Most known international terrorist groups have no history of assaults on maritime targets, and have little training or experience in a maritime environment. Nevertheless, the large number of Americans sailing on international cruises provides an attractive and easy target to terrorists seeking revenge against the U.S., or desiring to cause mass casualties. Historically, maritime attacks or hijackings have occurred primarily in southern Europe, the eastern Mediterranean, and Asia. The threat of terrorist activity in Israel and Yemen caused the cancellation of port calls to these countries by several cruise ships during 1998.
Piracy. Acts of piracy accounted for twenty-one percent of all transportation incidents. There were 209 reported acts of piracy/sea robbery committed against merchant shipping interests worldwide during 19984. Most disturbing is the increasing frequency of violence by armed attackers during piracy boardings. There were 88 persons killed and 35 injured in the piracy incidents compiled by OIS, an increase of more than 450 percent from 1997. There were 238 crew members taken hostage in 1998, significantly fewer than the 400 taken hostage in 1997. There is no evidence to suggest that vessels of a specific flag were targeted in any given region, however, it is interesting to note that 21 US-flagged vessels have been attacked over the last five years. Given the small number of US-flagged vessels, this represents a substantial number. The majority of attacks occurred at night and in territorial waters while at anchorage. Vessels that were attacked while stationary were generally short-term seizures with very little warning. Boarding was almost always successful. Most piracy incidents generally are unsophisticated maritime robbery, and it is unlikely that we will see a dramatic change in the level, scope and method of these attacks in the near future. The greatest number of attacks-more than one half--occurred in Southeast Asia, where the Straits of Singapore is the most heavily trafficked maritime crossroads in the world. The traffic density and hazards associated with this transit requires vessels to slow down to negotiate difficult waters, making them vulnerable to pirates. Pirates in Southeast Asia typically targeted personal items, ship's safes, and cash during their attacks. In addition, the Americas (Brazil, Ecuador, Nicaragua), and Africa each accounted for about 15-17 percent of the pirate attacks. Because the capability of governments in Africa to counter pirate attacks is virtually nonexistent-a fact not lost on the pirates--local piracy will likely remain high. Nigerian ports recorded the most attacks in Africa, with the majority of these occurring in Lagos.
Pipelines. There were 122 attacks against pipelines in 1998, a 15 percent increase from 1997. Eighty of these incidents were international terrorist attacks. All but five of the attacks were bombings. Seventy-four people were killed and 154 were injured in these attacks. Seventy-one of the deaths and over 100 injuries were reported in one attack in Colombia. The remaining three deaths occurred in the Middle East. Ninety-two incidents occurred in Colombia, where indigenous guerrillas regard pipelines owned by a consortium of international companies as a US target. Pipelines are regarded as an easy target, traversing miles of isolated territory virtually unprotected.
4 The International Maritime Bureau (IMB), which also reports piracy statistics, recorded a higher number of incidents. Details of some of the incidents were ambiguous or could not be independently verified and were not included in the OIS database.
