Somali piracy

[Felch]

Article

ON A dazzling morning in April, the Playa de Bakio, a Spanish fishing boat, limped into paradisal Port Victoria in the Seychelles, damaged by grenades. Its crew of 26 was shaken. A Spanish military aircraft flew them to momentary fame in Spain. The fishermen had been held by Somali pirates for a week and freed after a ransom of $1.2m—so it was rumoured—was paid, in contravention of Spanish law.

The boat, a big industrial vessel known as a purse seiner, was easy prey. The pirates attacked on a speedboat launched from a mother ship, a captured Asian fishing ship known as a longliner. Once on board, they regaled the crew with tales of famine in their villages. Some of the Spaniards felt sorry for them. When one of the pirates stripped his shirt off, “he was all bones, no meat at all,” said a Basque crewman. The Spaniards were less enamoured of the pirates when they threatened them with machineguns and knives. “They valued life less than cockroaches,” said the skipper.

Map of attacks

Anybody know why wiping out pirates who threaten shipping through the Suez isn't a priority for our navies? There's also a great deal of activity on the other end of the ocean in the Straits of Malacca, but I'm guessing the RN and USN are capable of sinking a few skiffs here and there.

Should we organize a letter writing campaign? Bear in mind that some of what these pirates seize is food destined for famine victims.

[Arrian]

I thought the US Navy was involved, Felch, at least from time to time.

Patroklos can probably tell you more.

-Arrian

[Felch]

I know of an incident where the Navy sank a pirate flotilla, but you'd think they'd be able to put a stop to this in half a heartbeat if they made it more of a priority.

[Winston]

They're Africans. They can pretty much do anything they please without fear of anyone interfering.

[Felch]

Anything except attack white people. Those are the rules, as long as it's black on black, nobody cares. But as soon as a single European or American is inconvenienced, the blood of ten thousand Africans must be shed.

[Space05us]

Re: Somali piracy

Originally posted by Felch
Article

... Anybody know why wiping out pirates who threaten shipping through the Suez isn't a priority for our navies? There's also a great deal of activity on the other end of the ocean in the Straits of Malacca, but I'm guessing the RN and USN are capable of sinking a few skiffs here and there. ...

I'm guessing it's kind of hard to find a lone boat out in the ocean. Then even more difficult to identify them as pirates when you have no authority to randomly search vessels. I would think keeping the ocean safe over there would be more of a job for Egypt or Saudi Arabia anyway. Maybe even Israel.

[Patroklos]

There are five US Navy vessels in that CTF as we speak, as well as other coalition vessels. I am not sure what country has that flag right now, I have been out of that loop for a good year now.

In any case, these are not the pirates your imagination is running away with. They are just a few dudes in an open home made speed boat with outboard motors and an AK47. While I don't really want to blame anyone for being the target of pirates, most of those attacked have been those aproaching or entering Somali waters. Even if you don't enter but stay in international waters barely, while legal it certainly isn't smart.

I spent two stints in that area, one in 2004 (Indian Ocean side) and one in 2006 (Gulf or Aden side), and we never saw anything resembling piracy that would have any affect what so ever on Suez traffic. Mostly just refugees heading to Yemen (really) and arms/drugs/slave smugglers.

The moral of the story? Stay away from Somali waters (which coalition warships don't enter) and stay in contact with coalition warships in the area (we are happy to talk to you, it breaks up an otherwise boring watch).

Last time I was there there was a French couple doing an around Africa trip in a 35ft sail boat. I remember thinking they were crazy transiting those waters by themselves, but they stayed in contact until they rounded the horn. I am not sure if they made it or not.

And btw, the Seychelles are beautiful

Then even more difficult to identify them as pirates when you have no authority to randomly search vessels.

While not unlimited, due to several UN resolutions we do have quite a bit of authority to search. The problem is there are hundreds of fishing dhows and other vessels out and about at any one time, and again most of the pirates are just small speed boats dashing out of territorial waters and right back in.

[Patroklos]

CTF 150 is the force in charge of that area of the world (Navy wise) and it was just turned over to Canadian command by the French who had it previously.

http://informationdissemination.blogspot.com/2008/06/5th-fleet-focus-old-mission-expands.html

Wednesday, June 4, 2008
5th Fleet Focus: An Old Mission Expands
It took awhile, but the UN Security Council has organized itself for fighting pirates off the Horn of Africa and coast of Somalia. From the BBC:


The UN Security Council has unanimously voted to allow countries to send warships into Somalia's territorial waters to tackle pirates.

The resolution permits countries that have the agreement of Somalia's interim government to use any means to repress acts of piracy for the next six months.
This is a big step. The Naval coalition in the area has rarely been able to intercept a hijacked ship prior to the ship reaching the 12-mile exclusion zone. This has been both a blessing and a burden to the fight against piracy. The blessing has been the international naval forces haven't had to make difficult decisions under hostage situations. The burden has been that in some cases, they couldn't engage targets of opportunity in the zone, a problem that is eliminated with the new UN measure.

There will be several dynamics of this story worth keeping an eye on.

First, what will the structure be? The Canadians assumed Command of CTF 150 from the French Navy today. What is the role of CTF-150 now; does it change, evolve, or operate independent of the UN? We don't expect CFT-150 to remain independent. We do not have a good feel for what will evolve here, but we note partners outside of the existing coalition engaged in Operation Enduring Freedom is likely, with Russia suggesting they want a piece of the action.

Second, will this adjust the ROE? Eagle1 has a must read on this topic, not only regarding this weeks activity, but a very important contribution with relevant portions of the UNCLOS. The ROE against pirates is a big part of the discussion here, because this mandate may not mean as much as could be assumed. Today the Canadians barged in on some pirates attempting to hijack a ship. Apparently, the Canadians never fired a shot. Which nation is going to take action against a hijacked ship with several hostages? The conditions as they exist today, and how they will exist until a much larger naval force fills those seas, imply that the naval force will remain reactionary. Due to the reactionary nature of naval forces, they might have the green light to take action, but in most cases the green light will come only after the situation makes it difficult to take action without putting hostages in danger.

Third, how serious are countries about fighting piracy? The reported Canadian passive approach today isn't a good early sign. Somalia is a big country of problems. We operate several ships around Somalia that aren't spending all of their time watching pirates, as there are plenty of threats well beyond what piracy represents coming from the region. For centuries, piracy has always been background noise to serious issues, and in a time of radical extremists who exploit ungoverned areas like Somalia, the threat and even reality of piracy isn't really a primary focus. How serious will the US Navy take the piracy issue? The pattern is really tough talk, but the reality has been a token contribution. Will the Navy organize convoys? Will the Navy establish Sea Bases to fight piracy? Will the European or Asian nations contribute to an international force? We suspect there will be some tough talk, but in the end unless there is a national interest, for example Russia who has a need to get operational experience for its Navy, we won't be surprised if all this tough talk results in token action.

Finally, keep an eye on India and China. This is exactly the scenario the Naval leadership of India has discussed as the reason for a powerful naval force. India has long expressed desire to lead as a regional power, to work within international cooperation frameworks in events that take place in the Indian Ocean. This is one of those moments that could signal their emergence. India will either seize the opportunity to be the glue to international forces operating under a UN mandate and step up, or they will be small player in this activity, reminding us they are still not where they want to be. If India choses to go small, don't be surprised if China seizes on that moment.

There will be a number of national strategies in play here, because while the discussion may be Somalia, the reality is presence is required to build connectivity. We would be fools not to acknowledge this view from the perspective of the potential players, building better connectivity with African nations could be seen as a prize here by many.

This is one vision of a Cooperative Strategy for 21st Seapower. I'll be interested to see how it works, and if it works.

So apparenlty now we can go into Somali waters as of a week or two ago.

GET ME TO A SHIP

[Theben]

Isn't there also some piracy in the China Sea and around Indonesia?

[Felch]

You're correct, there are many pirates especially in the Straights of Malacca, Theban. I mentioned that in the OP.

[Kuciwalker]

Wasn't it only recently that the UN passed a resolution enabling USN ships to enter Somali waters to fight the pirates?

[Felch]

Originally posted by Patroklos
While I don't really want to blame anyone for being the target of pirates, most of those attacked have been those aproaching or entering Somali waters. Even if you don't enter but stay in international waters barely, while legal it certainly isn't smart.

According to the article and associated map, the pirates have been attacking ships over 200 nm from shore.

Bear in mind that ships coming south through the Suez have to pass between Yemen and Somalia, and apparently the Yemenese criminals are joining in on the fun.

You're right though about the majority of targets being ships that went a little too close to shore. But when these are humanitarian missions delivering food to Somalia, there aren't really any options besides going through Somali waters.

[Theben]

Originally posted by Felch
You're correct, there are many pirates especially in the Straights of Malacca, Theban. I mentioned that in the OP.

Crap, I need to refresh my geography. It's been years since I looked at a map of the east.

[Patroklos]

Wasn't it only recently that the UN passed a resolution enabling USN ships to enter Somali waters to fight the pirates?

Yep, a week or two ago apparently.

[Felch]

Originally posted by Theben
Crap, I need to refresh my geography. It's been years since I looked at a map of the east.

If I hadn't been reading up on this I wouldn't remember where Malacca was either. No worries.