Modern piracy and maritime transport

The development of the global economy is increasingly dependent on the dynamics of trade exchange on a global scale, which in turn depends on progress in the liberalization of commodity and transport markets, as well as the efficiency and effectiveness of maritime transport. Maritime transport remains the “core” of international trade and globalization, handling over 80% of the world’s trade volume. It can also be added that it constitutes the main arteries in international supply chains, and any disruption to its balance has consequences, more or less noticeable, for both the shipping industry and ordinary consumers. It is difficult to estimate the value of world maritime trade in monetary terms, as the data concerning it are provided in tons or ton-miles, and therefore are not comparable with statistics based on a monetary system. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) estimates freight revenues at 5% of the value of world trade.
We can therefore assume that maritime transport is the primary branch of transport serving international trade. For island nations (Japan, Great Britain, Australia, Indonesia, Philippines), sea transport accounts for almost 100% of their total trade exchange. Maritime transport also dominates in handling the international trade of countries exporting large quantities of mineral raw materials (crude oil, hard coal, metal ores, grain) and most developing countries. Due to the large average transport distance (approx. 4.8 thousand km), maritime transport performs more transport work globally than all other branches of transport combined. Hence, the merchant fleet has become one of the most important instruments for the development of trade exchange. (…)

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