If a single fact can explain why an armada of high tech naval ships from around the world has failed to control, much less to eradicate, gangs of Somali pirates operating from hijacked fishing trawlers and open boats, this is it. Strategy Page reports that for every one Somali pirate who is prosecuted, more than five are set free. So far, roughly 800 have been captured and prosecuted for piracy off Somalia. More than 4,000 have been captured and released. It is likely thay many of these have been captured and released more than once.
In some cases the ratio has been even higher. According to the British Foreign Affairs Select Committee, nine out of ten piracy suspects detained by the Royal Navy and other maritime forces in the Gulf of Aden or Indian Ocean are released without trial. While the US, France, Germany and Belgium among other countries have put a small number of pirates on trial, none have been prosecuted in the UK. There has been an attempt by Western nations to sub-contract the prosecution of pirates to Kenya, Somaliland, Puntland and the Seychelles. Kenya and Puntland are paid by the US and others for the prosecutions, though it is feared that many of these payments in Kenya go to corrupt officials and not to the court system. Puntland and Somaliland lack adequate prison capacity to house the pirates. About half of all imprisoned pirates are being held in Puntland and Somaliland.
Under international law, captured pirates may be prosecuted by any nation. Nevertheless, many countries lack domestic law which conforms to international law, so local courts in several nations have denied that they have jurisdiction over the pirates. Until the Western nations develop the political will to begin to prosecute these international criminals, we will continue the lose the war on piracy. In the meanwhile, hundreds of sailors continue to be held captive under horrible conditions by Somali pirates, while offshore the mighty world navies play catch and release.
The problem will Somali piracy isn’t in Somalia. A source in the London marine insurance market indicated that the pirates are organized by crime syndicates which, while ultimately state-less, are based in primarily in Russia and that American officials are of course aware of this but unable to be effectively diplomatically. An excellent return for the investors and a cost for others. One result of failed states, but to the list can be added narco-states and terrorist sponsor states, eg, Afghanistan circa 2000. I don’t see Somali piracy as solvable as it is unlikely that Putin sees it in his interest to prosecute his crime syndicates and increased U.S. military action in Somalia is equally unlikely.
When the day comes that the reward no longer is worth the risk, young Somali men will stop going out in boats to hijack ships. Increased prosecution of the relatively small number of pirates would go a long way toward shifting that balance of risk and reward.
I think blaming Russia is a bit of a stretch. We have posted previously about the pirate stock exchange in Harardheere, Somali (No Longer Three Men in a Boat – Part 1: The Pirate Stock Exchange) No doubt international funding is involved but local bosses like Mohammed Hassan Abdi appear to run the show.
Sorry I missed your earlier piece. As long as there is money, Abdi would be replaced. Prosecuted pirates would also have replacements. Do you see a way to stop the flow of money? FATF won’t be effective.
Of course it is about money. It is also about risk. If it becomes more risky than profitable there will not be young men willing to get in the open boats. That is what will stop the flow of money from shipowners to the pirates and their investors.
There is no magic here. Coordinated enforcement got piracy under control in the Strait of Malacca a decade ago. Woodes Rogers did the same thing three hundred years ago. Piracy is a localized problem. Putin isn’t pulling the strings.
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