All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works. While the Jolly Roger has not sailed since the 1800s, piracy on the high seas is alive and well in the 21st century.
Modern pirates are often high-tech, well armed and sponsored by organized crime.
Some are even backed by government officials. More than two-thirds of the pirate attacks reported to the International Maritime Bureau, a division of the International Chamber of Commerce, are in Asian waters. According to the IMB, the reported incidents have tripled since the early 1990s. In 1999, the IMB's Piracy Reporting Center tracked 285 attacks, an increase of more than 40 percent from the previous year. The Japanese-owned Global Mars was hijacked by Pirates in February.