Piracy Alert.

• Author: DILLON, DANA R.

Attacks against commercial ships have tripled. It's time to stop this growing barrier to maritime trade.

Piracy is back. And as in the days of Blackbeard, the piracy onslaught hinders international trade. Acts of maritime piracy range from the classic boarding and hijacking a merchant vessel on the high seas to stealing from a ship while it is anchored in port. Reported attacks against commercial ships have tripled over the past decade, increasing last year alone by 40 percent. Nearly two-thirds of the attacks in 1999 occurred in the pirate-infested waters of Asia. With 90 percent of the world's trade moving via ship and 45 percent of all shipping moving through Asian waters, piracy is becoming an increasing threat to global trade.

The United States is the world's largest trading nation. America's reliance on trade makes any attack on ships in foreign waters or ports, especially those of its trading partners, a maritime concern. Although today's pirates target their victims in ways that limit a direct U.S. response, several steps can be taken to assist other nations in improving their ability to combat piracy and reduce the threat.

MODERN MARITIME PIRACY

Today, 72 percent of all attacks on merchant vessels are committed while the ship is berthed or anchored in port, and most of the attacks on vessels at sea occur in a country's territorial waters. The targets of an attack are usually the contents of the ship's stores and safe and the valuables of its crew. Stealing a ship or its primary cargo on the high seas represents only a small portion of the reported crimes.

Almost all reported acts of piracy involve armed intruders who threaten and often injure, kidnap, or kill members of the crew. Today's pirates appear to be a heterogeneous group that includes opportunistic fishermen, common criminals, Asian mafia, and in some cases, members of the maritime security forces responsible for safeguarding shipping.

The three components of maritime industry most affected by piracy are the shippers (manufacturers that own the cargo), carriers (companies that own the vessels), and insurers of the ships and cargoes. In the highly competitive shipping market, the carriers often decide not to report incidents of piracy. They appear to prefer covering the losses out of their own resources rather than paying increased insurance costs after placing a claim or incurring delays due to an official investigation that can result in additional port costs of up to...