Up to 2.000 pirates are now believed to be sailing forth from its (Somalia's) lawless coastline, carrying out anything up to half a dozen attacks per week and earning an estimated $30 million in ransoms last year alone. They operate mainly along a traditional clan basis - the system of close family loyalties that has made Somalia all but ungovernable as a nation, but which provides a perfect social template for crime Mafias.
The simple modus operandi of modern day piracy also suits them well. Besides a couple of motor launches, all that is needed is a few Kalashnikovs and perhaps a rocket propelled grenade launcher, weapons easily available in a country wracked by civil war. Even the sailing expertise required is limited. Most pirates steer these days not by the stars, but by hand-held mobile GPS systems - the nautical answer to the satnav - allowing them to range far out to sea without getting lost. Otherwise, little, prior planning is needed: the Gulf of Aden is so packed with shipping that targets can simply be chosen at random.
The Maersk Alabama, which originally had 21 American sailors on board, shows how much potential there is for major disaster. US television networks are treating it as a tale of all-American heroism, focusing on how the ship's crew managed first to take one of their attackers prisoner, and how Capt Phillips then selflessly volunteered for a hostage-swap. They could so easily, however, be reporting a tale of all-American tragedy. |