Pirates and armed robbers prey upon merchant ships with impunity in many of the world’s waters. In 2010 alone, 1,181 persons were reported taken hostage, 37 were injured, and 8 were killed. During the same year, 445 ships were attacked.

Some of the high-risk regions in terms of piracy and armed robbery against ships today are the waters off the Horn of Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and the Gulf of Guinea. Even in a region that is almost never linked to modern piracy – Northern Europe – the alarming and mysterious boarding of the Arctic Sea brought the problem of piracy and armed robbery against ships to the relatively calm waters of the Baltic. Nevertheless, it is the waters off Somalia that have been of particular concern, with 219 attacks being reported against ships in 2010, with most hijackings being resolved at the cost of millions of dollars in ransom. As of 31 December 2010, Somali pirates still held 28 vessels with 638 crew members hostage.

The grave threat of piracy to the security and efficiency of marine transportation, particularly to the men and women carrying out this important function, has led the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to adopt the theme “Piracy: orchestrating the response” for World Maritime Day in 2011. The International Conference on Piracy at Sea (ICOPAS 2011), organized by the World Maritime University (WMU) in cooperation with the IMO, commemorates this theme and contributes to the efforts of maritime industry stakeholders and the international community at large to identify, monitor, study, research, and implement preventive measures to combat violent crime against merchant shipping. The Conference will be supported by international partners and sponsors and will be held from 17 to 19 October 2011 in Malmö, Sweden.