More Piracy Near Somalia

[Stan]

Western hostages freed in 'US military raid'

The rescue party is said to have landed close to a compound where hostages were being held.

A local security official, Mohamed Nur, told AFP news agency that several of the pirates had been killed.

The freed hostages were believed to have been flown to nearby Djibouti by the rescuers, he said.

They were named as American Jessica Buchanan, 32, and Poul Thisted, 60, of Denmark.

WASHINGTON -- In a daring nighttime raid Tuesday, U.S. Navy SEALs rescued two hostages, including one American, who were being held by kidnappers in Somalia, U.S. officials tell NBC News.

American Jessica Buchanan, 32, and a 60-year-old Dane, Poul Thisted, were working for a Danish relief organization in northern Somalia when they were kidnapped last October. U.S. officials described their kidnappers as heavily armed common criminals with no known ties to any organized militant group.
According to the U.S. officials, two teams of Navy SEALs landed by helicopter near the compound where the two hostages were being held. As the SEALS approached the compound on foot gunfire broke out, the U.S. officials said, and several of the militants were reportedly killed. There is no word that any of the Americans were wounded.

[Jedburgh]

Chatham House, 12 Jan 12: Treasure Mapped: Using Satellite Imagery to Track the Developmental Effects of Somali Piracy

There are increasing pressures to develop land-based approaches to Somali piracy. By making use of non-traditional data sources including local market data and satellite images, this paper is intended to be an objective analysis of who benefits from pirate ransoms.

Significant amounts of ransom monies are spent within Somalia, but conspicuous consumption appears to be limited by social norms dictating resource-sharing. Around a third of pirate ransoms are converted into Somali shillings, benefiting casual labour and pastoralists in Puntland.

Data analysis is complemented by examination of satellite imagery to establish where the beneficiaries are located. Pirates probably make a significant contribution to economic development in the provincial capitals Garowe and Bosasso. Puntland’s political elites are therefore unlikely to move decisively against piracy.

The positive economic impacts of piracy are spread widely and a military strategy to eradicate it could seriously undermine local development. However, coastal villages have gained little from hosting pirates and may be open to a negotiated solution which offers a more attractive alternative.

[Fuchs]

There are some comments on my blog which insist that all the incompetence about getting rid of this piracy problem is really about using the piracy problem as an excuse for European navies to establish themselves in the Indian Ocean while the USN moves into the Pacific Ocean.

I am willing to consider this interpretation, but it smells very much like great power gaming of a long-term variety, and I don't think our few-years-term governments are really enough into the long term to do this kind of gaming.

[M-A Lagrange]

There are some comments on my blog which insist that all the incompetence about getting rid of this piracy problem is really about using the piracy problem as an excuse for European navies to establish themselves in the Indian Ocean while the USN moves into the Pacific Ocean.

I am willing to consider this interpretation, but it smells very much like great power gaming of a long-term variety, and I don't think our few-years-term governments are really enough into the long term to do this kind of gaming.

Fuch,

Viewed from Kenya, it looks far more as a financial issue.
Kenyan troops entered Somalia not because of the shebab but because piracy impact directly and deeply the Kenyan economy and state tax collection. (Approximately 60 million$ lost/year, quite a deal for the Kenyans).

To me, this can be applied to the European (and not only them). Piracy is may be an excuse to be in the Indian Ocean but it's primaly a financial question. As long as it's cheaper to tolerate pirats in Somalia than solving the problem, Somaly coast/seas will remain a training ground. Europeans were already in the Indian Ocean through Djibouti.

The Indian and Chine navy might have the hidden agenda you describe. IMO, this would make more sense.

[Fuchs]

I saw only very rough figures, but overall I'm quite sure that patrolling indefinitely is much more expensive than letting the shipping industry use private security teams and certainly more expensive than staging a few decisive raids on the ground + PsyOps actions.

Cost-benefit calculations certainly do not drive Operation Atalanta etc.

[Hippofeet]

As far as U.S. based vessels, didn't we refuse to offer letters of mark, or whatever they are, that allow merchant vessels to operate in an anti piracy role? So they could have private security on board? Probably in this thread somewhere. just seems like such a no-brainer, let ships fight off pirates.

[davidbfpo]

Guarding merchant vessels has appeared here many times. This BBC report 'India court keeps Italian navy guards in 14-day custody' is not unexpected:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-17108995

India's courts are not known for their speed, nor does India make an easy partner to negotiate with.

There's a map showing the piracy within this separate report:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16970982