Modern Day Pirates

Long before the Disney Studios hit pay dirt with their "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise, I was enamored with the imagery of Long John Silver and all his cohorts. And why not? As a 7 year old boy, the thought of sailing the Seven Seas in search of buried treasure ranked right up there with the dream of being an astronaut. But such is the stuff dreams and fantasies are made of. It took me a few years to figure out that pirates weren't nearly as romantic as movies and books made them out to be. And modern day pirates have a resume that appeals more to terrorists and less to the writings of Robert Lewis Stevenson.

Think I'm exaggerating? Imagine this: modern day pirates appear suddenly out of nowhere and give no quarter -- like highjack'ers, they roam the seven seas in search of an easy payday. Modern day pirates let other vessels do the hard work of transporting cargo, fishing commercially or even more leisurely pursuits like travel. But then these Jolly Rogers jump in and reap the rewards in the worst possible way.

According to bbcnews.uk.co, modern day pirates are less apt to carry a cutlass and more likely to carry AK-47s or even rocket-propelled grenades. And forget about whatever it is you may think constitutes a "pirate's code of ethics" -- chivalry has been bumped to make room for kidnapping, theft, assault, rape and murder. And large ships like the ones Johnny Depp was last seen sailing have given way to speed boats. All the easier to take down cargo ships of the 21^st century.

So much for the romantic notion of good-natured pirates sailing the high seas. The International Maritime Bureau (www.icc-ccs.org) points out that piracy and armed robbery attacks against ships rose 14% in the first nine months of 2007 compared to the same period in 2006, and there is no sign those numbers will drop as we close in on the end of the year. In fact, in the first three months of 2007, there were 61 successful or attempted attacks, compared to 56 incidents in the same period last year. At least 63 people have been taken hostage in 2007 -- twice the number up to now -- of hostages taken in the same period in 2006.

And lest you think all modern day pirates are after these days is the plunder of cargo, think again: according to Paul Singer - security coordinator representative of Securewest International (www.securewest.com) -- the target for modern day pirates might have as much to do with the crew as it dos on the cargo. Statistics show that it's much more profitable for pirates to seize personnel and demand a ransom from their employers. Abducting a crew can yield a $200,000 ransom for a pirate gang in Somalia.

No too shabby for a day's work.

So what exactly can be done? In the absence of a costumed superhero swooping and saving the day there at least is the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre (www.icc-ccs.org). According to digitalship.com, The IMB Piracy Reporting Centre (or PRC for short) is the only organization of its kind anywhere in the world, offering ship masters the ability to report attacks of piracy from any location at any time. In addition to compiling reports and issuing warnings PRC provides emergency advice to ships under attack and coordinates medical assistance and support through local authorities. More importantly -- the PRC issues a quarterly report which recaps the piracy-related incidents.

Experts say the worst counter-measure is for crews to start firing back. Real success in combating modern day pirates can only be achieved with coordinated efforts from countries big and small.

The threat from modern day pirates isn't likely to go away any time soon -- the lure of "treasure" in the 21^st century is too tempting. Too easy. And much too profitable but at least some headway is taking place. Of particular interest was the recent ICC International Maritime Bureau's (IMB) 6th Tri-annual Conference on Piracy and Security -- presented in early June 2007 and held in collaboration with the Royal Malaysian Police -- this year's conference attracted over 200 delegates representing 38 countries and 13 international organizations. The conference shines a spotlight on the realities of modern day pirates and what can be to turn the tides against pirating on the high seas.

History tends to paint a somewhat cavaliering image of pirates, and certainly Hollywood takes that image and puts an even glossier sheen on it. But Johnny Depp be damned. Modern day pirates continue to weak havoc on the high seas -- and in one way or another the world economy is the one hardest hit.