REVISITED – IS THERE A NEW PIRACY HRA?

REPOSTED: Following the recent attacks in the Gulf of Mexico we have republished the article produced in May 2018. Read more about the recent attacks here.

First it was the Gulf of Aden, next it was the Gulf of Guinea (1). There has been a major shift in the location of pirate attacks over the last couple of years. But now, are we about to witness a very different shift? 

The latest growth of pirate insurgency? Latin America. 

It’s an area unfamiliar with pirate attacks, and as a result of this is underprepared for what seems to be an influx of piracy. Since the start of 2018, Latin America has featured almost weekly in the list of pirate attacks taking place across the globe. It recently started with brutally violent attacks on local fisherman and has now evolved to target commercial vessels. 

To better understand why this is taking place one should consider both where the attacks are taking place and what we need to do to prevent and combat them, but also question why they are taking place, who is funding them and what is the objective. Once the industry is armed with the information to answer these questions, they will be able to react in a way that will prevent piracy indefinitely…