Somali Piracy: A Legal Maelstrom

The vast majority of world trade is conducted by sea: our fuel, our food, cars, clothes and electronics,indeed virtually every consumer product comes to us by ship. Maersk Shipping (as an example) carries over 3 per cent of Global GDP within its active fleet at any given time. Seaborne trade has doubled every decade since the end of the Second World War, with threats from above and beneath the waves largely consigned to the history books - however in some areas of the world piracy remained in some form.In essence Piracy is organised private predation that thrives in areas where law and order is weaker than that of established nations. The rise of contemporary piracy has meant that ship insurancepremiums have risen and the cargo that they carry has increased in price. This paper examines the jurisdictional issues presented by Piracy in the Gulf of Aden, from an international perspective