Anyone who’s a fan of Captain Jack Sparrow from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies might like the idea of hitting the high seas and becoming a swashbuckling antihero. Ignoring the fact that pirates from that area regularly demonstrated cruelty to their victims, the seafaring life of an adventurer might appeal. However, such individuals might wonder whether piracy still takes place today.
It does, and 2024’s first half saw 60 maritime piracy situations. It’s kind of incredible to think that this kind of piracy takes place in modern times, but it’s a reality.
In this article, we’ll talk about parts of the world where piracy still sometimes occurs. We will also talk about why modern pirates get into this line of work.
Where Does Modern Piracy Take Place?
Modern piracy can take place anywhere on the seas, but it most often happens in parts of the world with either disputed territory or on parts of the ocean without strong navies protecting them. If a body of water sees trade or commerce, and there’s not a capable navy nearby, that opens the door for piracy. In that sense, modern piracy mimic piracy from hundreds of years in the past.
The Gulf of Guinea is a high piracy area. You will also see it in the Gulf of Aden. You can see piracy occur in the Strait of Malacca as well.
The Strait of Malacca has a reputation, and it’s well deserved. It’s a body of water in the South China Sea. It connects the Pacific to the Indian Ocean, so it has strategic importance.
Since the Strait of Malacca remains a major trade route between Asian countries and territories, pirates will often stake it out and patrol its waters regularly. Some estimates put more than 40% of modern pirate attacks between 1995-2013 in this relatively small area.
Where Else Does Modern Piracy Take Place?
The Horn of Africa can see piracy sometimes. So can the South China Seas. South East Asia in general also sees a lot of pirate activity.
Now, let’s talk more about why modern piracy occurs.
Piracy and Weak Governments
As mentioned previously, anytime you have a body of water where there’s trade, you open up the possibility of piracy happening. However, it’s not very likely you will see such activities in waters with a strong navy backed up by an equally powerful government.
If you have a weaker government, or no government, then that’s when piracy can flourish. Any time you have coastal waters with no one protecting them, pirates can stake a claim.
Piracy Can Directly Impact Maritime Security
Working on the ocean brings many potential dangers with it. Sailors know this. The ocean can seem calm one moment and become deadly the next.
The ocean claims many lives every year, even with modern boats and ships and their advanced navigational equipment. Simply put, when humans try to use the ocean for various purposes, they’re dealing with an entity much larger and more powerful than themselves.
Piracy can further complicate matters. It threatens maritime security, and a sailor who tries to navigate pirate-infested waters for trade or commerce risks death or capture.
Modern pirates often hold those they capture in contempt. They may kill them, or they might attempt to ransom them.
Modern piracy and that of bygone days share that similarity as well. Sailors who travel in pirate-infested waters must know about this. If they can get other, safer jobs, they may do so. However, in some parts of the world, job scarcity makes an oceanic job an attractive option, and not many others exist.
What Makes a Pirate?
If you consider modern piracy and piracy in general, you may think that these individuals might act as they do simply because they like a scofflaw lifestyle where they get to do as they please. That sometimes enters into it, but that is usually a drastic oversimplification.
In many instances, you will note with these pirates that they live in impoverished parts of the world. They might turn to piracy because they do not have many other viable income streams.
Political instability where someone lives can also lead them into the pirate lifestyle. With an unstable government and constant upheaval, citizens might struggle to support their families. Pirates become like roving gangs, similar to street gangs that might offer protection and a sense of belonging.
That becomes hard for young people to resist. They may realize the hardships and dangers that go along with the pirate lifestyle, but that often seems like the best of several bad alternatives for them.
If a would-be pirate gets into the lifestyle knowing they can steal goods and sell them to support their families, they often do it. They will ignore the possible consequences if the navy or any other authority catches them. The prospect of making a living, even if it is through dishonest means, attracts them.
How Can Authorities Combat Piracy?
In parts the world with disputed aquatic territory, it’s basically a free-for-all out on the water. Pirates can do as they like if there’s no authority with a strong navy to keep them under control.
However, getting around the problem often becomes a matter of using different trade routes. If an overland route to get the same goods becomes available, then companies doing business in the region will likely pursue that as an option.
If an overland route doesn’t exist, then they may hire private naval security forces to protect their trade route. This can cause skirmishes between the pirates and the protectors of whatever goods they might potentially steal.
However, pitched battels in the movie tradition don’t occur often. That’s because many of these pirates, ferocious as they might seem in hand-to-hand combat, lack powerful guns or any similar weaponry they might use to attack a ship at long range.
Still, it’s fascinating to think that modern piracy still exists, and that it’s probably not stopping anytime soon.
