Q: It has been at least over a year since the Somali pirates stopped hijacking ships. What caused them to stop doing it?
—Andy Sims, Douglasville
A: Somali pirates accounted for only 4 percent of the world's "maritime piracy and armed robbery" in 2013, according to Control Risks, "an independent, global risk consultancy specializing in political, integrity and security risk." There were only 15 incidents off Somalia that year, an improvement the International Maritime Bureau credits to the involvement of international navies, the hiring of guards to protect vessels and the "stabilizing influence of Somalia's central government."
That was the fewest number of incidents off Somalia since 10 attacks in 2006 and a decrease from a high of 237 in 2011 and 75 in 2012. There were 264 reported pirate attacks worldwide in 2013, a 40 percent decrease since 2011. Piracy continues in the waters off West Africa, including Nigeria, and throughout Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam, according to the IMB, which has a real-time world piracy map at https://icc-ccs.org/piracy-reporting-centre/live-piracy-map.
Q: What has become of Craig Lucie on WSB-TV’s Action News? I haven’t seen him in a while.
—Helen Smith, Atlanta
A: Lucie has been anchoring the 4 p.m. weekday newscast since the fall. His reports also air on Action News at noon, 4, 5 and 6 p.m. "It's the first time I've had weekends off in 11 years," Lucie told Q&A on the News in an email.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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