North Pole. Extensive access to the sea routes of the North Pole would allow, for example, save thousands of kilometers in distance from Europe to China. Most prominently, claims to territory in the Arctic Circle would guarantee a plethora of resources; some including: oil, gas, minerals, and fish. Piracy Seaborne piracy against transport vessels remains a significant issue (with estimated worldwide losses of US$13 to $16 billion per year), particularly in the waters between the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, off the Somali coast, and also in the Strait of Malacca and Singapore, which are used by over 50,000 commercial ships a year. Modern pirates favor small boats and taking advantage of the small number of crew members on modern cargo vessels. They also use large vessels to supply the smaller attack/boarding vessels. Modern pirates can be successful because a large amount of international commerce occurs via shipping. Major shipping routes take cargo ships through narrow bodies of water (such as the Gulf of Aden and the Strait of Malacca) making them vulnerable to be overtaken and boarded by small motorboats. Other active areas include the South China Sea and the Niger Delta. As usage increases, many of these ships have to lower cruising speeds to allow for navigation and traffic control, making them prime targets for piracy. The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) maintains statistics regarding pirate attacks dating back to 1995. Their records indicate hostage-taking overwhelmingly dominates the types of violence against seafarers. For example, in 2006, there were 239 attacks, 77 crew members were kidnapped and 188 taken hostage but only 15 of the pirate attacks resulted in murder. In 2007 the attacks rose by 10% to 263 attacks. There was a 35% increase on reported attacks involving guns. Crew members that were injured numbered 64 compared to just 17 in 2006. That number does not include hostages/kidnapping where they were not injured. Modern definitions of piracy include the following acts: Boarding Extortion Hostage taking Kidnapping of people for ransom Murder Robbery Sabotage resulting in the ship subsequently sinking Seizure of items or the ship Shipwrecking done intentionally to a ship See also General Atlantic history Atlantic World Bibliography of early U.S. naval history Bibliography of 18th–19th century Royal Naval history Congo River History of the Royal Navy History of whaling Indian maritime history List of museum ships List of former museum ships List of naval battles Maritime