Western navies tend to string their ships along with the most heavily used shipping lanes, aiming to get helicopters to any attacked ship within minutes. China, Japan, Russia and others concentrate mainly on running convoys to protect their own national shipping, albeit often with other hangers on.

Shippers say they may have to send ships around Africa at greater cost to minimise the risk - but the growing area of pirate operations makes avoiding them altogether but impossible.Īttacks have been growing exponentially since 2007 as young Somalis in small skiffs with AK-47s and rocket propelled grenades took to the water is to seek their fortunes.Ĭoordinated through a secure Internet chat room and meetings in Bahrain, they share some information - but largely pursue their own strategies. crucial shipping lanes with the potential to severely disrupt oil flows to the US and the rest of the world.” “If piracy in the Indian Ocean is left unabated, it will strangle. “The piracy situation is now spinning out of control,” said Joe Angelo, managing director of industry association INTERTANKO. Somali pirates seized their second oil tanker in two days on Wednesday, capturing a Greek ship carrying Kuwaiti oil to the United States after taking an Italian oil vessel.

LONDON (Reuters) - Hijacking oil tankers and using captured merchant vessels with hostage crews as giant motherships, Somali pirates grow bolder by the week, far outpacing a loosely coordinated global response.

World of warships today lag