Mauritius: Unrest on the high seas - Mauritius to lead armada against piracy

10 September 2010

Port Louis — On October 7 the international community will meet here to discuss the burning issue of piracy. Hot stuff? Not compared to the swashbuckling role the country aspires to playing in the near future.

Pirates have roamed the high seas for almost as long as men have travelled them. After decades of decline, this very singular form of criminal activity is once again blooming in the region thanks, in large part, to a potent mix involving a failed State, increasingly sophisticated equipment and legal snafus. Indeed, the number of attacks has doubled almost annually since 2004. Needless to say, this resurgence is both extremely costly and dangerous for the thousands of vessels that pass through the Western Indian Ocean every year (not to mention the countries that depend on them for supplies). So who's going to save the day? Why, Mauritius of course!

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