Direct implications for maritime security are unlikely. But there will be ripple effects in the shipping industry and in many commercial sectors.
Nigerian Navy Special forces pretend to arrest pirates during a joint military exercise with the French navy.
Photo by Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images
In 2019, there were fewer attacks and attempted attacks on ships than there had been in 25 years. The coronavirus may bring economic and political changes that make piracy worse in the coming years.
Navies, and other security agencies, won’t be able to improve maritime security as long as root causes on land are not addressed.
US service members practising water rescue techniques during a routine training exercise off the coast of Djibouti in 2007.
EPA/US NAVY/MC1 MICHAEL R. MCCORMICK
Local fishermen or young men looking for work in the Riau Islands Special Economic Zones earn extra income by mugging boats in the Malacca Strait at night.
A Panamanian-flagged oil carrier seized off the South Korean coast.
EPA/Jeon Heon-Kyun
Traditionally maritime security has been defined through the narrow lens of piracy. But as the blue economy grows, African states need to embrace a broader strategy.
Many African countries are sitting on vast and under-utilised oceanic territories that have the potential to unlock enormous economic value, if properly governed.
Suspected Somali pirates captured by the Dutch navy working under NATO command.
Reuters/Joseph Okanga
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Maritime security is a problem in the Indian Ocean. Different countries use a variety of means to protect their regions.
Royal Navy Media Archive/Flickr
The world’s third-largest movie industry in Nigeria is in danger of collapse. It is not to do with patrons staying away from the films. It is caused by a menace right in the heart of the industry.