Cost of Somali piracy slumps as attacks fall: report

PIRACY DIFFERENT IN WEST AFRICA
Shipping companies, which in the past used larger and more costly teams and took expensive steps such as rerouting vessels and traveling at greater speed, were increasingly turning to smaller groups of armed personnel, the report said.
Somali pirates were increasingly attacking local fishermen and smaller craft, often hoping to use their vessels to attack larger ships.
In West Africa, tackling the attacks was complicated by the lack of regional cooperation and information sharing, it said.
"Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea is fundamentally different (from) events taking place in the Indian Ocean," said Madsen.
"We observe... a high degree of violence in this region," he said. "The constantly evolving tactics of West African piracy make it extremely difficult to isolate it from other elements of organized crime."


http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/07/us-somalia-piracy-idUSBREA460WA20140507