<p>Piracy has long been framed primarily as a threat to economic interests and maritime trade, while its impact on individual victims remains underexplored. This study addresses that gap by foregrounding survivor testimony and applying a harm-based analytical framework to identify, classify, and assess the severity of harms experienced by piracy victims. Drawing on interviews with 11 survivors, including merchant mariners, private maritime security officers, and a journalist, and supplemented by expert insights, we document the multifaceted harms resulting from piracy and associated criminal acts such as violence, kidnapping, and property offenses. Using elements of Greenfield and Paoli’s harm assessment framework (2013; 2022), we classify identified harms by affected interest dimension and evaluate their severity. Our findings reveal that piracy results in severe, repeated, and multilayered victimization extending beyond immediate physical and psychological harm, encompassing significant impacts on victims’ material interests, reputation, privacy, and autonomy. By shifting the analytical focus from economic or strategic concerns to survivors’ lived experiences, this study offers a more comprehensive understanding of piracy victimization and underscores the need for policy responses that address its human consequences, including anticipatory training and long-term survivor support beyond immediate medical and psychological needs.</p>