Piracy Off the Somali Coast

Piracy Off the Somali Coast

For most of us, the phrase “maritime piracy” conjures up images of gritty accents, eyepatches, peg-legs, and cannons. These days, a half dozen former-fishermen with AK-47s and a speedboat fit the bill just as well. Piracy is ancient, but was exasperated in 1991 after the collapse of the Siad Barre regime and disbanding of the Somali navy lead to an inability to police the seas. The spike in illegal activity out at see pushed many fishermen to become pirates in order to stay profitable (Somalia). Pirates will try to board merchant vessels and oil tankers and run then aground, then hold the crew and cargo hostage for millions of dollars. Since 1960, piracy has resulted in a combined loss of over 100 billion dollars of oil, which also jeopardizes the safety of shipping routes. A country like Benin relies on import and export tariffs for 80% of its income, and compromised shipping routes meant a loss of 23% of the entire governmental budget. A dip in business also means less competition which jacks up the prices for locals, sometimes beyond what they can afford (Ben-Ari). Waning governmental budget also means a reduced ability to respond to piracy, which further deteriorates the economy. As a result, maritime piracy becomes primarily an economic issue. 

It’s easy to dismiss pirates as parasites of the ocean, but often they feel like Somalis are the ones wronged in the first place; one former fishermen describes how foreign fishing trawlers are stealing the natural resources of Somali Coast, without regard for local fishing. He describes how a foreign trawler drove over his nets and cut them, destroying his fishing equipment and with it, sabotaging his livelihood, forcing him into piracy. He plans to go back to fishing eventually but admits the attractiveness of the lucrative hauls (Somalia). Piracy can create an unnatural influx of cash and drive prices to a premium, that regular locals can’t afford. The ineffective Somali economy doesn’t provide an opportunity for advancement either. Piracy is seen as a relatively secure job, the type of job that kids grow up wanting to do (Bengali). 

In 2008, the UN finally approved for foreign powers to send warships into high risk areas to curb piracy. EU ships are somewhat effective at curbing piracy, as the 54 attacks in 2017 are significantly lower than 2011’s peak 250+ attacks, but even this moderate efficacy is being called into question. From 2015 to 2017, the piracy rate increased by a factor of three. EUNavfor rear admiral suspects the trend could continue to increase, “Piracy has been contained, but I really think the intention of going back to this business is still there” (Somalia). There is also significant sentiment from locals that the foreign intervention is not addressing the illegal foreign fishermen, and that foreign powers are purely acting on the interests of major corporations to preserve shipping routes (Harding). The future of the Somali Coast and its vast economic sphere is almost entirely dependent on how piracy is addressed. 

Works Cited:

Ben-Ari, Nirit. “Piracy in West Africa | Africa Renewal.” United Nations, United Nations, Dec. 2013, www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/december-2013/piracy-west-africa. 

This article is mainly focused on the effects of piracy, and the scope of its impact. Piracy jeopardizes the security of shipping routes which harm economic activity in the area. This leads to less import export, less government income from taxes, which in turn leads back to less money and ability to enforce, allowing for more maritime crime. Foreign involvement in policing the waters is an expensive commitment, but may be the only solution to maintain current shipping routes. Africa Renewal is an organization within the UN devoted to improving global communications. This makes it a fairly reliable source, but may be somewhat biased in this case because the UN is an active participant in the controversy. 

Bengali, Shashank. “What's It like to Be a Pirate? In Dirt-Poor Somalia, Pretty Good.” Mcclatchydc, McClatchy Washington Bureau, 18 Dec. 2008, 1:10 pm, www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/world/article24516835.html.

This gives me a broad background on Somali piracy, their role in society, and how they were partially spawned by an economic recession. The Somali government and economy are in shambles, and unable to support industry. As a result many young men become pirates. Being a pirate seems to be a pretty sought after and desirable job. The influx of cash inflates the markets of coastal towns and drives up prices; this is good for business but bad for locals. McClatchy is a well known publishing source that has won multiple Pulitzer Prizes. The article does not talk about the impact on the ships pirated which seems pretty important. It was published over 10 years ago which is also not a good sign. 

The Guardian. “Somali Pirates Release Oil Tanker and Crew after First Hijack for Five Years.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 16 Mar. 2017, www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/16/somali-pirates-release-oil-tanker-and-crew-after-first-hijack-for-five-years.

The article is somewhat useful when describing the viewpoints and motivations of the pirates. It does leave some room for interpretation and is not really conclusive. The Guardian is a reliable, well known source. The article mentioned multiple viewpoints and interpretations of events in an impartial manner and backed them up in historical context. In March of 2017 a ship was hijacked and held for ransom, the first hijacking of a large ship since 2012. The ship was eventually released without ransom after the pirates found out the ship was Somali. 

Harding, Andrew. “Somalia Warns of Return to Piracy.” BBC News, BBC, 31 Aug. 2015, www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-33822635.

This article discusses the motivations of the pirates, as well as some of the inadequacies in current solutions despite the fact that they decrease the piracy rates. BBC is a well known news source. The article presents multiple sides thoroughly. 2015 is also fairly recent. The author has also visited Somali coastal towns and written multiple articles about piracy. Resentment towards foreign fishing trawlers for stealing Somali resources is one important cause of piracy. Many regular fishermen become pirates. In 1998 Puntland declared itself autonomous within Somalia and since then political tensions have made any enforcement of anything very difficult. Some foreign intervention is effective at curbing piracy, but locals see this as just to protect the shipping routes and stopping the illegal fishers who are the real thieves. 

Ben-Ari, Nirit. “Piracy in West Africa | Africa Renewal.” United Nations, United Nations, Dec. 2013, www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/december-2013/piracy-west-africa.

This article is mainly focused on the effects of piracy, and the scope of its impact. Africa Renewal is an organization within the UN devoted to improving global communications. This makes it a fairly reliable source, but may be somewhat biased in this case because the UN is an active participant in the controversy. Piracy jeopardizes the security of shipping routes which harm economic activity in the area. This leads to less import export, less government income from taxes, which in turn leads back to less money and ability to enforce, allowing for more maritime crime. Foreign involvement in policing the waters is an expensive commitment, but may be the only solution to maintain current shipping routes. 

“Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships in East Africa | SOP 2016.” OBP, 23 May 2018, oceansbeyondpiracy.org/reports/sop/east-africa.

This source had a lot of statistics that are useful in backing up arguments and giving an accurate depiction of the full situation. Oceans Beyond Piracy is a non-profit organization that seeks to reduce maritime violence. They have panels of experts in the field that release well established reports every couple of years. It is also very recent (2017) and shows that the decline in piracy in 2015 was short lived. The source is full of statistics that give an overview of piracy in East Africa in 2017. It is important to realize that many pirate attacks go unreported which will affect the accuracy of figures.