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Once, sea pirates belonged to the daring, swashbuckling romance of legend. But in the 21st century, the romance has faded. Sea piracy now is real, threatening the flow of international trade and life itself. 21st century sea piracy in African waters could cripple African shipping. Sea pirates in African waters are menacing the casual fishermen, regular cargo ships, cruise liners and, worst of all, the supply of food to impoverished war torn, drought or famine-ridden African countries. South Africa is an important sea trading nation, (95% of trade is seaborne), but it is not a strong ship owning or shipbuilding nation. African shipping has major problems handling sea piracy.

Sea piracy in African waters is not a new crime. The Barbary Coast in North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya) was a notorious area for piracy from the 17th century to the early 19th century. Fishermen and coastal dwellers of England and Europeans feared they would be kidnapped and sold as slaves here; many faced death.
"The Sultan Moulay Ismail is said to have had an impressive palace built entirely by Christian slave labor, the slaves of whom were obtained by the Barbary Coast Pirates." www.ageofpirates.com One pirate, Barbarossa, was bold enough to seize Algiers and rule it as a pirate base. All shipping trade in the Mediterranean risked the threat of this "pirate navy".

The full effect of this second wave of sea piracy in African waters, growing since the 1980's, is only slowly being realized. Somalia, on the east coast of Africa, and Nigeria in the west are "hot spots". Travel warnings have been issued for both areas.

In October 2005, it was reported that a UN cargo ship docked at a Somalia port. It was in the process of unloading 850 tons of corn and rice when gun wielding bandits boarded the ship and forced it out to sea. This represented the second hijacking in 4 months of a UN food ship bound for Somalia. As a result, pressure is mounting as to the real value of supplying food aid, by sea, to hungry African countries. The coastal waters off Somalia, on the east of Africa, and Nigeria in the west are extreme danger zones for African shipping. In March 19, 2006, it was reported on BBC news that $500,000 ransom money is regularly paid to free cargo, ship and crew captured in Somalia waters.

And piracy is not just limited to cargo ships. International news presses reported that on 6th November 2005, the US cruise liner, "Seabourn Spirit" was attacked by Somali pirates in small

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