Monday, 27. July 2009
Topic: NAUTICAL - on July 27, 2009 at 12:05:00 PM CEST
An Economic Analysis of the Somali Pirate Business Model
The rough fishermen of the so-called Somali coast guard are unrepentant criminals, yes, but they're more than that. They're innovators. Where earlier sea bandits were satisfied to make off with a dinghy full of booty, pirates who prowl northeast Africa's Gulf of Aden hold captured ships for ransom. This strategy has been fabulously successful: The typical payoff today is 100 times what it was in 2005, and the number of attacks has skyrocketed.
