In this age of shipping agents and commercial flying, the criminally-inclined have many opportunities to expand their shady conduct beyond dry land and into sea and sky.
The process of transport has become somewhat complicated over the years. Living in the 21st century comes with perks like aircon and Facebook, sure, but we are forced to confront a whole new level of badass that our pre-Enlightenment counterparts could only have dreamed of.
Some centuries back it became convention to not spend ones’ whole life on the same land mass in the same village, and air and sea travel are now common practice among our species.
Every time we have to travel or transport something, be it ourselves or any sort of product or item, we need to prepare for the possibility that a mutinous villain might feel feisty on the day and try to shake things up. Whether leaving the house for business or pleasure we need to learn from affairs, current and past, and wise up to existing threats.
SEA
The pirates of way back when would make us laugh today. Essentially they were drunken hobos who looked like this:
Aaaaaaaaare you scared?
A pirate in 2010 looks like this:
Yipee ki yay! (gun bigger than person)
In 2009 Somali and Kenyan pirates attacked all kinds of freighters, bulk carrier ships and tankers, causing havoc in the international shipping industry. Shipping companies are still suffering the effects of having to pay for longer and more inconvenient routes so that vessels could avoid the Gulf of Aden aka pirate hunting ground.
And it’s not only the purposefully malicious that we have to be wary of. Mother Nature has been known to dish out a heavy blow every so often.
Just yesterday, Tuesday 12 January, an unsuspecting tourist was enjoying a leisurely swim at Fish Hoek beach in Cape Town when a “dinosaur huge” great white shark attacked. Violent criminal? No. Small cause for concern? I think so, yes.
AIR
This is what a person who unexpectedly starting smoking on a plane looked like in the 90s:
Oh is it no smoking on board? Sorry, small mistake.
Not quite the same these days is it? The passengers of flight 253 en route to Detroit received an unexpected Christmas surprise at the end of last year when Umar Abdul Mutallab tried to ignite an explosive substance and kill them all.
This is by no means a suggestion that no one should ever travel or venture off land again. I’m just saying that things are crazy, and people should bear that in mind and hope like hell that shipping agents, airlines and shark spotters know what they’re doing.