Thursday, January 30, 2014

Somali Piracy: Perhaps More Serious than Being Reported

The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in South Africa published on 27 January 2014 a brief analysis titled "Sharp Drop in African Piracy: Are We Missing Something?" by Timothy Walker, ISS researcher.

According to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), a total of 79 incidents occurred around Africa in 2013.  Of these, 15 were attributed to Somali pirates and occurred near Somalia and the Horn of Africa; down from a total of 75 Somali piracy-attributed attacks in 2012.  The author suggests, however, there are controversies about the statistics and says the IMB even acknowledges the number of incidents may be higher.