Here are some thoughts on the pirates of the interstate from
naval aviator Herb Carmen, whose daddy was a truck driving
man.
By Cmdr. Herb Carmen
Best Defense pirates
columnist
We most often think of piracy
taking place on the high seas, but it's also happening closer to home. Jennifer Levitz wrote an
excellent article in the Wall Street Journal about a spike in piracy
on the nation's highways. The article cites data from FreightWatch International which
shows that thieves stole 859 truckloads containing $487 million of goods in
2009, up from $290 million just one year ago. FreightWatch
International's 2009
review of U.S. cargo theft has breaks down what types of good were stolen,
which states have seen the most thefts, and points to a few trends.
It's interesting to contrast cargo
theft on the highways with piracy off the
Somali coast. Tractor-trailer thefts require surveillance and focus on
stealing cargo often while drivers are away from their trucks. Stolen
goods are then sold on the black market. Pirate attacks near Somalia seek
vulnerable targets of opportunity at sea to capture and take hostages. Pirates near Somalia have the capacity to capture and detain hostages for long
periods of time while ransom negotiations take place. Tractor-trailer
thefts more closely resemble pirate attacks near Asian ports, where cargo is
more often the prize and where the capability to remove and resell the cargo
exists.
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