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Troubled Waters - modern day pirates - Brief Article
Current Events, Dec 1, 2000
Piracy Plagues World's Seas
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia--They don't fly the skull and crossbones, wield cutlasses, or have peg legs and hook for arms. And they don't force their captives to walk the plank. But pirates are once again the scourge of the high seas.
According to the International Marine Bureau (IMB), an organization that compiles information on world piracy, more than 290 pirate attacks occurred across the globe from January to September of this year, up from 180 in the same period last year--marking a ten-year-high in maritime attacks.
Modern-Day Mayhem
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Unlike the pirates of yore, today's bandits of the sea use computers and satellite technology to track their prey. Then, under the cover of darkness, they sneak up alongside ships in powerful speedboats. Armed with machine guns, rocket launchers, and grenades, gangs of pirates board the vessels by clambering up poles or grappling irons hooked onto the skips' railings.
All kinds of ships, from yachts to freighters, can fall victim to attack. Once aboard, pirates plunder the ship and terrorize the members of its crew, sometimes killing them or setting them adrift in boats.
In some instances, pirates hijack vessels, repaint and rename them, and make off with the ships' cargo. Such "phantom ships" are then either sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars or used to troll the seas for new victims.
Terror on the High Seas
Modern-day pirates have one thing in common with their predecessors of yore: They are ruthless. "Years ago, [pirates] would steal the cargo, loot the ship's safe, and rob the crew," said the IMB's Noel Choong. "These days, they are increasingly brazen. They steal entire ships, and they kill the crew."
Last year, the IMB reports, eight sailors were killed and more than 200 crew members were taken hostage or seriously injured in attacks.
In a particularly grisly attack in 1998, pirates posing as police hijacked the Cheung Son, a Hong Kong cargo skip, in the South China Sea. The pirates lined up the crew members on deck, bound and gagged them, then opened fire with machine guns. They then tied weights to the bodies and tossed them overboard.
Recent Attacks
Here are some other recent attacks:
* November 6: Ten men armed with machine guns launched a dawn attack on a Danish ship off the coast of Sierra Leone. The pirates stole $3,480 from the captain's safe.
* August 9: Pirates shot and killed the skipper of a Taiwanese fishing boat off the coast of Singapore. The boat the pirates used to approach the fishing ship was disguised as an Indonesian naval ship.
* March 28: Pirates raided a 40-foot sailboat off the coast of Honduras. On board was Willem van Tuijl, a 13-year-old boy from the Netherlands on an around-the-world sailing trip with his parents. The bandits shot the boy, leaving him paralyzed.
Island Hideaways
The hot spot of modern-day piracy are the tropical waters around the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Those waters are dotted with thousands of small islands that provide remote hideaways for pirate gangs. The islands also lie near important shipping lanes connecting Japan, China, and Europe. According to the IMB, ships carry more than 90 percent of the world's trade, and half of that trade passes through Asian waters. Indonesia, made up of more than 13,000 islands, has the highest incidence of piracy, the IMB reports.
The nations of the world, especially the island nations of southeastern Asia, are devoting more and more resources to fighting piracy, but the fight is proving difficult. Few pirates are caught because of difficulty in patrolling the vast seas.
In 1992, the IMB set up the Regional Piracy Center in Kuala Lumpur. Financed by the shipping and insurance industries, the center offers a satellite tracking device for ships, a piracy hot line, and daily reports of suspicious vessels.
Private groups are also getting involved. Marine Risk Management, a British company run by John Dalby, offers to retake a pirated ship and return it to its owners for $1 million. "Basically, our guys pirate ships better than pirates can," said Dalby. "We operate under the same lack of rules."
Despite the efforts of the IMB and others, world piracy is increasing, and sailors themselves are demanding that more be done. "Pirates are not fictional characters," said sailor Douglas Stevenson. "They are vicious outlaws."
CONSIDER THIS ... How do modern-day pirates differ from pirates of the past?
KEY NEWS FACTS
Indicate the answer that best completes each statement by placing A, B, or C in each blank.
-- 1. According to the International Marine Bureau (IMB), the number of piracy attacks that occurred between January and September of this year was about (A) 180, (B) 290, (C) 1,894.
-- 2. The IMB reports the highest incidence of piracy around (A) Indonesia, (B) India, (C) Ecuador.
-- 3. Which part of the federal Education Amendments Act of 1972 prohibits public schools from gender discrimination? (A) Title IX, (B) Title X, (C) Title XI.
