Incidents of Piracy Way Up . . .

[sneuman]

but more than 92 percent of them "off the coast of Somalia":

BBC News - Pirates seized record 1,181 hostages in 2010 - report

[atoll]

growth industry,i'd buy shares

[GordMay]

The Global Cost of Piracy
In January 2011 Oceans Beyond Piracy concluded a large-scale study to quantify the cost of piracy. Based on our calculations, maritime piracy is costing the international economy between $7 to $12 billion USD per year.

More ➥ One Earth Future - The Cost of Piracy

Full Report ➥ http://oneearthfuture.org/images/ima...l%20Report.pdf

Numerous other interesting & informative articles/papers on piracy
➥ One Earth Future - Oceans Beyond Piracy

[maytrix]

7-12 Billion a year?!?

You'd think it would be a little more worth someone's while to really put a stop to it. Heck, I'm sure with a billion, we could put together a pretty good anti-piracy fleet, don't you think?

[Aussiesuede]

Originally Posted by maytrix

7-12 Billion a year?!?

You'd think it would be a little more worth someone's while to really put a stop to it. Heck, I'm sure with a billion, we could put together a pretty good anti-piracy fleet, don't you think?

Relatively speaking, it's not that much. Lyme disease costs the US alone a bit more than a billion/year. The combined costs of a host of "minor" ailments to society cost in excess of $100 billion. Until piracy starts to hit those "noticable" marks, it's doubtful much more will be done than is currently being done. Relatively speaking, a $7-$12 billion problem simply isn't anywhere near significant enough to move govts much beyond their current positions. Sure it makes for delicious headlines, but world govts have got their hands full with MUCH more significant issues that are FAR costlier, and much farther up the priority scale.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by maytrix

... Heck, I'm sure with a billion, we could put together a pretty good anti-piracy fleet, don't you think?

Nope.

Excerpted from the report:

The main direct costs of piracy include: the cost of ransoms*, piracy insurance premiums, deterrent equipment, re-routing vessels away from piracy risk zones, naval deployments in piracy hot zones**, piracy prosecutions, and organization budgets dedicated to reducing piracy.

* The total cost of ransom is estimated to be around double the value actually paid to pirates. The total cost is duplicated by a number of factors, such as: the cost of negotiations, psychological trauma counseling, repair to ship damage caused while it is held captive, and the physical delivery of the ransom money, often done by helicopter or private plane.

** Over 27 countries currently contribute naval forces towards piracy deterrence. Most military and naval attention is devoted to the Horn of Africa, where ―the big three. anti-piracy missions are focused: Operation Atalanta, Operation Ocean Shield and Combined Task Force (CTF) 151. Operation Atalanta was launched in November 2008 by the European Union with the primary goal of protecting World Food Program vessels delivering aid to Somalia, as well as other shipping in the region. Operation Ocean Shield is a NATO initiative to protect shipping in the region, with a current mandate to the end of 2012. CTF 151 is a multinational task force established in January 2009 in the Gulf of Aden and the eastern coast of Somalia.
Together, the three military efforts make up over 43 vessels operating off the Horn of Africa and the Indian Ocean. We take the estimation given by the 2010 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on Maritime Security, that one U.S. navy vessel costs around $82,794 to operate per steaming day. Multiplying this by the total 43 vessels deployed, and 365 days, we approximate the costs of these military vessels to be around $1.3 billion per year. Adding in the administrative budgets of the three major missions, along with additional independent expenditures from other nations, we come to a rough estimate of $2 billion being spent on military operations in the region every year. This is also the approximation made by the European Institute in its October 2010 study.

[sneuman]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgpLo...layer_embedded

[chadlaroche]

2 billion a year, 43 ships total....definitely sounds like a government operation with a lot of wasteful spending

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by chadlaroche

2 billion a year, 43 ships total....definitely sounds like a government operation with a lot of wasteful spending

Sure give to Halliburton, we all sleep safely in our beds, ...like right.

Dave

[David M]

As long as we allow them to succeed by giving in to their demands, they will keep doing this. We have the technology to eradicate them but not the political will.

[VirtualVagabond]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Nope.

Excerpted from the report:

The main direct costs of piracy include: the cost of ransoms*, piracy insurance premiums, deterrent equipment, re-routing vessels away from piracy risk zones, naval deployments in piracy hot zones**, piracy prosecutions, and organization budgets dedicated to reducing piracy.

* The total cost of ransom is estimated to be around double the value actually paid to pirates. The total cost is duplicated by a number of factors, such as: the cost of negotiations, psychological trauma counseling, repair to ship damage caused while it is held captive, and the physical delivery of the ransom money, often done by helicopter or private plane.

** Over 27 countries currently contribute naval forces towards piracy deterrence. Most military and naval attention is devoted to the Horn of Africa, where ―the big three. anti-piracy missions are focused: Operation Atalanta, Operation Ocean Shield and Combined Task Force (CTF) 151. Operation Atalanta was launched in November 2008 by the European Union with the primary goal of protecting World Food Program vessels delivering aid to Somalia, as well as other shipping in the region. Operation Ocean Shield is a NATO initiative to protect shipping in the region, with a current mandate to the end of 2012. CTF 151 is a multinational task force established in January 2009 in the Gulf of Aden and the eastern coast of Somalia.
Together, the three military efforts make up over 43 vessels operating off the Horn of Africa and the Indian Ocean. We take the estimation given by the 2010 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on Maritime Security, that one U.S. navy vessel costs around $82,794 to operate per steaming day. Multiplying this by the total 43 vessels deployed, and 365 days, we approximate the costs of these military vessels to be around $1.3 billion per year. Adding in the administrative budgets of the three major missions, along with additional independent expenditures from other nations, we come to a rough estimate of $2 billion being spent on military operations in the region every year. This is also the approximation made by the European Institute in its October 2010 study.

Just a thought... IMO this is typical of media/corp/potitical hyperbole. No reflection on you at all Gord. You're doing your usual great input of putting quotes and reports on the table for discussion...

This is a 'gross cost'.
Surely the 'true cost' of anti-pirate campaigns should be the gross cost less the costs the naval craft would have been racking up anyway. In most cases the vessels, personel, logistic support etc would be outlaid even though they are sitting in port somewhere, or engaged in pretend crisis/wargames.
Think of the 'savings' in not having to outlay the cost of pretend enemies in normal wargame exercises!

I think these poor maligned fellows are getting a bad rap. Hell, they're just doing informally what governments and tax systems around the world are doing to us all the time.. you've got it, we want it, and we're in a position to take it off you. Kinda the way of humanity, and the natural world since the beginning of time...

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by David M

As long as we allow them to succeed by giving in to their demands, they will keep doing this. We have the technology to eradicate them but not the political will.

you're right, send in mcdonalds

Dave

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

you're right, send in mcdonalds

Dave

LOL... if nothing else it'll get em fat and reduce the number to 2 or 3 in a boat instead of 5 or 6.... much better odds

[markpierce]

A dozen or so Q-ships that will sink all attacking pirate ships/boats with all hands should substantially reduce the Somali pirate problem over a period of half-a-dozen years or so. A naval blockade would be more immediate in its effect but would be an act of war rather than mere self-defense.