CRS Says Annual Global Cost of African Piracy Ranges from $7-$12B
The Congressional Research Service has issued a report stating that pirate attacks in the waters off Somalia and the Horn of Africa, including those on U.S.-flagged vessels, have brought renewed international attention to the long-standing problem of maritime piracy.
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According to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), at least 219 attacks occurred in the region in 2010, with 49 successful hijackings. Somali pirates have attacked ships in the Gulf of Aden, along Somalia’s eastern coastline, and outward into the Indian Ocean. Using increasingly sophisticated tactics, these pirates now operate as far east as the Maldives in good weather, and as far south as the Mozambique Channel.
CRS states that some estimates of the annual cost of piracy to the global economy range between $7 and $12 billion. The U.N Security Council has issued a series of resolutions since 2008 to facilitate an international response.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 10/05/10 news, 10100515, for BP summary of the Government Accountability Office finding that more action from the U.S. government and international partners are needed to counter piracy of the Horn of Africa.
See ITT's Online Archives or 01/12/11 news, 1011230, for BP summary of the Coast Guard providing counter-piracy guidance and mandatory measures for U.S. flagged vessels operating in areas where acts of piracy against ships are prevalent.)
(CRS R40528, dated 04/27/11)