Has Somali Piracy ended?

Armed guards the tipping point.

Has Somali Piracy ended?

Written by Jonathan Katzenellenbogen

The sharp drop in piracy in the Somali Basin is puzzling security experts, who have been surprised by recent developments. While they are not heralding “mission accomplished,” they are asking what factors have led to the recent sharp demise in piracy off the Somali coast.

The High Risk Area off the Somali coast has seen over 700 attacks by pirates since 2009, but last year there were only 11 pirate incidents and no ship hijackings. No ships have been hijacked in the area since the start of January 2013. Toward the end of 2011, seven ships were being hijacked a month.

Security experts can point to no one reason for the quiet in the Somali Basin, but suggest several factors have combined to reduce the threat over the past year. Among these are the presence of three international naval task forces in the area, the extensive use by ship owners of armed private security guards, and improved best security practices for sailing through high risk waters off east Africa.

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Source: defenceweb.co.za