ABSTRACT
The age-old crime of piracy has a dark and sinister face; having resurfaced with
startling speed during the 1980s, it is now viewed with great concern by all nations
of the world.1 Any ship of whatever kind is susceptible to maritime violence once
at sea: whether a tanker, merchant ship or fi shing trawler, its easy accessibility,
relative isolation and promise of valuable cargo renders it enticing prey to rene-
gade and vicious criminals plying the seas in various parts of the world’s ocean
spaces, mainly South-East Asia and the Far East, the Indian Sub-Continent, the
Americas and Africa. It has been noted that such attacks against ships:
threatened seafarers, the security of navigation and the marine environment,
and also had the potential to disrupt the provision of humanitarian aid, fi sh-
ing, tourism and marine scientifi c research. The alteration of navigational
routes in order to bypass areas of suspected pirate activity also affected
commerce.2
