"Piracy" is defined under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the law of the Sea to include illegal acts of violence, detention, or depredation for private ends committed by the crew or passengers of one ship against another ship, or person or property on board that ship.Piracy per se occurs in international waters, outside the jurisdiction of any state, and usually outside security patrolled or monitored areas. The number of pirate attacks worldwide has tripled in the past decade, and new evidence suggests that piracy is becoming a key tactic of terrorist groups. Unlike the pirates of old,whose sole objective was quick commercial gain, many of today's pirates are maritime terrorists with an ideological bent and a broad political agenda. There would seem to be important lessons to be learned from maritime piracy that could be relevant when considering the potential threat of seaborne terrorism. Pirates and terrorists use similar tactics and operate with impunity across broad geographic regions. There is also increasing evidence of interaction between pirates and terrorists. With nearly 90 percent of international trade moving by water, the immediate and inevitable actions countries would take in response to a major maritime terror attack would most likely disrupt critical trade flows, industrial supply chains and, ultimately, the global economy. The response of ship operators to piracy has been limited and inconsistent. Typically, standing orders prevent active resistance; the most often recommended course of action, should a vessel be boarded, is for crew members to lock themselves in a "safe room" until the danger has passed. But for a vessel underway, such a strategy fails to consider the potentially disastrous consequences that could result from a loss of shipboard navigational control,including collision, grounding, or a major oil or toxic chemical spill. Given the scope and dimensions of the maritime security problem, collective action, at the regional or international level, will most likely be required, and there has been some movement in this direction. Several important maritime security initiatives also have been recently put into effect, as "The International Ship and Port Facility Security Code", takes some crucial first steps in addressing maritime security needs both afloat and ashore. In the longer-term, implementing a system of positive vessel identification and control may hold the best hope for reducing incidents of piracy and enhancing overall maritime security.
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