KUALA LUMPUR: The pirate attacks in Somalia may be an indication of worse things to come.

Abdul Jabar Abdul Hadi and Fuziah Salleh are very worried about their son, Rizal Shah, who had told them food was running out.

Rizal Shah

The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) fears the spate of attacks in the Gulf of Aden marks a trend that could spike, with pirates being financed by international criminals.

IMB piracy reporting centre head Noel Choong said the attacks were concentrated northeast of Somalia at a narrow waterway off Yemen.

"Attacks in previous years were near Somalia's east coast. We advised ships to stay more than 200 nautical miles off the coast as most attacks occurred within that range."

That, and patrols by international naval vessels, saw a significant reduction in the number of attacks. However, pirates changed their tactics late last year.
"They began attacking ships further northeast at a bottleneck off Yemen. This area is vital to traffic between Europe and Asia, and pirates have an ample number of targets to choose from."

He said pirates were now brazenly hijacking ships. Local warlords may start muscling in on the action after they see what easy targets ships plying the region are. This will see the number of attacks increasing dramatically.

The worst will be when international criminals start "investing" in Somali piracy since the "returns" are so good.

"This is why we are putting pressure on the United Nations and the international community to take action before these things happen," said Choong.



While navy ships patrolling the waters in the region are a deterrent, their purpose is prevention of terrorism and not piracy. Their rules of engagement do not allow them to attack pirates. -- By Marc Lourdes