[Pak Daily Times]  Somali piracy cost the world nearly $7 billion in 2011, including more than $2 billion for military operations, armed guards and equipment to protect ships, a monitoring group said on Wednesday. The US-based Oceans Beyond Piracy said 80 percent of the cost is borne by the shipping industry with the remainder covered by governments. It said the most notable cost was $2.7 billion in fuel to allow ships to travel at higher speeds through high-risk areas, followed by $1.3 billion for military operations and $1.1 billion for armed guards and security equipment. Another $635 million are attributed to insurance, $486-680 million are spent on re-routing vessels along the west coast of India, and $195 million on increased labour costs and danger pay for seafarers, it said.
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