The History of Piracy in the Indian Ocean Part I

Ever since the dawn of maritime navigation, piracy means the act of taking another’s property by force in the Ocean. The invention of the route referred as, “the Indies” by Vasco da Gama in 1497 and the invention of America by St. Christopher Colombus in 1492 amplified the development of piracy. Some believes piracy is the same act that Vasco da Gama himself committed  against unarmed trade ships throughout his expedition.
In this modern age, piracy has been in decline over the last two years in the Indian Ocean after the Somali pirate incidence, it seems likely this is only a temporary low tide that will return crashing on the beach once the attention of the world is elsewhere.

Somali Piracy in the Indian Ocean:
Pirate attacks within the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean surged in 2008 and 2011 over 700 hostages and 30 vessels were being controlled by Somali pirates.  In recent years piracy activity within the region has fallen to zero as a result of counter-piracy service patrols, sea security groups, and alternative protection measures enforced by the shipping trade. However, the threat of piracy within the region remains a priority. EU service Force (Somalia), Major General Rob Magowan CBE, has reiterated the necessity for continued vigilance confused once this latest attack.
“This attack shows that pirates still have the intent to attack ships for ransom and cause misery to seafarers and their families,” says Major General Magowan. “It is imperative that the international community remains wakeful. The EU service Force is functioning with counter-piracy partners to coordinate efforts to confirm pirates don’t yet again terrorise the waters off the Somali coast.”
The counter-piracy activity EU NAVFOR African country additionally referred to as Operation Atalanta, has been active ocean off the Horn of Africa and within the Western Indian Ocean since 2008.
>Alma Siddiqua