What are pirates like today?

Answer 1

I believe so, according to our local news, recently a ship was hijacked.

This incident was in the Indian ocean, and the pirates were from Somalia. The ship was a supertanker, and it was the largest prize ever captured by pirates in the history of the world. The ship was later released, and the pirates claimed that they were paid the huge ransom they wanted for letting it go. More recently these pirates went after an Egyptian cargo ship, but a German warship was nearby and chased them away.

The thing to remember about piracy is that it is motivated by economics. Piracy existed in the Mediterranean for centuries until it became "Mare Nostrum" (Our Sea) to the Roman Republic. The Roman general Pompey wiped out piracy in the Med, but it reappeared about five centuries later when Rome was in decline, and the Vandals built a pirate fleet operating from Carthage. Since then, pirates have operated in other areas of the world; in the Caribbean from Port Royal in Jamaica and other islands, the Indian Ocean from Madagascar, in the Gulf of Mexico from New Orleans and Galveston, and in the Mediterranean from the Barbary Coast. Today, they are mostly Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean, and Chinese pirates in the South China Sea. The latter are impossible to deal with because they operate in Chinese waters and certainly pay China for this protection. The navies of the world are powerless to go after them in their home waters because it would risk war with China.
Pirates have existed a long time, and still do. Although, they aren't the picture of pirates way back when, they have advanced technology and ride in small motorboats.

Answer 2

pirates are dangerous when you encounter or seeing a pirate could mean bad news! :(

Answer 3

maybe there might be people that used to be them but most likley not

Answer 4

mostly in Africa