Pirates!

There is a very interesting article in this month's National Geographic.

It's about pirates. Not the Jack Sparrow sort.

They are the pirates that ply the straits of Malacca. A stretch of water I have gone up and down several times. Almost more than my fingers could count anyway.

Some information that the author would want to share is that the pirating way of life is steeped in tradition. Piracy in these waters have been recorded hundreds of year ago. Even before the East India Company establish a foothold here.

Piracy is very much economy driven. When times are good, communities surrounding the straits are booming, piracy goes down. Where there are pockets of hardship, there will be small stronghold of seamen ready to board ships to plunder.

Piracy is not all swash-buckling. Pirates range from out-of-job merchant ship crew or uneducated odd jobbers. The common thread they share is their inability to sustain a livelihood.

Pirates are often organised. There are some who are in cahoots with shipping companies or crew of ships that sail through the straits. They attack with handheld GPS that enables them to locate and track the targeted ship.

As some pirates are merchant ship crew themselves, they are able to helm the ship through the straits of Malacca and Singapore, onto the South China Sea. The ship will then rendezvous with another group in charge of taking over and emptying the ship of its goods and valuables.

Pirates have a story to tell. If you offer the right price, they will share them with you.

Find the article and pictorial spread here.