When ever there is talk of living on sailboats, that talk inevitably turns to pirates.
While it is scary, and there is no denying that piracy exists, the simple fact is that it is blown out of proportion. Why do we hear about it around the globe when pirates strike? Because it is so rare an event that it is newsworthy.
Compare that to school shootings in the USA. How many did you hear about in the news? If you had to guess, how many would you say there have been this year?
According to Deep Dive it is a nearly daily event, "As of Dec. 20, there were 300 shooting incidents on school grounds so far in 2022". (https://www.k12dive.com/news/2022-worst-year-for-school-shootings/639313/)
So how does that compare to piracy?
According to the International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB) Piracy Reporting Centre, the number for 2022 is at it is lowest figure in three decades, with 90 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships in the first nine months of 2022. (https://www.icc-ccs.org/index.php/1321-no-room-for-complacency-says-imb-as-global-piracy-incidents-hit-lowest-levels-in-decades)
That means there were 3 times the number of school shootings in the USA alone, as all piracy on all the oceans of the world.
As can be seen from the map above, the majority of the events occured along the west coast of Africa, and in the Philippine islands area.
Aside from one in Haiti, the Caribbean archipelago was free from piracy events. The coasts of Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, along with all of the South Pacific were free from events as well.
IMB Piracy Reporting Centre |
|
Period |
Incidence of piracy or attempted |
| 2022 (to Dec 20) | 90 |
| 2021 | 132 |
| 2020 | 195 |
| 2019 | 162 |
| 2018 | 201 |
| 2017 | 180 |
Comparing Piracy to Land-Based Violent Crime
New York City publishes their crime statistics for seven major felonies (Murder & Non-Negl. Manslaughter, Rape, Robbery, Felony Assault, Burglary, Grand Larceny, Grand Larceny Of Motor Vehicle). Full data is available here: https://www.nyc.gov/site/nypd/stats/crime-statistics/historical.page
Period |
Incidence of violent crime |
# of incidences
|
# of incidences
|
# of hours in NYC to match all piracy on all the oceans all year |
| 2022 | Not Available Yet | |||
| 2021 | 102,741 | 281 | 11.72 | 11.25 hours |
| 2020 | 95,593 | 261 | 10.91 | 17.87 hours |
| 2019 | 95,606 | 261 | 10.91 | 14.84 hours |
| 2018 | 95,883 | 262 | 10.95 | 18.36 hours |
| 2017 | 96,658 | 264 | 11 | 16.31 hours |
It takes from 11 to 18 hours for New York City to witness more violent crime than all the oceans will in the full year.
So what will happen if society collapses. Will there be more piracy and crime?
There certainly will be more violent crime if society collapses. Both on the water and on the land.
But if society collapses, will it be global? Or will the collapse be limited to one country, or region. Since humans have walked on this planet, there is been no global catastrophe. That is not saying it can not happen, just that it has not so far.
What will happen if your country collapses? There will certainly be an increase in violent crime.
If you live on land you have two options:
- Stand and fight
- Run
If you stand and fight, there is only so much you will be able to defend yourself from. Remember, that if your government collapses and stops paying the soldiers, it is possible they will go rogue. Now, you may be ready to fend off your neighbourhood HOA president (that is him on the right there), but you will not last long when several armoured tanks roll up with fully equipped soldiers.
So you run. But where? There is a strong chance that if your neighbouring country is safe, they will have closed the borders. Leaving you no escape.
If you live on the water, there is no need to stand and fight. You sail away to another country where life and liberty continue. A place where stores still have groceries, and police still prevent crimes. And once there, you go about your daily business, not worrying about the state of things back in your home country.
Since 1991, IMB’s 24-hour manned Piracy Reporting Centre has provided the maritime industry, governments and response agencies with timely and transparent data on piracy and armed robbery incidents – received directly from the Master of the vessel or its owners.
The IMB PRC’s prompt forwarding of reports and liaison with response agencies, its broadcasts to shipping via Inmarsat Safety Net Services and email alerts to CSOs, all provided free of charge, has helped the response against piracy and armed robbery and the security of seafarers, globally.
Update Wednesday, 27 March 2024 11:00
The 2023 piracy numbers are out now. There were 120 incidents.
