More Piracy Near Somalia

[Stan]

David,
How ironic considering late last year's report that the pirates openly stated they will concentrate on Indians and Indian vessels in order to secure the release of Somali pirates being held in Indian Jails.

Maybe we should gather our cash and enlist the US Navy again Seems they have a good handle on the situation.

[M-A Lagrange]

Denmark piracy raid off Somalia leaves two dead
“Overnight Sunday to Monday, when the pirates tried to leave the coast, Absalon intervened and stopped the mothership, before it could pose a threat to shipping in the open sea,” it added.

It fired at the mothership and its crew was then able to take control of the pirate ship.

Two of the hostages were found badly injured, and the Absalon doctor was unable to save them, the statement said.

http://africadefensejournal.wordpres...aves-two-dead/

[JMA]

http://africadefensejournal.wordpres...aves-two-dead/

So they kill 2 of the 18 hostages on board but what of the 17 pirates?

[Stan]

Things just got tougher for land based pirates

An EU official said the new mandate would allow warships or helicopters to fire at fuel barrels, boats, trucks or other equipment on beaches, according to Agence France-Presse.

[davidbfpo]

Given the varying tactics used by EU navies in the area, some "catch & release" and others "catch, jail anywhere but home" one wonders what this policy decision means.

One can predict all such 'targets' on beaches will have women and children in the vicinity. Plus the ubiquitous camera footage of an outrage.

It must be time for a "summit", so make an announcement. Ah, checking the BBC the announcement follows an EU Defence Ministers meeting, that extended the mandate for EU naval action for two years:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17487767

Which has a "progress" report:

If you look at last year, 30 ships and up to 700 hostages were held - today that is eight [ships] and around 200 [hostages]..

One wonders how the mainly Indian hostages IIRC will feel about the prospect of joining a "beach party"?

Frank Gardner,one of the BBC's security correspondents, who has been aboard a ship transiting the area, has written a comment, cited in full:

Taking the fight against Somali piracy to bases on land is a major step-up for EU operations. Until now, pirates have been able to operate from coastal bases in towns like Eyl, Haradhere and Hobyo with relative impunity, returning from lengthy raids at sea to enjoy the spoils back home, though many drown or return empty-handed.

Now, it seems, the paraphernalia of piracy will all become fair game, hitting the pirates where it hurts and trying to disrupt what an EU admiral described to me as "the pirates' business model".

But this new, aggressive policy comes with significant risks. Pirates who see their bases destroyed are likely to protest they were innocent fishermen. It's also possible that, over time, innocent Somali fishermen really will be hurt.

Either way, its likely to enrage the pirates who may be tempted to take out their frustration on the hapless merchant sailors they regularly kidnap for ransom.

[Dayuhan]

If you look at last year, 30 ships and up to 700 hostages were held - today that is eight [ships] and around 200 [hostages].

Is 8 ships starting to get into a range where a rescue attempt is a possibility? Certainly a difficult and dangerous prospect, but 8 is better than 30, and removing hostages from the equation would open up all kinds of possibilities for action.

[JMA]

Things just got tougher for land based pirates

Not so fast Stan...

The following two quotes indicate that this is more likely just more talk about getting tough than actually doing so.

In a two-year extension of its mission, EU defence ministers agreed warships could target boats and fuel dumps.

...

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo told reporters: "The EU plan is to allow attacks on land installations when ships are assaulted at sea," adding that "much care" would be taken to avoid civilian deaths.

I suggest what this indicates is that the political idiots know what needs to be done but don't have the balls to let the EU navies in the area loose to do the business.

It should be noted too that apart from the Brit and French navies the remainder of the EU navies can be considered 'timid' and should be released to go home (after being thanked for the efforts to date of course ).

[davidbfpo]

I attended an academic conference this week in London and one panel looked at various aspects of Somali piracy. One speaker, Jatin Dua, made an impact:

Jatin Dua is a PhD candidate in the Department of Cultural Anthropology at Duke University. His dissertation focuses on maritime piracy and attempts to regulate the Western Indian Ocean by private actors, nation-states, and international bodies in a moment of post-Cold War, post-9/11 reconfiguration. He has conducted over eighteen months of ethnographic fieldwork with pirates, fishermen, merchants, seafarers, judges, lawyers, and others implicated in the world of piracy and counter-piracy in Kenya, Somalia, Djibouti, and the United Kingdom.

Jatin made a number of points, although I follow the issue, the following were new to me:

1. There is a long history of oceanic exchange between Somalia (as part of East Africa), Kenya, Sharjah (UAE) and Gujerat, an Indian coastal state. Traditionally and still today this is largely by dhow. The dhows use offshore refuelling by Iranian merchants. There is a licensing system in place for the dhows, which removes them as a target for pirates
2. There is a pattern of human smuggling from Ethiopia's Ogaden Province (which historically has a cross-border Somali community) to the Gulf and Yemen.
3. Livestock are traded from Somaliland to Saudi Arabia, so when the Saudis impose and recently have lifted restrictions this has an impact.
4. Both Somaliland, Puntland he knew and by anecdote Somalia have a superb mobile phone network and within minutes it is possible to move cash from the USA to Somaliland - based on a trust network, similar to Hawala banking; see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawala
5. There can be movement from Al-Shabaab to piracy, one former fighter stated:

Tired of war and I was asked do you want to make money now?

For those who wish to read more here is one of his articles:http://www.ssrc.org/pages/Piracy-and...om-Somaliland/

[davidbfpo]

An attack in the Gulf of Oman and near Iran is well different:

The 28-strong crew of a Chinese cargo ship seized by pirates in the Gulf of Oman off Iran's coast have been rescued... The vessel was attacked by Somali pirates on Friday morning near the Iranian port of Chabahar......China immediately asked Iran to take the necessary steps to rescue the crew....

Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17636649

One wonders whether the pirates will face justice in China or Iran? Assuming of course that is the route followed.

Both national navies participate in anti-piracy patrolling - in co-ordination with the multi-national flotillas.