Somalia Piracy Out of Control

Puntland, Somalia - With as many as 100 mariners currently held captive inside the country, and ransoms reaching millions of dollars, piracy has become big business in Somalia. It's no longer only commercial ships at risk, as criminals have begun targeting private yachts in the hope of a ransom pay-off - the profit is not in the ship, but in the crew. The value of human life in war-torn Somalia is cheap, the piracy risks low, and the payout enormous. Without any form of real government, little industry, and a wrecked economy, it appears Somalia is becoming a pirate state.

"Piracy," as defined in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), is any of the following acts:

(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 such ship or aircraft;

(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 pirate ship or aircraft;

(c) any act inciting or of intentionally facilitating an act described in sub-paragraph (a) or (b)."

The current report from Somalia, after a ship was released last night, is that there are at least six vessels and their crews (totalling about 100 people) currently held by the warlords of the country. After agriculture, piracy may now be the largest single industry contributing to Somalia's economy, and certainly the fastest growing. Reading the above definition, it would seem clear that the government of Somalia, and particularly the "government" of the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, are guilty of piracy under section (c).

By facilitating the pirate-warlords, allowing them to operate, and even protecting them in international legal affairs, Somalia has further defined itself in the world's eyes as a criminal nation. The warlords, particularly of the northern region of Puntland, are in power, and have been for some time. They are equipped with speed boats, ships, machine guns, rocket launchers, and satellite communications. The problem is so wide-spread, any major intervention in regard to Somali piracy would be far more a military than a police action, and no nation is willing to undertake such an action without clearly defined legal permission to do so.

While a resolution that would allow forces to operate within Somali waters was approved unanimously by the UN Security Council months ago, it still relied on the member nation (Somalia) to request that the UN invade its territorial waters. This was required, even though the country is admittedly out of control, and has no navy to patrol its own seas. Thus, the world again allowed Somalia to dictate how international forces could fight piracy around the Horn of Africa.

It's largely a matter of semantics. You can't fight crime in another country, but you can combat "piracy." Unfortunately, by the above definition, piracy is only "piracy" if it takes place outside the local jurisdiction of a nation. If you attack a boat near shore, you're not legally a pirate, unless local laws define you as such. "Piracy" only exists on the high seas, or outside of the jurisdiction of any state.

So in Somalia, where the corruption is deep, and political power plays are constantly involved, few are willing to step over the UN line, despite the fact that many attacks are now taking place in international waters. After France entered Somalia and captured Somali nationals in connection with the Le Ponant incident, the French were accused of acts of war by surprisingly high-level Puntland officials. To many in lawless Somalia, piracy is an acceptable way of taxing the vessels operating within the Gulf of Aden, and their right.

While the policy of not paying ransoms looks good on paper, few are willing to watch their countrymen tortured and murdered. Thus ransoms have been paid, and the pirates have gotten stronger and more bold. New piracy-based businesses are even springing up, including professional spokesmen and ransom brokers who are offering their services to any gang of criminals able to obtain human collateral. This is precisely why the IMB has stated that piracy in Somalia is spiraling out of control.


Many say that statement isn't accurate, though, as there never was any control to begin with. What we're seeing is a steady deterioration based on the fact that piracy in Somalia is "all reward and no risk." Through inaction and political posturing, the world has allowed a criminal nation to control one of the biggest shipping bottlenecks in the world, and to do so without fear of retribution.

Whether the most recent actions to approve the use of force inside Somali waters will succeed in curbing piracy, will depend on whether the nearly non-existent "government" of Somalia, torn by religious, geographic, political and clan factions, can stand behind the UN forces. In all likelihood, and based on history, they will not. It's simply too easy and profitable an enterprise, and now too large an influence on the nation's economy. Somalia seems to be in the piracy business, on a national scale.

- B. Hampton for YachtPals.com

[Photo: The French yacht Le Ponant, captured by Somali pirates in April. French forces attacked the pirates as they made away with the ransom.]

View/Download a .pdf map of pirate activities in Somalia: Hi Res | Lo Res

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