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| Africa Horn |
| Finding PiracyÂ’s Tipping Point |
| 2011-05-25 |
| After several unproductive years of dithering in the Indian Ocean, navies and shipping companies are slowly changing their mindset towards countering piracy. Unsurprisingly, this shift has begun to produce a positive outcome. For 2011, the number of attempted Somali pirate attacks has continued to increase as in previous years; however, it appears that to date this year, the rate of successful attacks has actually begun a decline. What is contributing to this change? First, shipping companies have started to put aside their fears of liability and embraced the only foolproof deterrence against successful attacks – embarked armed security. Eaglespeak’s post here demonstrates the higher incidence of armed security defeating attacks. Last week, Intertanko, the association of independent tanker owners, revealed a reversal in its earlier position by releasing guidelines on contracting armed security. The tanker industry had no choice but to get tough on piracy, as loaded tankers are especially susceptible to boarding due to their slower speed and low freeboards. Additionally, with the skyrocketing cost of bunkers, the four or so more days of transit that crude carriers from the Arabian Gulf use in an effort to hug the Indian coast is beginning to take a toll on profits. One of the oft-heard reasons against using armed security is that it will escalate the amount of violence in piracy. This argument holds little water as attacks by automatic weapons and RPGs, the torture, and execution of crews by pirates demonstrate the level of violence in these crimes is already quite unacceptable. Furthermore, I’ve heard industry executives mention that there are rumblings that crews might soon refuse to sail in the Indian Ocean if something isn’t done to protect them. The economic consequences of this sort of reaction couldn't be ignored by anyone, much less the shippers themselves. What additional armed security will do is force the pirates to seek out softer unarmed targets. Inevitably, other components of the shipping industry will have no choice but to tell their lawyers to pack sand and embrace this positive measure to protect their crews and cargoes. The second factor contributing towards a tipping point in piracy is that the coalition navies have abandoned worthless catch and release tactics and increased their own level of violence. Some of the more aggressive European navies have set the standard for proactively stopping pirates, and even the USN has begrudgingly begun to see the value in killing pirates caught in the act. In addition to more aggressive tactics on the part of navies and the shipping companies, what else needs to be done to rid the Indian Ocean of the scourge from Somali Piracy? First, we need to continue to target pirate facilitators. As I’ve noted, detaining teenage criminals and cajoling various jurisdictions into expanding their jails is ineffectual and tantamount to flushing taxpayer money down the CHT system. Finally, we should: Disrupt and Dismantle Pirate Bases Ashore: Piracy at sea can only be abated if pirate bases ashore are disrupted or dismantled. We have obtained appropriate authority from the United Nations Security Council and agreement from Somali authorities to do so. We will work with concerned governments and international organizations to disrupt and dismantle pirate bases to the fullest extent permitted by national law. Interestingly, this passage is an excerpt from National Security Council’s December 2008 policy on Countering Piracy Off the Horn of Africa. Granted, this document was created under a previous administration, but it’s still the most current US counter-piracy policy openly published. Lacking the will to enforce our own policies is an indicator of a disfunctional bureaucracy at best. Although the monsoon season is about to begin, given the pirates' use of motherships, we should expect the number of attacks to not fall as severely as in previous seasons. Nevertheless, with the hardening of many targets and the realization by most involved that lawfare doesn't work, we are now presented with an opportunity to tip control of the seas in the Indian Ocean towards rule of law and away from hapless youths with AKs. Taking the fight to the pirates' leadership and sanctuary ashore is the logical next step. |
| Posted by:tu3031 |
| #5 PIRACY IS WARFARE. This bears repeating. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2011-05-25 18:32 |
| #4 Until we totally destroy such places as Haradhare and Eyl, the piracy situation won't substantially diminish. We need to turn those two tiny villages into slagged stones and barren waste, even worse than it is now. Let whomever wishes to wage war against us (and piracy is a form of warfare) that the repercussions will be swift and devastating, otherwise we'll spend the rest of our lives in war. Unfortunately, we have far too many idiots in both Congress and the bureaucracy that have no understanding of history, and no sense of people or perspective. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2011-05-25 17:46 |
| #3 A report issued by the UN last month reported average annual pirate earnings of US$80,000. The only way to get them to give that up is to kill them. And deport any smalli who supports pirate warlords. |
| Posted by: Slick Poodle6047 2011-05-25 16:13 |
| #2 dr farole has locked up hundreds of organised criminals linked with piracy in the last four years. But he has not much to do it with. Annual budget for 2008 was $15 million and anybody who has been to Africa can tell you the US$ does not go very far there. food, items are expensive even compared to the West. If they just gave Dr Farole some much needed support, piracy would shrivel up and go away. you need order on the land to control piracy, and you need it in puntland as that is where most of the attacks come from |
| Posted by: anon1 2011-05-25 10:33 |
| #1 interesting but really the only solution that would have worked best and cheapest was arming and supporting Dr Farole of Puntland who was trustworthy and willing to help The UN didn't want to recognise him because they want to maintain the fiction of a unified Somalia which is actually 3 countries. Puntland, Somaliland and the completely dysfunctional ex-italian South Central region (containing mogadishu and al shabaab) the relatively functional north wants nothing to do with the south |
| Posted by: anon1 2011-05-25 10:29 |