Naval Piracy

 • FAQs on Naval Piracy
 • Combating Piracy

Factsheets:

 • Factsheet: Contact Group on Piracy off coast of Somalia (PDF, 80Kb)
 • Factsheet: U.S. Response to Piracy off coast of Somalia (PDF, 150Kb)

News:

05 April 2012 Fact Sheet on Meeting of Counter-Piracy Contact Group  The United States joined more than 60 nations and international organizations at the United Nations in New York on March 29, 2012, for a meeting of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia.   In a communiqué following the meeting, the Contact Group called for a renewed international commitment to countering piracy, both at sea and on land in Somalia, through robust and integrated military, law enforcement, and development activities.

28 March 2012 State's Shapiro Cites Progress in Fight Against Somali Pirates  Piracy along the coast of Somalia threatens one of the fundamental foundations of an interconnected global economic system: freedom of navigation on the high seas, Assistant Secretary of State Andrew Shapiro says.  Shapiro emphasized that the only long-term response to piracy is the re-establishment of stability, responsive law enforcement and adequate governance in Somalia.

2011

19 October 2011 Ambassador Rice at Security Council on Piracy in Gulf of Guinea   Remarks by Ambassador Susan E. Rice, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, at a Security Council Meeting on Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.

06 October 2011 Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia Launches New Website  The State Department announces the launch of the new official website for the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia.  The new website serves as a repository of Contact Group documents and other counter-piracy related materials; a cyber secretariat offering a virtual workspace for Contact Group participants; and a real-time information center for industry, academic researchers, and the general public regarding the Contact Group’s ongoing efforts.

15 June 2011 Confronting Global Piracy  Testimony by  Assistant Secretary Andrew Shapiro, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs before the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

31 March 2011 U.S. Combats Growing Global Problem of Maritime Piracy  The United States has adopted a multilateral approach to deal with the “significant and urgent” problem of maritime piracy, a growing challenge with global implications, says Assistant Secretary of State Andrew Shapiro.  Maritime piracy costs the global economy between $7 billion and $12 billion annually, according to a December 2010 report from the U.S.-based One Earth Future Foundation.

20 March 2011 Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia Meets in New York  The United States will join partners from 60 countries and international organizations at the United Nations in New York March 21, for a plenary meeting of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia, a growing diplomatic effort to confront criminal activity that threatening commerce and humanitarian aid deliveries along one of the world’s busiest shipping corridors.

16 March  2011 State Department Official answers questions on Somali Naval Piracy  Donna Hopkins, the U.S. Department of State's top-ranking official on the subject of piracy, recently answered your Facebook questions about Somali piracy.

14 October 2010 Maritime Piracy Off Somali Coast a Global Problem   Maritime piracy off the coast of Somalia is not just an African problem but a global challenge of worldwide concern, and the international community must step forward to help.  U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson and Erastus Mwencha, deputy chairperson of the African Union’s Commission, made that point to reporters in a media round table October 13.

22 March 2010 Steady Progress Against Somali Piracy   With the cooperation of the international shipping industry, there has been steady progress in the fight against maritime piracy off the east coast of Africa, a senior U.S. official told reporters March 19.

19 February 2010 International Navies Coordinate to Deter Somali Pirates  An international naval flotilla of vessels from the European Union, NATO, Russia, China, the United States and other nations is patrolling the Gulf of Aden to deter Somali pirates.On an average day, 17 ships offer security in a sea corridor where an estimated 30,000 commercial cargo vessels sail each year.

17 December 2009 No Justification for Piracy off Coast of Somalia   Department of State Fact Sheet

19 November 2009 U.S. Welcomes Armed Repulsion of Pirate Attack  The United States on November 18 welcomed the repulsion of a band of pirates by gunfire from a private security team on a ship off the northeastern coast of Somalia.Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the department is pleased with the success of the team on board the Maersk Alabama, the same ship that was hijacked in April when it did not have a security team onboard. In that incident, pirates held the ship’s captain hostage until an elite unit of U.S. military snipers freed him.

01 June 2009 Pirate Attacks Delay Food Sent to Africans  If pirate assaults on ships carrying emergency food donations escalate, more than 10 million people in Somalia and other countries in East and Central Africa will go hungry. Every time pirates attack these ships, as happened to the U.S.-owned and -flagged container ship Maersk Alabama on April 8 off the coast of Somalia, it raises the prospect of additional delays.

01 June 2009 The Costs of Piracy Are Passed Along  The world's largest container line says piracy is increasing its insurance costs and forcing it to pass those costs along to customers in the form of "piracy surcharges." But for cargo owners and vessel operators alike, the costs of armed, and sometimes deadly, attacks go beyond insurance to time, new expenses and business disruptions.

01 June 2009 International Community Uniting Against Pirates, Official Says  Piracy off the coast of Somalia is felt worldwide, harming trade, slowing regional development and preventing humanitarian aid from reaching the poorest nations of east Africa, according to a State Department official.

04 May 2009 Young Mariners Get Up-Close Lesson in Thwarting Pirates  In the 100 years the Massachusetts Maritime Academy has taught mariners to crew merchant ships, not once had pirates hijacked a U.S.-flagged vessel. Never had weapon-wielding sea bandits kidnapped an American captain. The students' anti-piracy training seemed abstract, until Somali raiders boarded the Maersk Alabama April 8.

15 April 2009 Secretary Clinton's Announcement of Counter-Piracy Initiatives  “This week, the State Department is taking four immediate steps as we move forward with a broader counter-piracy strategy. But let me underscore this point: The United States does not make concessions or ransom payments to pirates.”

23 February 2009 America Builds New African Partnerships to Tackle Piracy  The United States and other international partners are helping African governments confront piracy and improve maritime security on two coasts of Africa. While the waters off the coast of Somalia rank number 1 in the world for piracy and armed robbery at sea and the Gulf of Guinea on Africa’s west coast ranks closely behind in the number 2 spot, the two regions have different scenarios and different types of crime.