Thwarting successful piracy

In recent years, maritime piracy has received more attention from governments, the maritime industry, and the media. Increased incidents of violent attacks, particularly in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, create hazards for seafarers and shipping companies. The maritime industry has issued “Best Management Practices for Protection against Somalia Based Piracy (BMP4) which can be used to prevent
piracy worldwide; however, not all practices are implemented, often to the detriment of the vessel under
attack.
  The purpose of this project is to identify what prevents an attack from being successful. Using data from the International Maritime Bureau’s Piracy Reporting Center and the Sea-Web shipping database, a comprehensive list of vessel characteristics, protective strategies with particular emphasis on BMP4, and cooperation with other companies or governments for each reported attack occurring between 2006 and 2011 was compiled. This information determined what relationships exist between the success or failure of an attack with the vessel and the strategies carried out by the crew. The results of this study can be used to protect ships and crewmembers.