UNDERSTANDING PIRACY AS A MOUNTING THREAT TO MARITIME

SECURITY

ABSTRACT

The global maritime trade accounts to almost 80 percent in volume and 60 percent in value, of

the total world trade. That being said, it is given that safe and secure maritime environment is

what the world economies seek to achieve. In other words, ‘Maritime Security’ has become the

modern global goal. It refers to maintaining stable peace and order at the high seas by virtue of

an International Rule of Law. Fundamentally, it is about securing human lives and their trade

interests at the high seas and oceans.

Though the illicit activity within the maritime realm has taken many forms, it is ‘Maritime

piracy’ that evolved to be the gravest cross-national predicament by rendering maritime

navigation unsafe and causing severe implications. Amidst all, the primary problem is the

humanitarian security, as it is the ‘seafarers’ who are at the frontline, facing the deadly pirates.

Their rights have been gravely jeopardized by the piratical activity.

Understanding these repercussions, the International community has set up integrated legal and

institutional machinery that operates with the twin goals of eradication of piracy and ‘Collective

Security’. In this regard, the nations and the International organizations made tremendous

efforts in terms of policies and operational initiatives. Though these attempts have been fruitful

to some extent, piracy remains to be one of the biggest humanitarian concerns.

The research aims at making a detailed study as to the dynamics of piracy in relation to the

historically construed concept of ‘Maritime security’. The concepts of ‘Maritime security’ and

‘Maritime piracy’ with all their modern day facets are deeply studied, so as to understand what

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exactly makes the crime of piracy a mounting threat ‘Maritime security’. Further, the paper

focuses on the aspect of efficiency an adequacy of the International legal regime that has been set

up in this regard.