Tackling maritime crime without going overboard

IF a gang of cut-throats armed to the teeth climb on to your tanker, knock your crew about and pump the ship's cargo into a waiting vessel, you probably will not be wondering whether they are pirates or armed robbers.

There is, however, an important legal difference between the two. It is why the International Chamber of Commerce's International Maritime Bureau (IMB) Piracy Reporting Centre in Kuala Lumpur receives and disseminates reports on piracy and on armed robbery.

For some purposes, though, t…