Terrorisme maritime et piraterie d’aujourd’hui

• Main Author: Hugues Eudeline
• Format: Article
• Language: fra
• Published: Pôle de Recherche pour l'Organisation et la diffusion de l'Information Géographique 2009-09-01
• Series: EchoGéo
• Subjects: Finance; sea; piracy; strategy; terrorism Complementary skill
• Online Access: http://journals.openedition.org/echogeo/11405

Apart from times of high intensity conflict, the two main forms of violence at sea are piracy, and maritime terrorism. If the former is perpetrated at private ends, the latter is politically motivated. Although addressing different ends, both activities are important threats for the 50,000 merchant vessels sailing the oceans and moving 90% of our world’s commerce. A piracy-terrorism nexus, if widely spread, could have lethal consequences for a weakened world economy Both of them share a physical environment favorable to illegal activities. The oceans covering nearly three-quarters of the planet, freedom of the high seas make them impossible to control. Enduring piracy activities around Africa displays it at will. In parallel, Islamist terrorism implements its strategy targeting the world economy of which sea trade is one of the main pillars. Both activities are also closely linked to criminal activities: Terrorism for logistic purposes, while piracy is one of its main maritime components. Recognizing the close relationship between both activities, along with the complementarities of some specific skills could bring them even closer. Such an unnatural alliance could bring together the seamanship of pirates with the planning expertise of highly motivated terrorists.