In its resolution, the Council urged member states to work in conjunction with relevant international organizations to adopt legislation to facilitate prosecution of suspected pirates, as well as to cooperate on the issue of hostage-taking.
Pirate networks "continue to rely on kidnapping and hostage-taking," the 15-member Council said, noting that the profits "help generate funding to purchase weapons, gain recruits, and continue their operations activities, thereby jeopardizing the safety and security of civilians and restricting the flow of free commerce."
Pirates off the coast of Somalia and the Horn of Africa have made between $339m and $413m in ransom profits in the past seven years, fueling a wide range of criminal activities on a global scale, according to "Pirate Trails" - a report released earlier this month by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the World Bank and INTERPOL.
Meanwhile, piracy is estimated to cost the global economy about $18bn a year in increased trade costs, as well as significant decline in tourist arrivals and fishing yields since 2006.
