Tonight some Jack Sparrows and other young pirates undoubtedly will come knocking at your door expecting treats. Yet given our increasingly challenging economic straits, real pirates are wreaking havoc more frequently on the high seas, according to the International Maritime Bureau.

Pirate attacks worldwide jumped 14 percent in the first nine months of 2007, according to the International Maritime Bureau‘s (IMB) reporting arm. Waters off Somalia and Nigeria have seen highest rise in attacks, and Indonesia is the worst piracy hotspot with 37 attacks in the first nine months of this year.

In Somalia alone, reported attacks (actual and attempted) rose rapidly to 26, up from eight a year earlier, the London-based IMB said through its piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Many more attacks may have gone unreported.

The IMB reports:

Some pirates are dangerous and would fire their automatic weapons at ships to stop them. Occasionally, they would use their rocket propelled grenade launchers at ships. Pirates are believed to be using “mother vessels” to launch attacks at a very far distance from a coast. The “mother vessel” proceeds to a spot very far out to sea to launch smaller boats to attack and hijack passing ships. Eastern and Northeastern coasts are high risk areas for attacks and hijackings. Vessels not making scheduled calls to ports in Somalia should keep as far away as possible from the Somali coast, ideally more than 200 nautical miles. Mariners are also advised to report any suspicious boats to the Center.

The political instability in Somalia gave pirates “totally free rein without any sort of deterrence from the law,” Cyrus Mody, a senior analyst with IMB, recently told The Associated Press. “They’ve got a free hand right now.”

While pirates have attacked in poorly policed seaways such those near Somalia and Nigeria, reports of attacks in the waters near Indonesia show the highest incidence with 37 attempted thefts at sea.

In some cases, the confrontational hijackings have turned deadly.

Earlier this week, pirates attacked a North Korean cargo vessel, Dai Hong Dan, according to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Public Affairs. The latest information is that the ship remains at sea off Mogadishu, the injured crew are on a U.S. warship and the captured hijackers are still on the Dai Hong Dan.

The cargo vessel’s mariners contacted the IMB yesterday morning, providing the current status of the Dai Hong Dan:

Three corpsmen from USS James E. Williams (DDG 95), an Arleigh-Burke-class destroyer operating as part of the maritime coalition, along with a boarding team, provided medical assistance and other support as needed to the crew of the Korean vessel. Three seriously injured crew members have been transferred to the James E. Williams for treatment. Initial reports from the crew are that five pirates were captured and two are dead.

The crew regained control of their vessel yesterday after fighting with the pirates who had taken over their ship sometime Monday. The crew was able to control the steering and engineering spaces of the ship, while the pirates had seized the bridge.

Sometimes enforcing the law of the seas gets more complicated.

Take as an example pirates that hijacked a Japanese-owned ship off Somalia’s coast — the first incident of piracy reported in recent days. “The Navy’s pursuit of the pirates began Sunday night when the [Panamanian-flagged] Golden Nori radioed for help,” CNN reports. “The U.S.S. Porter opened fire and sank pirate skiffs tied to the Golden Nori’s stern before the U.S.S. Arleigh Burke took over shadowing the hijacked vessel. When the shots were fired, it was not known the ship was filled with highly flammable benzene.”

Benzene, which U.S. authorities have declared a known human carcinogen, is used as a solvent and to make plastics and synthetic fabrics. The ship’s capacity surpasses 12,000 cubic meters.

For landlubbers, it may seem that all this piracy madness has little to do with us. Nothing could be further from the truth. Not only is it not good for business in Africa and other hotspot areas of attacks, but “it blocks humanitarian aid and is bad for the general stability of the continent [of Africa],” Mody told AP. Moreover, the many items we buy include some insurance cost for such losses. When pirates increasingly succeed in their attacks, insurance costs rise to cover the losses, thus adding to the cost at check-out counters.

Fortunately, a coalition has formed to conduct maritime security operations. The coalition includes representation from Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Pakistan, the U.S. and United Kingdom, as well as other naval forces and personnel form several other nations, according to the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Public Affairs.

Resources

Weekly Piracy Report
International Chamber of Commerce, October 2007

Pirate Attacks Increase Worldwide
The Associated Press (via CNN), Oct. 30, 2007

Crew of North Korean Pirated Vessel Regains Control
U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Public Affairs, Oct. 30, 2007

Crew Retake Hijacked Ship
Maritime Global Net, Oct. 31, 2007

Crew Wins Deadly Pirate Battle Off Somalia
CNN, Oct. 30, 2007