Shipping companies that don't follow these guidelines do so at their own peril, said Christensen. Out of the last 15 attacks, 10 have not followed self-protection guidelines or chose not to travel through the protected corridor.
The area of the pirate attacks includes the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean off the coasts of Somalia and Kenya. It equals 1.1 million square miles, which is four times the size of Texas.
"We have three dozen warships, but we can't be everywhere at once," said Christensen.
Some shipping companies could just decide to avoid the area altogether.
Odfjells SE, a Norwegian shipping company, announced Monday that its new routes would go around Africa completely, causing additional cost and around a three-week delay for shipments to get to their destinations.
"The rerouting will entail extra sailing days and later cargo deliveries. This will incur significant extra cost, but we expect our customers' support and contribution," said Odfjell SE president Terje Storeng.
Philippe de Pontet, a Middle East and Africa expert with the Eurasia Group, said that the decision was "a big signal in the shipping industry" and warned that it could cause a sharp increase in insurance fees if other companies follow suit.
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