Introduction

Abstract

Maritime piracy is at present a subject of great public and research interest. In the West, and increasingly in other parts of the world as well, popular interest mainly focuses on the historical and cultural aspects of the phenomenon — that is, piracy as a fantasy or entertain- ment. Meanwhile, the activities of contemporary pirates — in areas such as the Gulf of Aden, the Gulf of Guinea, the Malacca Straits and the South China Sea — attract not only the interest of the general public and the media worldwide but are also a matter of great concern for the international community and the shipping and insurance industries. Like in most real, as opposed to fictional, cases of piracy in history, there is nothing romantic about the ravages of modern pirates.