Status Of Piracy and Armed Robbery Incidents
In 2008, Somali piracy became headline news. In that year alone there were a total of 293 piracy incidents worldwide, an increase of 11% from 2007 which saw 263 incidents, or at least those that were reported.
In December 2008, the European Union established it's very first maritime operation - Operation ATALANTA, whose main tasks are to escort merchant vessels carrying
humanitarian aid of the World Food Program (WFP) and vessels of African
Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), and to protect vulnerable vessels in
the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, and to deter and disrupt piracy.
EUNAVFOR, in 2009 also assumed monitoring duties of fishing activity off the coast of Somalia. The US-supported Combined Maritime Force, headquartered in Bahrain established a multinational Task Force - CTF151 to combat piracy in the Gulf of Aden in 2009, whilst NATO extended it's operation in the same vein under Operation OCEAN SHIELD. This was followed by such military might as the Chinese, Russian, Indian, Malaysia and Japanese navies providing assets and conducting escorts for vessels under the national flag or carrying crew from that nation. However, in 2009, the total number of piracy incidents attributed to Somali pirates came to 217 with 47 vessels held and some 867 crew held in captivity.
The figures for piracy incidents as of 29 December 2010, courtesy of
IMB Piracy Reporting Centre based in Malaysia, both worldwide and for Somalia are as follows:
Worldwide Incidents: (updated on 29 December 2010)
Total Attacks Worldwide: 440
Total Hijackings Worldwide: 51
Incidents Reported for Somalia:
Total Incidents: 218
Total Hijackings: 47
Total Hostages : 1001
Current vessels held by Somali pirates:
Vessels: 26
Hostages: 617 (also official figures held by EUNAVFOR)
However, according to ECOTERRA "at least 42 foreign vessels plus one barge are kept in Somali hands against the will of their owners, while at least 730 hostages or captives - including a South African yachting couple - suffer to be released." These figures were collated as of 28 December 2010.
Modus Operandi and The State
The increased range: far to the North in the Arabian Sea, East to a few hundred kilometers of the Indian West coast, West into the Red Sea/Bab El Mandeb straits and South to the Northeast tip of Madagascar; changes in sophistication of operating procedures: using hijacked vessels as motherships to increase range and provide a human shield of the crew held on board; hostages being held longer and the growing ransom demands - and payments with a record $9 million paid - by the Somali pirates demonstrates the level of the problem since the the collapse of the country's government in 1991. The African Union presence in Mogadishu, the capital, fighting to hold the Transitional Federal Government in place against the almost overwhelming insurgency from Islamist militias only assists in maintaining the vacuumn of of lawlessness that the pirates are making such effective use of to continue their lucrative endeavours. The argument that piracy is a symptom of the encroachment of foreign fishing vessels and toxic waste dumping seems to have lost its relevance along the way to their riches.
Despite the parlous state of politics in Somalia, the World Food Programme and other humanitarian agencies continue to try to provide food to the Somalis and the displaced persons within this failed country. Whilst Somaliland and Puntland are somewhat more stable, they still cannot hope to resolve the problem of piracy without the help of the international community.
The Victims
All of this in no way helps the plight of the seafarer. As merchant vessels continue to transport 85-90% of world trade, especially the LNG and oil tankers carrying cargo vital to the world economy, the general public has little, if any, knowledge of the impact that could be made on their daily lives should such vessels be hijacked when heading for their respective countries. Seychelles came perilously close to finding out when MV York was pirated in late October this year.
Information within and about the region of the Gulf of Aden, Horn of Africa and Indian Ocean is varied and often contradictory, but even so, not every vessel, shipping company or Flag State shares that information to improve the security and safety of the seafarers, despite the Best Management Practices. The families of over 600 (or 700 depending on the source) hostages understand the grief caused by vessels being taken on such a regular basis regardless of the, admittedly stretched, international forces in the region. The general public has yet to understand the potential impact on their daily lives by the constant threat to shipping transiting the region. Economies around the globe are already suffering from currency upheaval. Over time, the hijacks and methods to avoid be ing captured will impact on the cost of goods. The UN Contact Group and its Security Council meet to discuss the problem, but it is the seafarer who continues to bear the brunt of the problem until a viable solution is found ashore in Somalia itself, or to the matter of pirates. As the Year of The Seafarer, 2010, comes to a conclusion, it is safe to say that, in this particular aspect of maritime life; the grade is a C minus, must do better. Here's hoping the International Maritime Organization approved promotion of the
theme for World Maritime Day 2011, “Piracy: Orchestrating the Response”, highlights the position of the seafarer in one of the world's most dangerous waters.
OCEANUSLive wishes you all a happy, prosperous and ultimately safe, New Year.
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Information, Security, Safety; Shared
Submittted by: Glen Forbes