Do most ships now employ private security onboard during their travels through that region?
Has anyone plotted a map that is public of piracy events worldwide? Would love to see a heatmap or something of it.
Over 30 different navies are now deployed in the region to secure trade and there is a huge joint operation there with a constant presence.
One taskforce is Combined Maritime Forces:
http://combinedmaritimeforces.com/about/
another force is called EU-NAVFOR:
http://eeas.europa.eu/csdp/missions-and-operations/eu-navfor...
Their operation is Atlanta:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Atalanta
Similarly you have US operations, South Korean, Australian, etc.
The problem is that the area is so vast and there is so much traffic there, Somalia is an almost ideally design pirate base. They can't protect all the traffic, and even with convoy systems (similar to what happen in the Atlantic and Mediterranean during WWII) ships still get picked off.
What has happen now is the type of target has changed. From large container ships to small pleasure craft, tourist vessels, smaller merchant ships, etc. That is why the average take has gone down. You will never be able to protect all ships throughout the entire area, it just isn't feasible.
If anybody is interested, the original report reference in the article is available on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Pirate-Trails-Tracking-Financial-Activ...
Since it is a World Bank report, it is likely available for free online if you search for it.
Try http://www.icc-ccs.org/piracy-reporting-centre/live-piracy-m...
"Al Shabab has been terrific at stamping out piracy from its ports, due to its harsh interpretation of Shariah and the personal animus between profit-seeking pirates and Islamist militants.
[...]
"Now that Al Shabab is in retreat, the emerging power vacuum in Somalia’s southern ports may lead to ‘sweet-spot’ conditions for pirates to resurface."
The money laundering part seems obvious, since that happens with most criminal enterprises. But the business services around it really are analogous to legitimate operations.