Jamaica denies piracy

Not surprsingly, Jamaica denies piracy is a problem as reported here:

A JAMAICAN official has rejected overnight a warning by the International Maritime Bureau that the Caribbean country could be listed as a hot spot for piracy after a string of attacks on ships.
Noel Hylton, president of the Port Authority of Jamaica, which manages shipping and ports matters, denied there had been any incidents of piracy in Jamaican territory in the first quarter of 2006.

"Everybody seems to be getting excited about piracy in Jamaican waters, but all of that is mere excitement," Mr Hylton said.

"There is no reason for Jamaica to be listed as an area in which piracy thrives. We have had no reports of piracy in Jamaican waters and only a few weeks ago did we lose some items on the wharf here when two men raided a ship that was docked and removed a few things. That is not piracy."

well, it probably is "piracy" under the rather liberal definition used by the Piracy Reporting Center. Jamaica does make a reasonable point, though.