UN Agency Tells Merchants Not To Arm Against Pirates Despite 90 Sailors Being Held Hostage

A United Nations agency told countries to “strongly discourage” merchant ship crews from acquiring firearms to defend against piracy, despite 90 sailors being held hostage by Somali pirates. Piracy rose in 2025, according to the annual report from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) released in June, with 171 incidents of successful or attempted attacks on the high seas. However, the agency, tied to the United Nations, took a hard position against potential targets of pirate attacks using firearms to defend themselves, referring to a circular released in June 2015, in a press release issued days after Somali pirates seized an...