Global conflicts and contexts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Global conflicts and contexts - Essay Example This paper discusses the foreign relationships that UK can possibly have with Somalia to lessen this problem of high sea piracy. A very disturbing picture is painted by Lennox (2008: 1) about the Somalia piracy where he says, â€Å"There were 115 reported pirate attacks  off the coast of Somalia in 2008. Of those attacks, 46 resulted in the seizure of a commercial vessel by Somali pirates. The average ransom for the release of hijacked vessels increased from $1 million US dollars in July of 2008, to $1.5 million by December. At the time of writing 12 vessels are being held along with approximately 400 crewmembers in pirate towns along Somalia’s unlawful coasts†. Therefore, we can see that this problem has taken a magnitude of epic proportions and is threatening to completely block off the trade route via the Gulf of Aden. This the place which sees almost 20000 ships passing each year, has also the maximum number of attacks recorded, forcing the vessels to take a longer but safer alternative route. As Biegon (2009) tells us, â€Å"The increased threat of maritime piracy has heightened the ship ping industrys financial concerns in the context of the global economic recession. Over 6.8 billion tons of goods are moved by sea annually in a global trade cycle worth $7.4 trillion, with up to 90% of international trade traveling by ship at some point. The wave of pirate attacks off the eastern coast of Africa has already had a major impact on global shipping patterns. Following the hijacking of the Sirius Star, for example, AP Moller-Maersk, Europes largest shipping company,  diverted  its fleet of 50 oil tankers away from the Suez Canal towards the longer and more expensive route around the Cape of Good Hope.† This article looks at the piracy that is spelling doom for the trading vessels and Somalia alike, and tries to define the term maritime piracy and reexamine from a