Piracy Facts and Statistics

Check out these piracy facts and statistics:

• 111 pirate attacks in 2008


• 79 pirate attacks in 2009


• 42 hijackings in 2008


• 19 hijackings in 2009


• $150 million paid in ransom money in 2008


• 20,000+ number of ships that pass through the Gulf each year


• 260,000 tons of food shipped by the World Food Program to Somalia last year, most of it passing through the danger zone


• 3.5 million Somalies are fed by the World Food Program donations


• $16 billion is the estimated cost of piracy


• There are three types of pirate attacks:

1. Pirates rob only the crew
2. Pirates rob the crew and steal cargo
3. Pirates steal everything including the ship itself

• Only 10% of piracy incidents are reported