Weapon-wielding pirates on the high seas aren't just a threat to unlucky merchant seamen. They also cut into the wallets of Australian consumers.

The toll includes five Australian ships that  have been targeted by pirates since 2003 but also the added tab for stolen goods, higher insurance and ransoms paid by the shipping industry.

In this globalised age, those costs are being spread far and wide to the tune of $17 billion a year, according to market research company IBISWorld.

For Australian consumers it works out to an estimated $500 million a year, or about $25 a person.

And the threat "is getting out of control", according to International Maritime Bureau, which tracks pirate attacks and maps them at its site www.icc-ccs.org.

That means more attacks from the sort of  well-armed and "increasingly bold" bandits such as those holding Saudi supertanker Sirius Star hostage off the coast of Somalia.

In this year alone, the number of marauder has risen.

There were 83 in the third quarter, according to the IMB. That compares to 63 in the second quarter and 53 in tghe previous first three months of 2008.

Worryingly, for Australians, Indonesian waters are some of the most pirate-infested, last year ranking only behind the coasts of Nigeria and Somalia as the most likely to contain pirates.

However, it's the increased raids on the Suez Canal route, in which 10% of all seaborne trade moves, that will really sting Australian consumers, IBIS World's Robert Bryant says.

That's because European exports to Australia must pass through the bottleneck, right through the sights of the pirates and their well-armed speedboats.

As the attacks continue off the coast of Africa, imports such as cars "will become considerably more expensive," Mr Bryant said.

"With more than 90% off global trade carried by sea (and) with pirates prevalent in two of the worlds most important shipping waterways, its extremely difficult for shipping companies to remain safe," he said.

Source: The Age