PIRACY IN THE 21^ST CENTURY

            The romantic notion of peg-legged buccaneers sailing the Caribbean in tall-masted ships, perhaps under the authority of an English or Spanish monarch, no longer describes the reality of piracy.  Today’s pirates answer to no sovereign, and now menace the Indian Ocean, the Somali and Nigerian coasts, the Strait of Malacca, and the waters off Southeast Asia and Singapore.  They pose an expensive and dangerous threat to international shipping.  Since 90% of the world’s cargo travels across international waters, the threat of piracy is a major problem for almost everyone on the planet.

            The United Nations defines piracy as: (a) any illegal acts of violence or detention, or any act of depredation, committed for private ends by the crew or the passengers of a private ship or a private aircraft, and directed (i) on the high seas against another ship or aircraft, or against persons or property on board…(ii) against a ship, aircraft, persons or property in a place outside the jurisdiction of any State; (b) any act of voluntary participation in the operation of a ship or of an aircraft with knowledge of facts making it a private ship or aircraft; (c) any act of inciting or of intentionally facilitating an act described …

            Modern piracy exploded onto the world scene in the latter part of the twentieth century.  The problem began to accelerate in the 1970s, and became epidemic by the middle of the next decade.  In 1983, Sweden presented a study to the United Nations which termed the increase in piracy “alarming.”  The International Maritime Organization notes that between 1984 and 1999, 1,587 pirate attacks were reported, many with disturbing amounts of violence.

            The law firm of Countryman & McDaniel have cited four reasons for the rise of piracy in the post World War II era. First, technological advances have given the pirates new ways of mounting surprise attacks—and then escaping from them.  Second, in the aftermath of the end of the cold war, the world’s navies have been reduced in size.  Third, decisions by former colonies not to keep up ties with their former mother countries, and their inability to afford their own adequate naval forces;  fourth, a lack of determination to view piracy as a serious issue. 

            According to author John Burnett, a pirate attack survivor who wrote a book entitled “Dangerous Waters” about his experience, the modern pirate may be a guerilla fighter, a member of a rogue military unit, or a former sailor enlisted by an organized crime enterprise.

            The Russian Navy website describes the typical pirate attack: “Technically, the methods used are the same as described in novels.  A fast craft—a launch or small vessel—comes along a merchant or a fishing ship and boards it.  If the ship is small or shallow-drafted, like a tanker, one can simply jump aboard it.  If the ship is large, the pirates use ropes with hooks or anchors.  To prevent the crew from hosing the pirates down with water and to intimidate them, the pirates fire at the vessel using assault rifles and grenade launchers.  An attack takes an average of 10 to 20 minutes. During this time the pirates either seize the vessel, or abandon the attempt.  As soon as the pirates climb aboard the deck, the ship is practically in their hands:  a civilian seaman will not be able to resist an armed attacker.”  The goal may be to seize an entire ship, or its cargo, or the personal belongings of the sailors.  Hostage taking is also a major activity.  According to Russian sources, the Somali town of Eyl is the main base of pirate operations.

            The Somali coast, particularly the Gulf of Aden, has become a major theater of operations for pirates.  Up to 20,000 vessels sail through each year.  Somalia, lacking a functioning government or an organized military, presents an ideal location for pirate activity.  Four or five main gangs in Somalia, with about a thousand members, serve as an ideal breeding ground for pirate recruits. 

            In December, an anti-piracy resolution was unanimously adopted by the United Nations Security Council, allowing international naval forces to patrol the region.  In January of 2009, the Combined Maritime Forces was established as Combined Task Force 151 specifically for counter-piracy operations.  Naval ships and assets from more than twenty nations are involved, and U.S. Rear Admiral McKnight was named Commander.  Operations include the deterrence of piracy, drug smuggling and weapons trafficking. The USS Boxer assumed the role of flagship.  According to US Navy Vice admiral Gortney, the Somali-based pirates come from a clan based on the northern coast of Somalia.  “The problem of piracy started ashore,” the admiral noted during a Pentagon press conference.  “It’s because there is no rule of law.  There isn’t a government.  There isn’t economic stability.  There isn’t a court system that will hold these criminals responsible for their actions.” 

Conclusion: Piracy is a significant threat to international commerce and maritime safety.  Until lawless regions are tamed, this problem will continue to plague shipping.