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Somalia and its Puntland coastline had become a hotspot for pirate gangs, who conducted kidnappings, hijackings and robberies on privately owned boats and more commonly trade vessels passing along the coastline. However once boat owners and shipping companies realised that travelling in close proximity to the Somali coastline increased the likelihood of attacks they began taking alternate routes that offered greater security. This did not deter the gangs and as pirates were able to generate large sums from the sale of stolen cargo and ransom payments for kidnapped crew members, they followed the shipping companies into new territory. This led to the rapid expansion of the piracy 'business', which last year cost the global economy $7 billion and this consisted of around $160 million of ransom payments. The rising financial implications of piracy to trading companies and the global economy led to greater efforts to stop piracy by world governments and navies. NATO's operation Ocean Shield has been key to this as it has brought together world navies in a global effort to eradicate piracy or at least lower the success of pirates in the immediate future. Navies involved in the program patrol dangerous stretches of water including the Gulf of Aden which includes Somalia's infamous Puntland coastline. Most recently the Iranian and Danish navies were able to thwart 2 separate hijacking attempts, simultaneously capturing the pirates involved in the failed attacks. The Indian Ocean has also become a key area of concern with attacks rising rapidly since pirates began expanding their operations and now the Indian government are determined to reduce the effectiveness of pirates in their most important stretch of water. Indian Navy officials have asked for co-operation by other Indian Ocean countries to create a clear demarcation of the pirate infested areas, whilst also attempting to develop more effective working relationships with other navies operating on the Indian Ocean. Chief Admiral of the Indian Navy, Nirmal Verma, has created a set of standard operating procedures (SOP's) in order to increase the effectiveness of Indian Ocean navies and lead to better co-operation between them in emergency situations. This week has seen Indian president Pratibha Patil embark on a tour of Indian Ocean countries in order to develop more effective relationships, the first stop on her tour could be the most important as she visited one of the most influential countries in current anti piracy efforts – the Seychelles. The reason that the Seychelles has become so important is a result of the changes made to their policy on the prosecution of pirates, which has allowed any pirates captured beyond their territorial waters to be tried on the Island. This has led to the investment of money and staff by the British government to improve prison facilities in the Seychelles, where British prison officers and lawyers now work. Reducing piracy is in the best interests of the Seychelles whose tourism could suffer as a result of safety fears and officials thanked the Indian navy for their involvement in ensuring the Indian Ocean became a safer place after Indian officials invested $75 million in anti piracy measures.
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anti piracy, Somali, India,
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