Is Somali piracy a random phenomenon? |
| |
Authors: | George Kiourktsoglou Alec D Coutroubis |
| |
Institution: | 1.University of Greenwich,Chatham,UK |
| |
Abstract: | This paper investigates whether Somali piracy is a random phenomenon. The investigation takes place in two distinct parts.
Its statistical analysis spans over a period of 11 years, from 2000 until 2011 for the first part (flags), and 5 years, from
2007 until 2011 for the second one (crews). The reason is that although prior to 2007 there have been a substantial number
of attacks (parameter used in the first part of the research), very few ships were practically pirated (parameter used in
the second part) within the same period. Firstly, it is widely believed that Somali pirates select their targets at random
and the decision on attacking a vessel registered under a particular flag is unrelated to the participation of the flag state
in any of the naval forces operating around the Horn of Africa. The enquiry attempts to assess whether these two common beliefs
are supported by historical data and to what extent. Secondly, this paper asks whether there are certain nationalities of
crews which are for ethnic and/or cultural reasons more (or less) vulnerable to fall victims of pirates off Somalia. Such
groups (if there are any) would in effect indirectly ‘support’ Somali piracy, and for this reason, they could be considered
as ‘passively supportive crews’. The analysis focuses on the crew composition of the attacked vessels with special interest
cast upon those ships (meaning the crews) which eventually succumbed to Somali pirates and were in the end seajacked. |
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|