Every day seems to bring a new report of piracy in the Indian Ocean off the East African coast. The world thus is becoming aware of a problem that has plagued maritime shipping for many years but until recently was mostly ignored.

The pirates come out from the coast in small boats, manage to board their targets, then force the crew to anchor off the coast while they wait for a ransom payment from the owners.

This is more serious than it sounds. From time to time ships have disappeared, their crews murdered and thrown into the sea. Sometimes the pirates disguise their captured prize, sail it into port and sell the cargo. Or they take as much as they can carry, then scuttle the ship and the people in it.

None of this is adventurous or glamorous. None of it is like the fictional piracy in old movies starring Errol Flynn.

A few days ago pirates took control of a supertanker carrying a reported $100 million worth of crude oil. Now the pirates are harming not just regional commerce but the price of oil worldwide. It is not too much of a stretch to say that if piracy remains unchecked, you are going to pay more for gas as a result.

A naval task force joined by several nations including the United States has tried to combat the pirates and had some success. But clearly the problem has not been solved.

A recent television program seen in the mid-

valley highlighted the difficulties. Local authorities around the Horn of Africa are too weak to do anything. Arming the crews is problematic because they are not trained in repelling attacks and would be no match against heavily armed pirates. In the end, ship owners find it less risky and expensive to pay ransom and lose an occasional vessel than to take countermeasures that work.

Blackwater, a private security firm based in North Carolina, reported last month it had outfitted a ship and was ready to provide anti-piracy protection, but at the time it had no takers yet.

Whether they like or or not, shipping companies will have to equip their vessels to repel an attack, and to call in Blackwater or similar help if the attackers manage to get on board.

If ship operators just keep giving in, as they do now in most cases, piracy on the high seas will never end. (hh)