Can technology thwart Somalia's pirates?

Forget the perils of the Cape Horn or the storm-lashed waters of the southern oceans; a journey through the relatively calm waters of the Gulf of Aden is one of the most nerve-racking and treacherous voyages a mariner can make.

Linking the Arabian Sea with the Red Sea, this waterway is used by about 36,000 ships a year, between them carrying almost a third of the world’s containerised cargo and nearly half of the world’s bulk cargo.

Crews travelling this route have no alternative, but as they do so they turn out the lights, glance nervously out to sea and pray they do not fall victim to the gangs of Somalian pirates prowling the busy waters.

The threat of piracy off Somalia has been growing since the country was plunged into civil war in the 1990s. In recent years, the number of attacks has increased at an alarming rate. In 2008, there were 42 successful hijackings and pirates reaped around $50m (£30m) worth of ransoms.