SPRING CLEANING
Okay, so I was watching the TV the other day, dozing in and out of consciousness, when my wife mentioned the office could use a little help.
So I decided to do a little spring cleaning this week. (OK Maybe my wife offered a little motivational coaxing, but I digress). I looked in practically every file drawer and in my storage space to see what we had accumulated, what we needed to keep and what could go.
I came across one box cleverly marked "miscellaneous junk." It was filled with old papers, faxes, (Remember faxes?), assorted newspaper clippings, research papers and assorted, how should I put this, well, junk!!
I came across an old newspaper article addressing the increase in Piracy taking place in foreign waters. This article was from 1993. Fortunately we are not knee deep in the piracy investigation business, but as a marine consulting firm we do deal with the effects of piracy.
The US was involved with piracy issues in the Malacca straits and today, still, we are involved in the Horn of Africa piracy problems. The old article shows that in the Horn of Africa, piracy is far from a recent problem, but it continues to be unresolved.
With movies like the "Pirates of the Caribbean" it is hard to believe that piracy is still a current issue, but the world has probably never been free from piracy. While not always glamorous, it seems to span the test of time. It made me think a little.
Piracy is an ancient and complex problem and the cause of it is oddly related to shore based economics. Only where the shore provides cover to pirates can piracy exist. It is as if a random depraved shore intrudes upon world wide maritime trade. This was the case in the Caribbean, the US East Coast (yes, it was a pirate hot bed too!), the Barbary Coast and every other pirate hotbed before or after. Will piracy ever end?
Doubtful. Not until conditions ashore make piracy economically unattractive. Until then seafarers will have to be on guard.