Merchant ships travelling in regions with high pirate activity are particularly at risk. These include the Gulf of Guinea (West Africa) and the Strait of Malacca (South East Asia). Pirates frequently attack ships with speedboats, are often armed, and do not hesitate to kidnap crews to extort ransom money. The theft of cargo or fuel is also widespread.
The consequences are serious: human lives are endangered, ransom payments cause high economic costs, insurance premiums rise, or ships have to take costly detours. In addition, international trade suffers severe disruption. For these reasons, many shipping companies rely on protective measures. These include armed security forces on board, warship escorts, early warning systems, and special evasion manoeuvres. International military missions also make a significant contribution to the fight against modern piracy. For example, the EU-led EU NAVFOR Atalanta operation has curbed piracy in the Gulf of Aden (Somalia) successfully since 2008. Yet, despite some advances, piracy remains a global security problem fuelled by poverty, political instability and a lack of government control in the pirates’ regions of origin.
