Piracy: US needs to do more

US agencies need to better assess the effectiveness of anti piracy efforts.

US Needs To Do More To Counter High Seas Piracy

To help US agencies coordinate efforts, the White House’s National Security Council (NSC) developed an interagency plan in 2008 to prevent, disrupt, and prosecute piracy off the Horn of Africa in collaboration with industry and international partners. However, US agencies do not appear to have assessed their counterpiracy efforts as recommended by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in 2010, GAO stated in a new audit report.

Although since 2010 the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) reports piracy incidents declined from 219 to 15 in 2013, and that from 2010 to 2013 hostages taken by pirates declined from 1,016 to 34, GAO’s Stephen L. Caldwell, director, Maritime Security and Coast Guard Issues, Homeland Security and Justice Team, said “officials cautioned that this progress is tenuous, and discontinuing these efforts could allow piracy to resurge.”

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Source: hstoday.us

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