We got a couple of skips ahead, dead ahead. Another American flag ship has been attacked by Somali pirates. The ships on us have been attacked. More trouble on the open sea. Somali pirates hijacked another vessel. Overpowered by armed pirates, Selim surrendered. Somalia's pirates are well on Dengit Tomek. He and his crew spent the next 20 months living in difficult. Four other ships for hijacked Tuesday. 60 hostages taken in all. In a single year, when piracy was at its height in 2010, over 4,000 seafarers were attacked, and more than 1,000 were held hostage. The Somali piracy business model of hijacking vessels and holding crews for ransom has disrupted shipping patterns, caused billions of dollars in mitigation efforts, and taken a severe toll on seafarers. But as piracy waned over the past few years, the international community's commitments to combat piracy have begun to diminish. A series of attacks on regional dows in 2015 may serve as an indication that we could be resetting the stage for piracy's return. Looking back as piracy escalated between 2007 and 2009, shipping adapted by shifting transits away from the Somali coast. By 2009, the traditional shipping lane along the East African coast through the Mozambique Channel had disappeared. This continued for the next several years, but as piracy declined due to efforts from the international community, ships began to shift back towards the coastline. By 2015, the traditional pre-piracy route was back in use along the coast of East Africa. In addition, the rate of vessels using private security and other measures dropped significantly throughout the course of the year. This decline was most pronounced in the fourth quarter when the size of the high-risk area was reduced. The deployment of naval vessels dedicated to counter piracy operations decreased as well. However, in 2015, at least nine merchant vessels, five dows, and one fishing vessel, reported being approached or attacked by Somali pirates. The five dows were all successfully hijacked by pirates. In November, it was reported that the MV Muhammadi had been hijacked, and nearby FV MOOC, Andaman, 028, was reportedly attacked as well. These attacks occurred well within the newly reestablished shipping lane. While several regional Somali coast guards possess a minimal operative capacity, they are unable to patrol the Somali EEZ or mount an effective response to an attack outside their operational range. The international community's efforts to combat piracy have diminished, and recently, they have been successful attacks on dows. These may serve as vital early warning signs that the stage is being reset for Somali piracy to return.