Maritime Piracy on the Rise

I should say, "on the rise, again." Aside from the drone attacks, other issues abound. From The Maritime Executive - "You Can Hear the Gunfire": The 911 Call Center for Mariners Under Attack

A Royal Navy-led emergency center has dealt with an ‘unprecedented’ rise in distress calls due to the Red Sea crisis.

The team at the UK Maritime Trade Organisation, based on Portsdown Hill overlooking Portsmouth, has dealt with two or three reports of attacks and incidents daily – compared with monthly – as a result of the wave of attacks on shipping in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November.

For a long time the problem area has been the Gulf of Aden, along the coast of Somalia, with problems stretching into the Red Sea, and the adjacent area of the Arabian Sea. Lately the range at which the Somali pirates operate has been increasing.

They’ve seen a 475 percent increase in incidents reported by seafarers in the Middle East since attacks began in the autumn, with over 2,500 emails coming into the HQ daily.

Despite the concerted efforts by international warships to protect commercial traffic in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden and frequent downing of drones and missiles, including by HMS Diamond and Richmond, more than a dozen merchantmen have been hit and one, the bulk carrier Rubymar, sunk by Houthi attacks in recent months.

The result has been that a lot of cargo is bypassing the Red Sea and the Suez Canal in favor of the much longer trip around the southern tip of Africa for the Mediterranean Sea. I believe this more than doubles the time spent getting from the Indian Ocean to the ports of Europe.

“The current focus of industry and military in theatre is on a possible resurgence of Somali-based piracy at extended range – 600 nautical miles – from shore,” Lieutenant Commander Black added. “Although this could have a significant impact on ships, it’s expected that international trade will adapt by re-routing to avoid the danger areas.”