Homework Responses Wk 8

Good evening, Class.

So, we have made it to the last week of class. I hope everyone is doing well and ready to wrap up HLSS312. In this week’s discussion topic, we are to pick a threat towards the maritime industry other than cyber, WMD, or small boats and how public and private security regimens address this threat. In my opinion, the 4th threat has been and remains security of vessels on the high seas from piracy. While piracy has been dealt with and not as prevalent as it has been in the past, according to a paper written by Christian Bueger at Cardiff University, piracy triggers are still emerging issues. Geography, weak law enforcement, maritime insecurity, economic dislocation, and cultural acceptability are the key points that promote and encourage piracy. These key factors are still ever-present in the maritime industry. Despite increased prosecutions of piracy and maritime vessels having armed guards on board to deter pirates from attempting to take a vessel, we know that these efforts are asymmetric. According to an article from Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, it indicates how there has been an uptick in heroin in the Indian Ocean and Somalis moving to Yemen. Like any other criminal enterprise, piracy will look for another area to exploit and where there is less resistance and deterrence. For this reason, the focus should be shifted from the pirates that carry out the piracy to the organizations that support them and fund their operations.

I hope to have offered another threat that the maritime industry has to keep an eye on and be vigilant constantly. I hope everyone has a great rest of the week, and it has been a pleasure to have shared the class with all of you.

Respectfully,

Raul Sanchez

References:

Bueger, C. (2015). Learning from Piracy: Future Challenges of Maritime Security Governance. Cardiff.ac.uk. Retrieved from https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0013/42412/dr-christian-bueger.pdf

Shortland, A., Amos, J., and Percy, S. (2014). Future Challenges in International Maritime Security. SIPRI.org. Retrieved from https://www.sipri.org/commentary/blog/2014/future-challenges-international-maritime-security