Unclear and dangerous present

Nazery Khalid, of the Maritime Institute of Malaysia, warns against complacency in the Gulf of Aden

Shipping is a profession fraught with the kind of threats and dangers few occupations on terra firma can even come close to matching. One of the biggest threats to seafarers is piracy, which has taken a more violent and deadly edge with the involvement of heavily-armed gangs. They also show fairly sophisticated tactical nous by launching attacks from mother vessels and enlisting a complex network on land involving financiers, backers, brokers and suppliers of personnel and arms to support their reprehensible activities.