Here are several news articles on the pirates off the coast of Somalia. 

Piracy costing shippers between $18 to $30 million in ransom payments this year (Financial Times). 

374 hostages held by pirates in September (Bloomberg News).

Pirates involved in all types of black market activities and serves as heroes to Somali youth (The Observer).

It is a fair bet that a teenager in Somalia today aspires to be a pirate. That’s not just because of the rich pickings young men such as those who seized the Ukrainian arms ship 10 days ago can expect to draw. Pirates in Somalia are imbued with an aura of nationalist heroism.

They are regarded as unlikely eco-warriors. Because of the lack of a functional government, the UN says the long Somalia coast is a favourite dumping point for ships with toxic waste. Illegal fishing is rampant. Trawlers routinely use fishing methods banned years ago. In this context, piracy is seen as one way of benefiting from a precious water resource from which the locals have in effect been elbowed out. This enterprise is hugely profitable. Therein lies the challenge for the international community. Pirates are thought to have made between £10m and £17m this year alone.