Although pirate attacks have at least tripled during that time period, the actual number of attacks remains unclear. More than 2,400 acts of piracy were reported around the world between 20, roughly twice the number reported for the preceding six-year period. The heavy ocean traffic (and its cargo) spawned a surge in sea piracy and a new breed of pirates, the bloodiest the world has seen. In Pictures: The WorldвЂ™s Most Dangerous Waters More than 10 million cargo containers are moving across the worldвЂ™s oceans at any one time. The world currently transports 80% of all international freight by sea. But the hostage taking and perilous rescue of captain Richard Phillips is only the most high-profile episode in a worldwide renaissance of sea piracy that began a decade ago.ДЄt its heart: the growth of global commerce in the past two decades that has crowded the oceans with cargo vessels, dry-bulk carriers and supertankers loaded with every good imaginable.

When most Americans thought of sea piracy before last week, Johnny Depp came to mind, not Somalia. The plunder has spawned a new era of piracy that is dominated by machine-gun-toting gangs equipped with rocket-propelled grenades and other modern weapons ready to board, kill crews, steal cargo and even hijack and resell ships. On the contrary, it has risen sharply in the last decade: The global arms trade has made it easy to access cheap and powerful weapons, and globalization has filled the oceans with cargo vessels.

In Pictures: The WorldвЂ™s Most Dangerous WatersД¬ontrary to what many people think, piracy has not been relegated to the history books. The perilous rescue of captain Richard Phillips is just one episode in a worldwide renaissance of sea piracy that began a decade ago.

Most dangerous pirate waters