September 2012 Although the international community is seeing the first reduction in piracy in the Indian Ocean since a global response in 2008, maritime authorities are warning merchants that the international naval operations won’t be able to go on forever. Indeed, their conclusion may be sooner rather than later. As defense budgets get cut world-wide, […]
House of Lords Report Credits EUNAVFOR and Private Security
The European Union Naval Force (EUNAVFOR) has been conducting Operation Atalanta since 2008. The operation is an effort to combat and prevent piracy in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden. Finally, it seems that 2012 is seeing the first significant dip in number of pirate attacks in this area. The United Kingdom’s House of Lords just […]