227 “In a surprising way, piracy provides an opportunity to harness the collective strength of states. . . .” Somali Piracy: A Nasty Problem, a Web of Responses JAMES KRASKA AND BRIAN WILSON O n April 12, US Navy Seals staged a dra- matic rescue of an American cargo ship captain who had been held hostage dur- ing a five-day standoff in the Indian Ocean. The episode highlighted a problem that has drawn increasing international attention over the past year: piracy off the Somali coast. Approximately 125 ships carrying cargo that included oil, weap- ons, and chemicals were attacked in 2008. In the first two months of 2009, another 30 ships were attacked near Somalia. To be sure, armed gangs demanding ransom have successfully boarded only a small fraction of the 33,000 vessels that annually ply the region’s strategically important waters—waters that include the Gulf of Aden, the key gateway to trade between the East and West. Still, several seamen have been killed or injured, and the global merchant ship- ping supply chain has been adversely affected (for instance through increased insurance premiums). Some vessels, especially slower ships with low free- boards, have opted to avoid the area altogether. In response to the crisis, an unprecedented com- bination of national commitment, naval force, and international action has emerged. Impressive dip- lomatic collaboration is unfolding in various ven- ues, including the United Nations Security Council and the International Maritime Organization. Col- lectively, these developments represent a unity of effort that presages yet more partnering; utilization of the rule of law to address regional instability at sea; “out-of-area” employment of naval forces; and integration of international organizations to facili- tate repression of maritime piracy. Capitalizing on this transformational synergy is key to effectively battling maritime crime throughout the world. FIRE HOSES AND RAZOR WIRE The Somalia piracy problem has been simmer- ing for years. The country has lacked a function- ing government since the early 1990s. Adversity and hardship permeate the area. Somalia’s se- curity and political environment has long been volatile, in part because of endemic poverty and an unemployment rate greater than 50 percent. These problems have been compounded by for- eign poaching of Somali fisheries and a drought that has obliterated the country’s agriculture. Because piracy is a phenomenon that tends to surge when poverty, lack of economic growth, and crime are not addressed at the national and regional level, the result has been a proliferation of piracy in the Horn of Africa. Somali pirates are not terrorists pursuing a political cause—they are armed robbers at sea. As the leader of one pi- rate gang remarked, “What we need is money.” Toward that end, pirates successfully boarded more than 40 ships in 2008 and took nearly 900 seafarers and vessel passengers hostage. Current- ly, more than 120 people are being held prisoner in the vicinity of Harardhere, Somalia, the head- quarters of most of the region’s maritime piracy. The pirates last year secured from ship, cargo, and insurance companies $150 million in ransom pay- ments for crews and vessels. Last November, for example, Somali pirates seized the Sirius Star, a Saudi-owned supertanker with a cargo of crude oil valued at $100 million. The 25-member crew was held hostage, the pirates demanded a ransom, and a two-month standoff en- sued. Finally on January 9, 2009, a package said to contain $3.2 million was photographed floating in a parachute down to the tanker. Later that day, five of the pirates drowned with their share of the ransom when their small boat capsized as they sped toward the Somali shore. JAMES KRASKA is on the faculty of the international law department at the US Naval War College. BRIAN WILSON is a senior Navy lawyer. Downloaded from http://online.ucpress.edu/currenthistory/article-pdf/108/718/227/393415/curh_108_718_227.pdf by guest on 06 July 2020