Sailing into clear and present danger on the high seas

THE seizure by Somali pirates of the MV Sirius Star, an oil supertanker owned by Saudi company Aramco, some 450 nautical miles off the coast of Kenya, is a brazen act that represents a major threat to both the world’s energy security and the shipping lanes of the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.

Yet piracy in this region is not a new story.

According to the International Maritime Bureau, between 1995 and 2002, there were 110 incidents of actual or attempted piracy off the waters of the countries that form the Horn of Africa. Between January and June of this year, Somali pirates were responsible for all 19 attacks in the Gulf of Aden. But the international community didn’t take the threat too seriously.