THE GEOGRAPHY OF PIRACY

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Piracy off the coast of Somalia Pirate attacks are an increasing problem off the coast of Somalia, particularly in the Gulf of Aden As many as 240 Pirate attacks occurred off the Gulf of Aden in 2009 and this number is still increasing

Reasons for the attacks: Somalia’s civil war in the 1990’s destroyed the country's government and now Somalia is a lawless state As a result of that, foreign fishing ships started fishing in Somali waters for it’s tuna, which caused economic problems in Somalia's fishing industry. Toxic and chemical dumping off the coast of Somalia by foreign ships leads to the ecosystem’s disruption and fish stock erosion. Because Somalia is a poor poverty stricken country, it relies a lot upon fishing for a source of income. The fishermen, with access to small arms and portable rockets, went out to sea to attack the foreign cargo, and cargo ships. This eventually turned into organized piracy

Somali-based Piracy cost (2012) (source: Ocean beyond piracy)  €4.6 billion

The effects of piracy include: A rise in the cost of shipping insurance means a rise in the cost of transport – this makes the goods more expensive for the consumer. The overall cost of piracy is estimated to be £8 billion per year. Re-routing south around Africa, rather than cutting through the Suez Canal, costs the ship extra time and fuel. Egypt loses money because Suez Canal fees are lost. The ransom money gained by pirates is often widely distributed in the local community, but is very difficult to track. Money that could be being spent on education and health has to be spent on patrolling the waters. International organisations are working together to try to combat the problem of piracy.

How Can We Stop this problem? Some people have suggested to use air attacks on the pirates Others think we should pay them off The best solution is to get a functioning government in Somalia to control it citizens

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