Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea remains the principal security threat faced by the shipping industry. Dozens of seafarers are kidnapped each year, and held for ransom in terrible conditions ashore. ICS believes that piracy can and should be suppressed for the benefit of shipping and the region.
Shipping and World Trade Facts: Top Containership Operators | The international shipping industry is responsible for the carriage of around 90% of world trade.
It is difficult to quantify the value of volume of world seaborne trade in monetary terms, as figures for trade estimates are traditionally in terms of tonnes or tonne-miles, and are therefore not comparable with monetary-based statistics for the value of the world economy.
The worldwide population of seafarers serving on internationally trading merchant ships is estimated at 1,892,720 seafarers, of which 857,540 are officers and 1,035,180 are ratings.