Statistical analysis of maritime piracy cases in world territorial waters

Abstract

In today’s international trading system, most cargoes are transported by sea. In parallel with increasing trade volume, shipping trade and thus maritime traffic are also increasing. The smooth functioning of global trade depends on the safety of shipping trade routes. Given that ships may encounter dangers at sea, it is important to ensure their safety, particularly from piracy, which has become a global problem. Piracy occurs wherever shipping trade is intense while authority and control are weak. It is one of the most important problems threatening the maritime sector, especially due to financial crises, unemployment, high food prices, bribery, corruption, political instability, and inadequate surveillance and inspection. Today, navigation has become risky in many areas where piracy events are frequent, such as West and East Africa, the Strait of Malacca, and the South China Sea. Ships going to these areas take extra security measures or change their routes. Piracy adds extra costs, including ransom expenses, insurance expenses, route change costs, security expenses, and military measures. In addition, it causes billions of dollars of damage every year, results in deaths and serious injuries. While piracy can occur in territorial waters, international seas, or port areas, this study focused on piracy events in territorial waters since 2010, recorded in the International Maritime Organization (IMO) database. It analyzed these events statistically using frequency distribution before testing the hypotheses with Chi-Square analysis. Phi Cramer’s V test was applied to determine the strength of the relationship between the hypotheses.