I’ve been posting up a storm lately on the increase in the operational tempo and value of the prizes seized by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden over at Outside the Beltway. Here are my most recent posts:
Also, you might want to take a look at other bloggers who’ve been covering the topic:
- Fester at Newshoggers notes the convoy costs
- Pundita advocates the use of high tech weapons in dealing with the pirates
I think what’s really gotten people spooked is that the piracy is moving far out of the Gulf of Aden. The Saudi tanker, for instance, was some 400 miles SE of Mombassa, far outside the patrolled areas near Yemen.
If they’re going to go 400 miles, why not 600 or 800? Then it truly becomes global.
The Gulf states are already looking to re-route, heading past the Cape of Good Hope rather than challenge the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea. That adds considerable time and expense to oil shipments. If it doesn’t assure them safety, then the price of oil is going to start rising again.
My understanding is that the trip around the Cape of Good Hope adds something like 3 weeks to the trip. At $20,000 to $30,000 a day it’s a sizeable cost.