Are there still active pirates in this world?

Question

Mainly around the caribbean area.. I am actually wanting to be a pirate, call me crazy, but they make good profit :). No but really, i was wandering if they were still around? thanks

Answer 1

The Caribbean, no. Thats to well secured by the US Navy and Coast Guard. I imagine some low level theft happens but nothing serious.

Pirates of today are very real though, and quite possibly the next big problem the media will cover. In 2005, pirates boarded a ship outside the Cape of Africa. They stole nothing: they did however seem to try and learn how to pilot the ship, and stole the navigation charts, captains logs, and even information on how to pilot the ship. Its suspected they were terrorists, and hoping to learn how to pilot the ship well enough to steal another one and then use it in either an attack or to board other ships.

Todays "plunder" is not the items in the cargo holds either: its usually the captains quarters and pilot house. In order to pay port fees ships usually care large amounts of US Dollars in a safe in either of those two locations (because US dollars can be accepted just about anywhere). The amounts can be in the tens of thousands of dollar. Also, sometimes there is financial information on board: its not uncommon for a copy of the bonds to be onboard. These can be worth millions of USD.

And pirates do not use Galleons or ships equivalent to the size of what they are stealing anymore either. Usually it is a small craft, even a raft if its close to shore, or a small yacht (75 feet or shorter). These vessels can be as fast (and definitely have better acceleration) than the large vessels and overtake them easily. And new trend that is feared is the use of helicopers close to shore: with so many ships having large decks where a helicopter could hover (an oil tanker for instance), and with teh minimum ceiling for radar being anywhere from 100 to 50 feet, AND most commercial vessels do not have aeronautical radar, it'd be a very quick hit and run method (to use a helicopter).

Piracy in the world is a real threat. Whats in the holds of todays ship is worth millions, the ships are huge (they have to be to support todays shipping), so if the crew is killed by pirates, millions can be lost in cargo when the ship sinks, runs aground or worse, hits something like another ship or crashes into a port.

It does not happen that way often, usually the crews survive because they can hide (commercial freighters do not have guns aboard and available to the crew by legality).

Answer 2

Yes, but not in the carribean, it's too well patrolled by the US coastgaurd and royal navy. Piracy is quite frequent off the coasts of Africa and south east asia - mostly in the Straight of Malacca between Malaya and Sumatra. For instance the worst recorded 6 months ever were in the first half of 2003, where there were 234 attacks and 16 deaths. They don't often kill everyone on board, as ransoming people is far more profitable, along with more standard practice such as ransacking the boat and selling it's equipment and cargo.

Answer 3

There certainly are pirates still operating out on the seas.. they don't have skull & crossbone flags and parrots on their shoulders, but they stop merchant shipping out in the farthest reaches of the Pacific using fast boats, lots of weapons, kill everyone on board and grab cargos they seem to know all about before the attack. It's a huge problem out there, and the merchant marine fleets of every country have experienced these raiders. Google up 'piracy', 'merchant marine piracy' etc. for more details & statistics.

Answer 4

There are pirates still, but not the swash-buckling kind! A lot of pirate nowadays use motor boats and guns, holding up small boats or private yachts. Kind of like a mugging on the high seas, with an even greater possibility of death.

Answer 5

Yes, in Asia---around Southeast Asia (Indonesia) and in parts of Africa I've heard so.

Answer 6

I don't know. But if there are, either they're not
making the news, or the cruise ships are running
them over.