James Griffin Period 3 Stratton Navies of the World Buff Up Security on Mercantile Vessels Citation: Marex.

"Armed Guards Deployed on 80% of Container Ships, Tankers." The Maritime Executive. DISQUS, 18 Sept. 2013. Web. 24 Sept. 2013. 3. In regions off of the coast of Nigeria and Somalia, piracy has been a thorn in the side of both native and International governments for many years. In the first half of 2013, two ships were hijacked off of one of the two coastlines. These attacks have been reaping a heavy toll on trading companies. Over the past several years, billions of dollars have been lost to these varying targets, close too 7 billion dollars in 2011 alone. While these losses are just pinpricks in the sides of massive shipping behemoths, these business have been persuaded to hire mercenaries to defend their vessels cargo and manpower. Because of this change in defensive strategy, there may be a significant drop in aquatic criminal activity around Africas vast coastlines. 4. There appears to be a united front against said pirate activity. It seems that every sea-faring country on the globe wants a piece of the action in what could be the eradication of pirates from Africas coastal waters. Three international task forces, 140 private military contractors, and 20 of the worlds countries all have a hand in this massive operation that spans two oceans, two seas, and a gulf. Because the

pirates do not have a main base of operation, and because they do not have a united government body, it seems that they do not have a single leadership body to oppose these United Naval forces. Although the pirates themselves are not unilaterally represented, there are around 12 major players on the pirates side of this game of chess. These 12 individuals and groups have funded many if not most of the attacks on Commercial vessels. 5. The article appears to be stating that the best plan is to have the contractors defend each and every commercial craft. Realistically speaking, there are hundreds of methods that these governments could be using to combat these pirates. They could task a few satellites to map out possible pirate camps, and then send Special Forces teams in to neutralize them personally. As in the book and story of Black Hawk Down , and many books, records and such, a handful of men can bring a swift conclusion to something that would/may otherwise be a long drawn out affair. The U.N. could force Nigeria and Somalia to secure their coastlines, and not let any possible threats into their waters, though this premise may be doubtful in Somalia due to the Somali governments lack of control over large tracts of their own coastlines. These international organizations most apparent solutions are to better defend their own ships. Personally, I think the most effective solution would be to neutralize the problem using these highly trained contractors as a strike force and not a defense force. ,