Official Testifies Merchant Ships Can Do More to Combat Piracy
On June 15, 2011, the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs held a hearing where officials from the Departments of State and Defense discussed global maritime piracy.
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Global Cost, Total Sea Space of Pirate Operations are Increasing
The State Department official stated that the monetary total of ransoms demanded for crew members held hostage adds up to hundreds of millions of dollars a year, with the total cost of piracy to the global economy estimated to be in the billions.
Piracy has become more organized, more violent, and has expanded to cover an increasingly large geographic area. Somali pirates now operate in a total sea space of approximately 2.5 million square nautical miles, an increase from approximately 1 million square nautical miles two years ago.
Merchant Shipping Fleet Must Do More to Improve On-Ship Security Measures
The Department of Defense official stated that the merchant shipping fleet must be an integral partner in combating piracy. Although the merchant shipping industry has made improvements in on-ship security measures over the last couple of years, much more must be done. He stated that many ships transit the Gulf of Aden and use the shipping lanes along the east coast of Somalia, but some in the industry unrealistically assume that the presence of military forces obviates the need for more robust shipboard private security measures. As a result, certain members of industry have been unwilling to invest in basic security measures that would render shipping less vulnerable to attack.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 05/27/11 news, 11052703, for BP summary of a report stating that the global annual cost of African piracy ranges from $7-$12 billion.)