Thursday, May 27, 2010

Amver infographic, or how piracy is messing with ships

Our colleagues at the United States Coast Guard Operations Systems Center brought this to our attention and we wanted to share it with you. Thanks Jayden!

Its difficult to really see the impact piracy has on shipping. Its not like you can look down from earth and see a snapshot of all the ships in the world. Oh wait, you can see a bird's eye view of all the Amver ships in the world. Check out these Amver density plots. The first is from April 2007 and the second is from April 2010.


2007April
April 2007 Amver density plot


April2010densityplot
April 2010 Amver density plot


Notice the gaping white spot around the Horn of Africa in the April 2010 density plot? That big white area signifies NO Amver ships have sailed through those waters in the entire month. It is a striking comparison to April 2007. In fact, each square represents one degree (60 minutes latitude by 60 minutes longitude). Amver ships are definitely avoiding the Somali coast.

When will this nonsense end? Clay Maitland has some thoughts on the piracy issue, President Obama has issued an Executive Order on the matter, and the Maersk Alabama pirate, captured in the dramatic take down of his colleagues, recently pleaded guilty to piracy charges in New York.

What do you think will help solve the piracy problem?


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