Unfortunately, piracy today is no laughing matter…

[looks to the right column, looks back . . .]

Often, these unprotected tankers have no choice but to allow the hijackers to board, due to the armament that the pirates carry and the sophistication of their maneuvers.

Once the pirates gain control of the ships, they bring them into Somali territorial waters, where it becomes a difficult international situation as to what action any modern navy can take….not to mention the risk of handling a hostage situation. More often than not, it ends with the ship’s owners paying the ransom as it is cheaper than the loss of cargo and insurance.

The Somali pirates are really impoverished people who began this enterprise due to perceived violations on their fishing grounds by commercial fishermen. They started taking fishing vessels hostage as purported members of the Somali coastguard, eventually graduating to a larger class of merchants as they got better at it.

It is also postulated that there may be an interesting relationship among the pirates, terrorists, drug traffickers, and some regional governments.

All in all, it’s a very delicate situation…and not the Hollywood of Jack Sparrow in the slightest.

However, I am glad that people are starting to take notice. This is as basic as freedom of the seas and that all nations have the right to traverse it.