Piracy And Freight Shippers

When the term 'piracy' comes to mind, most people envision the pirates of the 16th to 18th centuries, with parrots and wooden legs and Jolly Roger flags. However, the image of a lovable rebel pirate couldn't be farther from the truth and freight shippers know this first hand. As long as there have been freight shippers on the sea, there has been piracy.

The earliest known acts of piracy date back to around the 13th century BC on the Aegean and Mediterranean seas. The Greeks and the Romans both dealt with piracy throughout their empires. During the Middle Ages, the Vikings became the most widely known pirates. However, the Vikings didn't just raid freight shippers, they went along the coast and inland cities to pillage. Around the same time, there were Muslim and Arab pirates stealing in the Mediterranean and Slavic invasions in the Balkan peninsula.

Throughout the next few centuries, India, East Asia, Eastern Europe, and North Africa were all subject to their own piracy outbreaks. However, none match the infamous pirates of the Caribbean. The "classic age" of piracy in the Caribbean began in 1560 and lasted until the 1720s. Pirates were most successful in the early part of the 1700s. Why did piracy become so popular in that region?At the time, European nations were all fighting over colonization and trade in the area. Most of these pirates were actually English, Dutch, and French. Spain controlled most of the Caribbean and therefore, suffered the most losses.

Piracy declined in the area, but still continued throughout the Caribbean and around North America. The pirates weren't nearly as successful, but piracy has never really stopped. Today it seems just as frequent and its still a major concern for freight shippers. Guns have replaced swords and small boats have replaced large ships. Today there is a worldwide loss of about $16 billion per year. The most common occurrences are between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Somalia, in the Strait of Malacca, and in Singapore. The coast of Somalia has become a large cause for concern and pirate raids are frequent. Many nations, led by the United States, are now patrolling the area, hoping to limit piracy.

Because international cargo uses ships to ship freight, pirates have become quite successful. Cargo ships tend to travel through narrow bodies of water, making them perfect targets to be overtaken by smaller boats. Pirates operate in third world regions and take advantage of countries that are suffering from political unrest. Since 2006, the number of pirate attacks has increased, with more and more involving hostage situations.

Developed countries can more easily protect their waters, but for a portion of the world, piracy reigns supreme. One can only hope that more is done to protect freight shippers and reduce these frequent pirate attacks on cargo ships.