The Report

Why are so few captured pirates brought to trial? Each year hundreds of ships are attacked by pirate gangs, many off the coast of Somalia.They target cargo and also passengers and crew who are held for ransom, sometimes for years. The British couple Paul and Rachel Chandler have been held hostage for over 8 months. An international Combined Task Force now patrols the region and its ships regularly witness boarding raids and seize pirates, yet most are just released or returned to the Somali shore - probably to participate in further attacks. In fact across the world fewer than 50 pirates have been successfully convicted of any crime. In this week's The Report, Simon Cox investigates the highly-charged political, social and legal issues which enable pirates to operate with relative impunity.