When many people think of pirates they think of the fictitious Hollywood films that depict the animated characters that have shaped our perception of pirates today. The reality of the situation is that pirates are very real and have emerged as a major threat to the maritime industry as well as ship owners and national economies alike. Although the threat of piracy has yet to receive the attention that many feel it deserves, piracy has increasingly affected the way in which the maritime industry conducts business with other countries in many ways. Piracy not only affects the involved nations both economically and politically, it also contributes to ship owners’ overall cost structures as well as day to day operations. We will discuss the ethical issues surrounding the current concerns of paying pirate demands, as well as evaluate the impact to the affected parties if measures were put into place to solve the issue.
Piracy is caused by both political and economic factors. Most of the nations involved in piracy have very poor populations. Although obviously unethical, many citizens of foreign nations such as Somalia and many areas in West Africa simply do not have any other means of providing for their families, which in turn makes piracy a very attractive option. Economically, piracy is a very cost effective strategy to earn substantial profits with minimal cost. In many cases a ship can be seized by pirates rather inexpensively and very quickly, then later released back to the owners for a substantial monetary amount received from a ransom. Politically, piracy occurs simply because of a lack of enforcement against piracy across the globe. In many cases, if a ship is known to have been taken over by pirates foreign gov...
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Between 2005 and 2012, Somali pirates have hijacked hundreds of ships and collected in total, ransoms between 339 million dollars or 413 million dollars. Each pirate makes between $30,000 and $75,000 per boat, and between all of them a 2.7 million dollar haul, which makes it a profitable and enticing endeavor. Although it may seem like a simple operation, there are quite a few factors that play into their pay. Each pirate receives additions in pay based upon their actions. An example is a crew mate might receive a $10,000 bonus for being the first on the ship to be hijacked. However, they also r...
...rates to succeed in the open waters alone. Pirates also lost their justification when the Spanish accepted the independence of their former colonies in South and Central America so piracy all but vanished when the governors in Cuba and Puerto Rico stopped providing support. The Navy’s relentless fighting contributed to a great decrease in piracy within ten years which not only led to greater United States prosperity but that of all nations with commerce paths through that region.
William Prochnau is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. Before joining Vanity Fair, Prochnau was the Washington-bureau chief for The Seattle Times and a reporter at The Washington Post. “Adventures in the Ransom Trade” portrays Thomas Hargrove’s kidnap and ransom experience with the analysis of the K&R(Kidnap and Ransom) business from William Prochnau’s perception. Prochnau is a Democratic liberal. His information provided in the article is biased of glorifying the US. Prochnau includes statistics of US kidnapping percentages and conviction rates to those of Colombia.
The essay mention the Privy Council members and they are powerful advisors to the crown. They say, “actual robbery is not essential element in the crime of piracy. A frustrated attempt to commit piratical robbery is equally piracy.” The lines of knowing what exactly a pirate is blurry, but if you attempt to commit robbery in the seas, then that’s piracy. The crime was so easy to distinguish that legislators stopped trying to describe
During the 16th, 17th and early 18th centuries, piracy was rampant in the Atlantic, specifically in the West Indies. Piracy has existed since the earliest days of ocean travel, for a range of personal and economic reasons. However, one of the major reasons why piracy was wide spread and rampant in the 16th, 17th and early 18th centuries was Great Britain’s endorsement and usage of piracy as an asset; in wars fought in the New World. Great Britain with its expanding power and conflicts with other nations would make piracy a lifestyle and lay down the foundation for the Golden Age of Piracy and eventually bring what it created to a screeching halt.
It is first beneficial to know the definition of piracy. Piracy has been characterized multiple ways from multiple disciplines. For the purpose of this paper, I will apply the definition of piracy from the 1982 United ...
Cordingly’s book Under the Black Flag: The Romance and Reality of Life Among the Pirates tells the story of many different pirates of different time periods by the facts. The book uses evidence from first hand sources to combat the image of pirates produced by fictional books, plays, and films. Cordingly explains where the fictional ideas may have come from using the evidence from the past. The stories are retold while still keeping the interest of the audience without having to stray from the factual
Phillips, Richard, and Stephan Talty. A captain's duty: Somali pirates, Navy Seals, and dangerous days at sea. New York: Hyperion, 2010.
While over the past few centuries, new pirate perceptions have been introduced, some have managed to withstand time and Pop Culture. The infamous Jolly Roger flag that is seen accompanying pirate ships, known for the intimidating skulls and weapons on a black flag used to be a red flag used by privateers for the same reason during the 1600’s and eventually developed into a black flag (Konstam). Initially, for the same use this is a prime example of how a traditional concept from pirates can stay over time and is rooted in truth. The first Pirates of the Caribbean film describes a pirate code which dates back centuries (Shultz). The pirate code originated with a confederation of pirates, whose concepts such as “no prey, no pay” for fairness
The history of piracy dates back more than 3000 years. “It appears that the word pirate (peirato) was first used in about 140 BC by the Roman historian Polybius. The Greek historian Plutarch, writing in about 100 A.D., gave the oldest clear definition of piracy. He described pirates as those who attack without legal authority not only ships, but also maritime cities (http://www.piratesinfo.com/history/history.php).” The most common meaning of the word pirate recognizes them as an outlaw and a thief. Anyone who was caught and tried with the act of piracy would be sentenced to death.
In this paper, I will attempt to describe the piracy problem in China, discuss how the Chinese government is dealing with it, present the global effect, and finally arrive at what would be an ethical solution to piracy fitting for China's situation.
The Golden Age of Piracy appeared with the rise of new empires and the finding of The New World. Though throughout history piracy has been a recurring problem, but none of those times compare to The Golden Age of Piracy. From 1655 to the 1730’s the greatest surge in acts of piracy were recorded in history, with roughly 2,500 to 10,000 total active pirates during this era. These pirates were seen wherever there were unprotected trade routes and treasure to be captured. Many pirates expressed the earliest ideas of freedom and democracy. Thesis Statement.
Although Britain cannot be blamed though for lack of trying, piracy still exists today. Yet, because the act continues at sea often far from land, it gains little media attention, and therefore less action from governments. China, despite being a number one producer of pirates, continues to deny that there is a problem while at the same time often pardoning those who are caught. Countries such as Indonesia and Philippines, which have been hardest hit in the past few years by pirates, are looking for international assistance. The West is, of course, looked to for solutions yet choose seemingly chooses to turn a blind eye, perhaps in the name of diplomacy. When the world is ready to combat the perpetual problem of piracy, it may discover that by intertwining tougher policies aimed at dealing with piracy with current or future trade negotiations, productive steps can be taken to initiate plans to curtail modern day sea wolves who prey on the helpless. The suggestion of ‘Piracy Charters’ will be discussed further as the means of which to add the topic of to multilateral agreements.
“Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships,” The International Maritime Organization, Accessed March 26th, 2014. http://www.imo.org/OurWork/Security/PiracyArmedRobbery/Pages/Default.aspx
paid for. The pirate has a set of excuses for his actions: prices are too high;