– AP – Sea piracy worldwide dropped slightly in 2011 for the first time in five years but Somali pirates have intensified attacks and remained the greatest threat, a global maritime watchdog said Thursday.

– US Naval Institute Proceedings – Two executives and a consultant in the long-range unmanned surface vessel (USV) industry detail how the new platforms can police the high seas.

– New York Times Magazine – One couple’s 388-day ordeal — and their unlikely saviors.

– Time – In the past eight months, acts of piracy have spiked in the waters off West Africa. The wave of violence seems partly inspired by the Somali pirates and partly a result of the mixed blessings that come, countries in the region are finding out, with discovering vast oil reserves.

– Virginian Pilot – The Navy is turning to modern online gaming technology to help solve one of the most ancient scourges on the high seas: piracy.

– BBC – Piracy off the Somali coast costs the international community up to $8.3bn (£5.1bn) a year, a new report from the Geopolicity consultancy estimates.

– The Economist – Piracy off the coast of Somalia is getting worse. Time to act.

– The Economist – For all the efforts to combat it, Somali piracy is posing an ever greater threat to the world’s shipping.

– Defense Technology International – If the U.S. Navy has it way, it will soon be able to predict pirate attacks against civilian ships by combining wind, wave, and water current data with human and surveillance intel, and feeding the mix into algorithms that take into account pirate tactics, the time of day they normally attack, and the range of their vessels.

– US Naval Institute Proceedings – They pose little threat. But there is peril in comparing them to Barbary brigands. That muddies the debate – clouding our perspective on what truly is in our national interest.

– Virginian Pilot – For the first time in nearly 200 years, a jury in a U.S. court returns a guilty verdict in a piracy case, convicting five Somali nationals of piracy in the April 1 attack on the Norfolk-based frigate Nicholas.

– Virginian Pilot – For the first time since the 19th century, piracy suspects will go on trial in a federal court in a case that legal experts see as precedent-setting.

– CNN – U.S. Marines boarded and seized control Thursday of a German-owned vessel that had been captured by pirates the day before off the coast of Somalia. The incident marks the first time U.S. military forces off Somalia have staged an action to board a commercial vessel where pirates were on board with hostages.

BBC – Somali pirate admits attacking US warship

A Somali man has admitted attacking a US warship in April after mistaking it for a merchant vessel.

Wall Street Journal – Who’s a Pirate? It’s Not So Simple

Prosecuting pirates is the modern world’s approach to the scourge of Somali piracy, but there’s a problem: Nobody seems able to say, legally, exactly what a pirate is.

US Naval Institute Proceedings – Two Faces of High-Seas Crime

Maritime piracy and maritime terrorism must be tackled with a unified effort.

Canadian Press – Warships intensifying hunt for pirates at sea, but pirate bosses on land remain elusive

While the European Union Naval Force is more actively hunting pirates than ever before on the high seas, their financiers and organizers remain out of reach on land. Officials complain that not enough is being done to gather intelligence on them and their assets even as law enforcement agencies cite problems with co-ordinating the collection of information and legal barriers in sharing it.

Washington Post – Lack of prosecution poses challenge for foreign navies that catch Somali pirates

For six weeks, two Navy warships have been cruising the Indian Ocean with some unwanted guests: 10 accused Somali pirates the U.S. government doesn’t know what to do with.

BBC – Somalia criticises US for putting pirate on trial

A Somali official has criticised the US for prosecuting a man over a piracy incident off the Horn of Africa.

Best Defense – Garacad, the nastiest place you’ve never heard of — but will

Last week brought promising news of a first step in denying pirates the use of ports such as Garacad, along the middle of the Somali coastline. The ministers of the defense of the European Union announced an expansion of the mission of EU’s Operation Atalanta to “include control of the Somali ports where pirates are based as well as ‘neutralizing’ mother ships that allow the pirates to operate over 1,000 kilometers from the coast.”

Economist – A long war of the waters

Thanks to greater vigilance and naval patrols, the seas off Somalia may be a bit less dangerous than they were. But they are still the riskiest in the world

Copenhagen Post – Maersk hires war ship to protect tanker

Danish shippers are taking more extreme measures to provide safety for the fleets sailing in pirate waters

Information Dissemination – EU Looking The Wrong Direction

A look at just how much the EU piracy patrol is costing off of Somalia – the cost is staggering…

BBC – Navy patrols may extend as Somali pirates widen attacks

The British admiral in charge of the EU flotilla carrying out anti-piracy patrols off Somalia is considering extending the area which they patrol.

Associated Press – Admiral: Sea too large to stop all pirate attacks

International naval forces will never be able to completely secure the vast area of ocean where Somali pirates are hijacking ships off East Africa, the commander of the EU Naval Force’s counter-piracy efforts said Tuesday.