Pirate Ransoms: How Much Is Your Life Worth?

Pirates put a value on seafarers lives, but what about the governments? 

By Davide de Bernardin

Piracy, like most human acts, is all about money. All around the world, ships get pirated in order to steal their cargo, to steal crew property, to rename and reuse the ship for illegal trafficking or, finally and increasingly, to demand a ransom. In Somalia, the payment of a ransom is the sole purpose of the groups of pirates going out to sea every day; searching for new prey. And this ransom money is at the middle of heated debate between most seafarers and their respective governments.

Even if the payment of a ransom is the most widely used toll to solve the kidnapping problem, not everyone agrees with it. A great part of maritime companies believes that it is an almost unavoidable fare, not only to get their ships back, but also in order to be sure that hostages are well treated and can come back home unhurt, most of the time. This belief is due to the fact that, till the end of 2010, Somali pirates showed themselves to be very “professional” in their job, it being in their interest to avoid any ill treatment and murder of their captives. Furthermore, military actions to free prisoners have proved to be very dangerous, especially when carried out by insufficiently trained or ill-prepared teams.

Pirate Ransom (in wine) (Source: Vinography)

On the other hand there are the governments: on May 24, 2011, six men, three Britons, two Kenyans and one American, were arrested in Mogadishu airport while trying to deliver $3.6 millions to two different pirates groups for the release of an Egyptian and a Chinese ship. Although the convicted foreigners were eventually pardoned and released, it has been an incredibly strong message by the Transitional Government, which now fully controls the city of Mogadishu. The TFG opposes to the payment of ransoms, which enforces the position of criminal groups around the country.

The TFG is not the only government which is against this practice: President Obama's Executive Order 13536 (April 12, 2010, Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Conflict in Somalia) declared it illegal to pay money for the release of American ships. If the White House thought that implementing this order would have saved American ships from pirates, it must be said that, actually, this kind of ban has had little effect on the events in the Indian Ocean to date. It is so difficult to know the nationalities of the ships’ crew; the composition of the cargo and finally that of the insurance cover, that even the most prepared pirate would have great difficulty in choosing his target, and as US ships maintain security teams on board, by law, the necessity for ransom payments is greatly reduced. In general, governments are very careful not to appear weak in the eyes of pirates, publicly denying any involvement in payments or forbidding them, but some, like the United Kingdom, still allow these transactions to be legally conducted.

In addition to this hostility to ransoms, at the beginning of 2011 there were rumors of an agreement between pirates in Harardhere and local leaders of Al Shabaab, who requested a share (10 to 20%) of ransoms, in order to allow pirates to go on with their business. This particular relationship between these two parties, potentially presents a problem for owners and insurance companies: Al Shabaab is listed in the number of the terrorist organizations and so, ransoms would directly finance international terrorism, which is, obviously, illegal. Wing Commander Paddy O’Kennedy, the [previous] spokesman for the European mission, Op Atalanta, said: “If proven, then a link between pirates and terrorists would probably be a game-changer...It could have implications not just for the payment of cash for hostages but also for our rules of engagement. But proof of a deal would be required first.”

The reality is that many maritime professionals are starting to ask themselves if the costs of combating – or better, surviving – piracy are not actually exceeding their losses caused by the attacks. In 2010 alone, $240 million has been officially paid to pirates, a sum which is increasing every year and one that is very difficult to confirm because of the secrecy surrounding operations and payments. Many owners, often, but not always, using flags of convenience, are reticent to inform the authorities about this kind of incident. Not only would they face an increase in insurance premiums, but they could expose some anomalies in their certificates and conduct. Some analysts think that only 30 percent of kidnappings due to piracy are declared. Consequently, it is near impossible to have a real estimate of the dimension of the phenomenon.

It is easier to find out an estimate of costs related, both directly and indirectly, to piracy. This has been displayed by the US-based NGO One Earth Future, whose studies show a total sum between $7 and $12 billion. Unfortunately, the greater part of this money is spent in ways which do not affect the root cause of piracy. The increase of insurance premiums, the re-routing around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, security equipment and naval forces, totalling between $5.2 to $7.7 billion, may seek to deter piracy, but not solve the problems of Somalia. On the other hand, only a small, and somewhat derisory, percentage of this money is spent every year to help the country's institutions and economy with sustainable solutions in order to create a real future for millions of men, women and children.

Focusing on these facts, we should ask ourselves who is actually gaining from piracy, and especially from Somali piracy. If it is not possible to state that anyone in the international community is boycotting the efforts to fight and win this plague, we have to admit that combating piracy is considered a political issue, and that it ranks low in the agenda of the greater part of some countries, along with the prospect of Somali people dying of starvation.

Amidst the hypocritical question over whether or not to pay ransoms, almost 400 mariners still wait for freedom and many more people are making money thanks to their plight. How much is a seafarer’s life worth?

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