Insurers face tougher times as Somali piracy drops

International navies have cracked down on pirates, including strikes on their coastal bases, and ship firms are increasingly using armed guards and defensive measures on vessels including barbed wire, scaring off Somali seaborne gangs.

That reduced the number of incidents involving Somali pirates to just 69 in the first half of 2012, compared with 163 in the same period last year, according to watchdog the International Maritime Bureau.

"The chance of pirates being able to carry out successful hijackings are now very slim, which is probably deterring many would-be pirates from going to sea," said Rory Lamrock, an intelligence analyst with security firm AKE.

War torn Somalia is next to the Gulf of Aden