Small Boats, Weak States, Dirty Money : Piracy and Maritime Terrorism in the Modern World

by Murphy, Martin N.

• ISBN13: 9780231700771
• ISBN10: 0231700776
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-09-30
• Publisher: Columbia Univ Pr

Summary

Many believe that pirates and other water-bound terrorists present a significant threat to international maritime security. Testing the validity of this claim, Martin N. Murphy scrutinizes recent incidents of maritime terrorism and locates the commonalities between pirates and maritime terrorists that enable them to commit their extensive crimes. Murphy's research opens up surprising sites of contact between pirates and wider criminal networks, organizations that pursue their corrupt agendas not only on sea but also on land. It is these relationships, Murphy argues, that bring about the destabilization of states and regions in which piracy occurs.Murphy's most significant revelation is the way in which maritime criminality may disguise insurgent and terrorist activity, allowing such actors greater freedom to maneuver. Although these acts currently rank as a low-level threat, priacy feeds off of political upheaval. Before they can evolve into a truly powerful and dangerous force, however, maritime terrorists and insurgents will have to overcome significant operational and technical issues. They must also capture the attention of an international audience by committing atrocities at sea that are as devastating as those committed on land.

Table of Contents

Acknowledements	p. viii
Abbreviations	p. x
Introduction	p. 1
What is Piracy?	p. 7
A slippery concept	p. 7
Piracy, politics and corruption	p. 10
Piracy in international law	p. 11
Piracy as an international interest	p. 17
Piracy: ancient and modern	p. 21
Contemporary Piracy: The Who, The Why and The Where	p. 23
What are pirates after?	p. 23
Reasons for piracy	p. 24
What types of ship are attacked?	p. 45
Methods of attack and boarding	p. 47
The cost of piracy	p. 49
State piracy	p. 54
How many attacks are there and who counts them?	p. 59
Weaknesses with the figures	p. 64
Southeast Asia	p. 71
South China Sea	p. 92
Bay of Bengal-Bangladesh	p. 96
South America	p. 98
Yacht piracy	p. 100
East Africa-Somalia	p. 101
West Africa-Nigeria	p. 111
Global phenomenon, local problem, diffuse challenge	p. 123
Contemporary Piracy: Irritation or Menace?	p. 129
Pirate typology	p. 129
Vulnerability assessment	p. 132
Threat assessment	p. 134
Objectives	p. 138
Violence	p. 155
Access to markets	p. 157
Links to insurgent or terrorist groups	p. 159
Level of official support and corruption	p. 161
Links to organised crime	p. 162
Contemporary piracy: irritation or menace?	p. 177
Maritime Terrorism	p. 183
What is terrorism?	p. 183
What is maritime terrorism?	p. 185
Terrorist attacks at sea: the story so far	p. 185
Seafarers' attitudes
A global threat on a global medium?	p. 196
Categories of maritime targets	p. 199
The weapons and methods of maritime terrorists	p. 231
Ships as delivery systems for weapon	p. 259
The global shipping network: a vulnerable system	p. 264
Multiple targets and multiple problems	p. 274
Maritime Terrorists	p. 277
Terrorists at sea	p. 277
The principal actors	p. 279
The main reasons to go to sea: movement and supply	p. 345
What makes some groups successful?	p. 358
The obstacles confronting the maritime terrorist	p. 369
Why do terrorists use the sea?	p. 373
Assessing the Threat	p. 377
So where is the threat or risk?	p. 377
Disorder and the sea: out of sight, out of mind	p. 381
Maritime disorder and initiatives for tackling it	p. 382
The restless sea	p. 384
What might change?	p. 386
Conclusion: assessing the threat	p. 408
Bibilograph	p. 413
Index	p. 415
Maps
SLOCs, chokepoints and areas of pirate activity	p. 267
Figures
Piracy statistics, 1978-2000	p. 61
Yearly statistics of piracy incidents worldwide, 1984-2005	p. 62
Tables
Factors favouring piracy and maritime terrorism	p. 4
Total number of recorded incidents, 1984-1994	p. 62
Total number of recorded actual and attempted attacks	p. 63
Total number of recorded and attempted attacks, 1995-2005	p. 63
Sea areas with the highest numbers of piracy incidents	p. 93
Vulnerability Assessment Table	p. 133
Threat Assessment Table	p. 135
Terrorists and criminals: Transformation, convergence and cooperation	p. 393
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