Petrol piracy in south-east Asia

Jonathan Moss and Stephanie Hobbs, of DWF, take a more detailed look at a new and growing trend among pirates in south-east Asia

Piracy as a concept has been afforded a broad definition by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), describing it as “an act of boarding any vessel with the intent to commit theft or any other crime and with the intent or capability to use force in the furtherance of that act”. The high-profile and proliferate attacks carried out by Somali pirates evoke the more recent association of piracy with the use of force and exorbitant ransom demands. Yet the presence of piracy in the Horn of Africa and Gulf of Aden has waned dramatically in the face of international security efforts to deter activity.