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Somali pirates are back on the attack, with piracy around the Horn of Africa rising sharply in recent months and adding to concerns for shipping vessels, government forces and private security already locked in a battle in the Red Sea with Houthi rebels.
Over the past three months, there has been more piracy in the Horn of Africa region than at any point in the last six years, according to Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), an independent think tank, with high ransoms for seafarers or vessels, and robbing of ship passengers by pirates.
Piracy off the coast of Somalia had been on the decline in recent years after peaking in 2011 when Somali pirates launched 212 attacks. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) passed seven resolutions targeting Somalia piracy between December 2010 and March 2022, permitting foreign naval and air forces to enter and patrol Somali waters and authorizing the European Union Naval Force Operation Atalanta, working with a U.S.-led task force, to use “all necessary means to repress piracy and armed robbery at sea.”
The cost of piracy to the global economy is a steep one. A 2013 World Bank study, still widelt cited today, estimated that piracy cost the global economy around $18 billion annually.
According to the UNSC, the anti-piracy measures in place to enforce the freedom of navigation off the coast of Somalia expired quietly after its last renewal for three months after December 3, 2021.
Since last November, merchant vessels have been the target of about 20% of Somali piracy-related incidents, according to Dan Mueller, lead analyst for the Middle Eastern Region for maritime security firm Ambrey. On December 14, The International Chamber of Shipping reported the hijacking of a Handymax bulk carrier, the first successful hijacking of a vessel off the coast of Somalia since 2017. The pirates have also been attacking fishing vessels, mostly Iranian, as well as many other small boats such as skiffs.
There were 120 incidents of maritime piracy and armed robbery against ships reported in 2023, compared to 115 in 2022, according to the annual Piracy and Armed Robbery Report of the ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB). The IMB also found increased threats to crew safety, with the number of crews taken hostage rising from 41 to 73 in 2023, and crews kidnapped from two to 14.
A spokesperson for the International Maritime Organization (IMO) which represents the seafarer spokesperson stressed to CNBC in an email, “The entire world depends on international shipping and seafarers, and therefore ships and cargoes should not be the subject of any type of attacks. The safety of seafarers are paramount - they are innocent victims who are simply doing their jobs in very harsh conditions.”
The UNSC did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment about reinstating anti-piracy resolutions related to Somalia.
The IMO said it is working very closely with countries in the region through the Djibouti Code of Conduct to address piracy and avoid any escalation, through capacity-building, national legislation, information sharing and regional coordination.
“We are also looking the possibility of updating the IMO guidance on piracy to take into account new threats and technologies that can affect the safety of seafarers,” said a spokesperson.
- Attacks by Somali pirates have risen more in the past three months than at any other time during the past six years, concerning maritime experts with shipping already under stress from the Red Sea Houthi attacks.
- Global piracy costs the world economy tens of billions of dollars annually.
- The shipping region from the coast of the Horn of Africa to the coast of India is considered a “high risk zone” and on February 1, the Biden Administration approved a $3.99 billion sale of drones and military equipment to India for maritime safety and surveillance.
Somali pirates are back on the attack, with piracy around the Horn of Africa rising sharply in recent months and adding to concerns for shipping vessels, government forces and private security already locked in a battle in the Red Sea with Houthi rebels.
Over the past three months, there has been more piracy in the Horn of Africa region than at any point in the last six years, according to Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), an independent think tank, with high ransoms for seafarers or vessels, and robbing of ship passengers by pirates.
Piracy off the coast of Somalia had been on the decline in recent years after peaking in 2011 when Somali pirates launched 212 attacks. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) passed seven resolutions targeting Somalia piracy between December 2010 and March 2022, permitting foreign naval and air forces to enter and patrol Somali waters and authorizing the European Union Naval Force Operation Atalanta, working with a U.S.-led task force, to use “all necessary means to repress piracy and armed robbery at sea.”
The cost of piracy to the global economy is a steep one. A 2013 World Bank study, still widelt cited today, estimated that piracy cost the global economy around $18 billion annually.
According to the UNSC, the anti-piracy measures in place to enforce the freedom of navigation off the coast of Somalia expired quietly after its last renewal for three months after December 3, 2021.
Since last November, merchant vessels have been the target of about 20% of Somali piracy-related incidents, according to Dan Mueller, lead analyst for the Middle Eastern Region for maritime security firm Ambrey. On December 14, The International Chamber of Shipping reported the hijacking of a Handymax bulk carrier, the first successful hijacking of a vessel off the coast of Somalia since 2017. The pirates have also been attacking fishing vessels, mostly Iranian, as well as many other small boats such as skiffs.
Ocean piracy is rising across the world
Data from 2023 shows that by many key measures, piracy is on the rise in key global shipping lanes.There were 120 incidents of maritime piracy and armed robbery against ships reported in 2023, compared to 115 in 2022, according to the annual Piracy and Armed Robbery Report of the ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB). The IMB also found increased threats to crew safety, with the number of crews taken hostage rising from 41 to 73 in 2023, and crews kidnapped from two to 14.
A spokesperson for the International Maritime Organization (IMO) which represents the seafarer spokesperson stressed to CNBC in an email, “The entire world depends on international shipping and seafarers, and therefore ships and cargoes should not be the subject of any type of attacks. The safety of seafarers are paramount - they are innocent victims who are simply doing their jobs in very harsh conditions.”
The UNSC did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment about reinstating anti-piracy resolutions related to Somalia.
The IMO said it is working very closely with countries in the region through the Djibouti Code of Conduct to address piracy and avoid any escalation, through capacity-building, national legislation, information sharing and regional coordination.
“We are also looking the possibility of updating the IMO guidance on piracy to take into account new threats and technologies that can affect the safety of seafarers,” said a spokesperson.