Examining the issues: Gulf of Aden Piracy

For many in the U.S. and other modern and prosperous countries, the reaction to the news of modern pirates attacking merchant ships large and small in remote corners of the globe is part disbelief, and part an exotic story from a far away land.  For Merchant Mariners who carry the goods and commodities that make up the world economy, modern piracy is a very real threat.  In fact, piracy is become a very expensive threat to commercial trade.

The ships are modern, but the pirates are not.  The pirates that are attacking today’s cargo ships are not necessarily more sophisticated, or advanced, but are simply lightly to moderately armed gangs who sneak aboard both suspecting and unsuspecting ships.  Once aboard, they typically hold the ship and crew ransom by taking the ship to a remote area.  They have little interest in the actual cargo of the ship because they do not have the means to extract the value of that cargo.  They have only one goal in mind…cash.  The pirates of the world today come from some of the poorest countries in the world.  Somalia in particular, is now a failed nation which has not had an effective national government since 1991 makes a perfect hangout for pirates to disappear into. So the source of modern piracy is fairly clear.  Poor, desperate, ungoverned areas tend to accommodate piracy.  There is one thing that I am missing however.  Terrorism.  Terrorism is the next step for modern piracy.  Piracy based on terrorism is relatively few and far between, but as we continue to allow modern piracy to expand, terrorists will likely turn to piracy as a tool against modern and powerful countries.

UN Piracy Map

What do we do?

• Pay the ransom, and retrieve ships and their crews back.
• Patrol active piracy zones with multinational naval forces to deter piracy.
• Directly attack pirates using modern, skilled multinational naval forces to recover ships and their crews.
• Refuse to pay ransoms, risk death/injury to crews, and cargo/property loss.
• Contract private security firms to forcefully recover ships and their crews. 

Clearly only two choices will stop piracy.  Attacking pirates forcefully, and refusing to paying ransoms.  Refusing flat out to pay ransoms is a tough call that many companies and nations don’t want to make.  Not paying a ransom will most likely result in a complete loss of a ship and its crew.  The clear solution is the successful application of naval force by the modern navies of the world.  The Gulf of Aden, Straits of Malacca, and other pirate hot spots are very close to huge international naval forces.  These large navies spend most of their time training and supporting other operations occuring ashore.  Large naval battles have not been a part of war since WWII, and some would argue Vietnam War, leaving a large component of the world’s navies relatively unused. 

The U.S. Fifth Fleet which is responsible for U.S. naval forces in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea and coast off East Africa as far south as Kenya has taken steps to deter escalating piracy in the Gulf of Aden.  Even recently, the Fifth Fleet has taken steps to establish a security corridor through the Gulf to better protect shipping traffic.  Despite the establishment of the security corridor, attacks are still occuring.  Multinational forces under the Fifth Fleet will most likely have to step up patrols and presence in the area.  The United Nations has even went so far as passing a resolution enabling the patrolling of Somali waters following the attack of a French yacht and other incidents in early 2008. The Security Council resolution provided permission for six months from June 2008 to states cooperating with Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG) to enter the country’s territorial waters and use “all necessary means” to stop “piracy and armed robbery at sea, in a manner consistent with international law.”

What about private security firms?  Private security firms like the large U.S. firm “Blackwater” have recently recognized the likely demand for maritime security and have created “maritime mobility” components offering security and logistics solutions for a price.  Blackwater has even purchased an old oceanographic research vessel and outfitted it to be a “Worldwide Maritime Security Support Craft” in 2006.  To this date it appears Blackwater has yet to actually utilize the vessel in any type of operation but as the actions of governments fail in the deterance of piracy, it is likely that companies will eventually turn to private security firms for solutions.