Pirate attacks up
The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) reports that pirate attacks are up "...annual reports published by IMO [International Maritime Organization - Ben] show that pirate attacks averaged about 100 a year in the early 1990s, and now routinely exceed 400."
Why? There's more ship traffic moving more cargo than before, "but economic and political issues -- notably the aftershocks of the Asian financial crisis and the collapse of Somalia -- seem to be playing roles too."
A quarter of all attacks take place in heavily traveled and vulnerable Indonesian waters, where, "...stresses since the financial crisis, meanwhile, have cut Indonesia's navy budget by about two-thirds..."
"Somali waters may be the world's least-policed and most dangerous. The IMO has a permanent warning to shipmasters to avoid the area altogether if possible, and especially not to anchor within 50 miles of the coast..."
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