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NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL
MONTEREY CA 93943-5101
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL TRENDS
IN MART1TME PIRACY 1989-1993
by
Mark C. Farley
Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy
New
B.A., University of the State of York, 1981
Submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF ARTS IN NATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRS
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December 1993. Master's Thesis
4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL 5. FUNDING NUMBERS
TRENDS IN MARITIME PIRACY 1989-1993
6. AUTHOR(S) Mark C. Farley
PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) PERFORMING
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Naval Postgraduate School ORGANIZATION
Monterey CA 93943-5000 REPORT NUMBER
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AGENCY REPORT NUMBER
11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES The views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not
reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government.
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Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. *A
13. ABSTRACT (maximum 200 words)
This thesis records the results of a data-based analysis of worldwide maritime piracy incidents against
commercial merchant shipping from January 1989 to September 1993. The intent of developing this
database was to create the framework that permits a rigorous statistical analysis of maritime piracy. It
begins with a descriptive assessment of the scope and impact of piracy worldwide. Next, it identifies
the statistically supportable regional and international trends in maritime piracy over the last five years.
The database has been designed at the unclassified level to allow maximum access by the intelligence
community and the commercial shipping industry. The database includes 523 reported cases of piracy.
Piracy is defined as the act of boarding any vessel with the intent to commit theft or other crime and
with the capability to use force in the furtherance of the act. Both incident details and ship characteris-
tics have been incorporated in the database. The ultimate goal has been to develop a comprehensive
statistical picture of where piracy occurs and how pirate attacks are carried out.
14. SUBJECT TERMS Maritime Piracy 15. NUMBER OF
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CATION OF REPORT CATION OF THIS PAGE CATION OF ABSTRACT ABSTRACT
UL
Unclassified Unclassified Unclassified
NSN 7540-01-280-5500 Standard Form 298 (Rev. 2-89)
Prescribed by ANSI Std. 239-18
ABSTRACT
This thesis records the results ofa data-based analysis ofworldwide maritime piracy
incidents against commercial merchant shipping from January 1989 to September 1993.
The intent ofdeveloping this database was to create the framework thatpermits a rigorous
statistical analysis of maritime piracy. It begins with a descriptive assessment of the scope
and impact of piracy worldwide. Next, it identifies the statistically supportable regional
and international trends in maritime piracy over the last five years. The database has been
designed at the unclassified level to allow maximum access by the intelligence community
and the commercial shippingindustry. The database includes 523 reported cases ofpiracy.
Piracy is defined as the act ofboarding any vessel with the intent to commit theft or other
crime and with the capability to use force in the furtherance of the act. Both incident
details and ship characteristics have been incorporated in the database. The ultimate goal
has been to develop a comprehensive statistical picture of where piracy occurs and how
pirate attacks are carried out.
in
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. MARITIME PIRACY - BACKGROUND AND IMPORTANCE 1
A. THE VIOLENCE AT SEA (VAS) DATABASE 6
DEFINITIONS
B. 11
DATABASE PARTICULARS
C. 12
ASSESSMENT PARAMETERS
D. 13
1. International Assessment 13
2. Regional Assessment .13
INTERNATIONAL ASSESSMENT REPORT
II. 15
OVERVIEW
A. 15
ASSESSMENT
B. ...16
REGIONAL ASSESSMENT REPORT 27
III.
OVERVIEW
A. 27
REGIONAL ASSESSMENT
B. 28
1. Region 1: South/East Asia 28
2. Region 2: Northeast Asia 30
3. Region 3: Indonesia 32
4. Region 5: West Africa 34
5. Region 8: South America 36
IV
