I wrote a blog recently about the Somali Pirates who have been ruthlessly terrorising the gulf of Aden area just off the vast Kenyan and Somali post. Whilst these ruffians are swashbuckling and have a perverse kind of box office appeal in the sense that they are viewed by many to be "fighting the system" - and winning, the effect of their actions will eventually have a negative effect on us all.
For instance, the price of crude oil crept up by $1 US dollar per barrel after their spectacular seizure of the massive Saudi tanker, the Sirius Star which remains moored off the Somalian coast together with its hapless crew and fifteen other hijacked vessels. In short and to be brief, that means that prices of commodities will go up in response to their actions. So now, in an effort to combat these rising costs (as well as protect their cargo and crews), the companies that own these mighty vessels have begun to contract experienced security companies to protect their cargos from these Somali villains.
Fine.
Infact in my view it is a very sensible and prudent approach given the ever present danger of the pirates that exists when any ship tries to sail through this now notorious area. One such company who hired these professional security guards are the owners of a vessel known as the Biscaglia who appear to specialise in the transportation of Palm oil.
Having witnessed the increasing audacity of these modern-day Somalian buccaneers, they chose a company called Anti-Piracy Maritime Security Solutions - a name which I will show you to be hugely ironic if not cynical given the way in which its employees dealt with their first attack. This Anti-piracy company, which is based in Poole in England, sent 3 of what it claimed were its bravest and most highly trained security personnel (in this case all ex-marines/or paratroopers) to guard and protect the "Biscaglia" and its crew from this threat only last week.
Then the pirates, like a never ending rash, struck......and the Biscaglia became the 97th vessel this year alone to be taken....
According to what I heard, these "brave men" took to their heels once the pirates opened fire and leapt overboard the ship leaving behind its cargo and, it can only be fair assume, its bemused crew who must have felt safe once these men arrived on board to "ensure" their security. I was kinda under the impression that security forces tend to save those under their protection rather than themselves in such situations. Outrageously, the company's owner, Nick Davies, praised them as "heroes" and insisted that they had no other option as they were unarmed because "weapons are impossible to get through customs in most country's"... So whats the bloody point of having "security" if they are unarmed !? I simply found this story incredulous. The men were eventually rescued by a German helicopter about 30 minutes later thoroughly drenched and wearing life jackets. Given that the company, APMSS, charges £14 000 every three days for protection, I suspect they will have a little trouble securing any more contracts of this nature.
The three marines who fled for dear life
It just begs the question. How do you combat these pirates and how effective is the security being provided to merchant ships in an effort to protect them especially when one considers the costs involved. I learned that the men I have just spoken about did make some flimsy and worryingly brief attempt to protect the crew. This they did by firing a water cannon at the pirates !
I just find it absolutely stunning that faced by automatic machine gun fire and rocket propelled grenades, these guys tried to fight back by using a water hose ! All the same though, to me it is an indicator that the menace of piracy of the gulf of Aden coast is going to be here for quite a while yet.
Some might sneer and say that some countries should simply bomb or sent in commandos to deal with these ruffians. I just hope that people who want to use this arguments are conversant enough with physics and chemistry to know that attempting to bomb a ship laden with millions of barrels of oil would produce an explosion of almost nuclear proportions. Likewise, I would not be too hasty to have a shoot out with pirates on board a ship ferrying explosive and highly flammable products, the results would be as "disastrous" as what the hijackers of the Sirius Star have told that ships owners would result if their demand for £16 millions pounds as ransom is not paid today (30/11/08).
The Golden Nori.. Captured along with its cargo of highly flammable benzene
Recently, some security firms have been using what are called sonic cannons, long range acoustic devices that make extremely painful ear-shattering noises as a way to repel these attacks. Indeed one such cannon was used by the "defenders" of the Biscaglia and all it did was illicit a vicious burst of machine gun fire in response along with a few grenades lobbed in for good measure. So much for sonic cannons then eh ?
Also there are issues over the positive identification of the so-called mother ships from which the pirates launch their daring raids. Most of these ships often use flags of many different countries (just like the merchant ships do) in an attempt to disguise their true identities. This in turn makes it extremely difficult for any passing naval patrols to positively identify which ships are pirate owned and which are genuine merchant vessels.
The Indian navy, in a vainglorious attempt to try to make itself relevant in international military circles, took it upon itself to sink a "pirate mother ship" a few weeks ago claiming that they were "protecting Indian maritime interests off the Somali coast" only to discover that the ship that they sunk was actually a Thai fishing trawler which had ironically been hijacked a few days earlier. 15 innocent Thai fisherman are believed to have lost their lives as they drowned, mainly because, the pirates as they made their escape have left them trussed and tied up and so they could not get to their lifeboats. What is left of the Thai government (remember, they are facing a massive street protests at the moment amid conflicting reports of a possible coup) is said to "not be happy about this"
Recently an American security company called Blackwater has launched a fillet of gunships, replete with helicopter launch pads staffed by up to 40 armed guards each for hire by these shipping companies and is offering them as a solution to this seemingly never-ending crisis. As I pointed out earlier, the wisdom of gunfire in an effort to liberate a seized vessel is questionable.
The company itself, Blackwater, has a highly questionable past too. I seem to recall them as a company that during their tenure as security contractors in Iraq had a strange habit of mistaking innocent civilians for terrorists. I remember one infamous incident where 17 innocent Iraqis were shot dead by its nervous gang of cowboy security guard in Nissor square in Baghdad, an incident that led to its investigation by the US Congress and led directly to the reformation of laws governing security companies in Iraq today. It was the seventh such incident in Iraq involving this shadowy company
We will see...but I doubt that any sane government will permit Blackwater to patrol sea waters that do not belong to their native United States.
Blackwater Chairman Erik Prince trying to explain what went wrong
Talking about legal issues, that is also something that is proving a hindrance. Given the fractured nature of Somalia itself, where will you try them ? Somalia has not had a functionng government since 1991 when its dictator, Siad Barre was overthrown. Three weeks ago, British marines attacked a suspected Somali mothership and saved a Danish fishing vessel from a hijack attempt only to discover that there was nothing that they could legally do with their captives. I understand that the 8 pirates captured in this raid were turned over to Kenya, which itself has no jurisdiction over them. Phew !!
Nor can they attack motherships sailing in international waters unless they are actually caught carrying out a raid. Its crazy !
Another thing that a lot of people seem not to recognise is the sheer vastness of the Gulf of Aden. It is simply a huge area that is almost impossible for navies to effectively patrol. When the Sirius Star was taken a few weeks ago, the hijacking took place despite the fact that the US navy along with NATO were patrolling the area at the time. It is almost impossible, logistically to defend such a massive expanse of water, moreso when one considers that the pirates boat are often steered by former fsherman who have spent all their lives fishing and sailing in this area and definitely know what they are doing.
Well ... doubtless some solution to this situation will avail itself at some point but my own personal view is that the pirates will need to be cut off from their roots inorder to have any sort of effect on their activities. People must always bear in mind that these are highly capable people and possess a degree of technical sophistication that most choose to ignore. One must remember that with at $ 75 million realised this year alone in ransom money, they can afford to employ technical expert as well as pay for the various bits of technology they require to successfully execute their hijacking attempts
In saying that we need to cut them off at the roots I mean that people will have to deal with the issues that result in these people turning to a life of piracy. One reason I gave in a previous post was that too many fishing trawlers from foreign country's had been illegally fishing in Somali waters and thus depriving the natives of Puntland and Ely of any means of a decent income to feed and provide for their families. Faced with such a situation it is hardly surprising that these once law abiding natives are becoming increasingly attracted to a life of piracy. The Thai vessel which was sunk by the Indian had been engaging in just such a practice and those crooked fisherman paid the price.
Also I feel that another issue would be for people to become more proactive and show a greater determination to ensure that Somalia has an effective an functioning central government and to try to release it from the grip and the various warlords who control different sections of this incredibly violent country.
Yes, it is only by addressing the social and political issues in Somalia that will rid or at least reduce the alarmingly increasing frequency of these pirate attacks.
Funky Nubian... All comments are appreciated...
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