Cost of Somali piracy slumps as attacks fall-report
Wed May 7, 2014 7:07pm GMT
* Cost almost halves to $3.2 billion in 2013
* No large ship captured, primary cost is private security
* West African piracy rises, but little data or coordination
By Peter Apps
LONDON, May 7 (Reuters) - The cost of Somali piracy to the global economy
fell by almost half last year as attacks slumped, but piracy in West Africa
was on the rise, an annual security report said on Wednesday.
The Oceans beyond Piracy report put the total cost of Somali piracy - by far
the largest single threat to international shipping in recent years - at
only $3.2 billion in 2013.
There were still at least 50 hostages in Somali captivity in desperate
conditions, held on average for most three years each, the report said.
Gauging the level of threats in the Gulf of Guinea was difficult because of
incomplete reporting but it was clear that rising numbers of seafarers were
being kidnapped, it said.
At the height of Somali pirate attacks in 2011, up to a dozen or more
merchant ships were being held captive at any one time, often for
multimillion dollar ransoms.
Since then, growing use of private security details and the presence of
international warships have largely prevented successful attacks. No large
vessels were seized in 2013.
"The efforts of the international community and the shipping industry have
considerably reduced the threat of Somali piracy," says Jens Madsen, one of
the report sources. "But we have yet to achieve the goal of ... zero vessels
captured and zero hostages held."
Only a tiny proportion of the money spent on Somali piracy was being used
for permanent solutions onshore, the pirates' launching pad for attacks on
passing ships, the report said.
The lost majority of the funds was used for private security contractors and
insurance premiums.
PIRACY DIFFERENT IN WEST AFRICA
Shipping companies, which in the past used larger and more costly teams and
took expensive steps such as rerouting vessels and traveling at greater
speed, were increasingly turning to smaller groups of armed personnel, the
report said.
Somali pirates were increasingly attacking local fishermen and smaller
craft, often hoping to use their vessels to attack larger ships.
In West Africa, tackling the attacks was complicated by the lack of regional
cooperation and information sharing, it said.
"Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea is fundamentally different (from) events
taking place in the Indian Ocean," said Madsen.
"We observe... a high degree of violence in this region," he said. "The
constantly evolving tactics of West African piracy make it extremely
difficult to isolate it from other elements of organised crime." (Reporting
by Peter Apps; Editing by Tom Heneghan)