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Would anybody care about Somalia if it wasn’t for the pirates?

21st April, 2009 - Posted by Jeeves - 6 Comments

The escalating problem of piracy is focusing the international community on a country that would otherwise be abandoned to its fate.

Last week the gaze of the world’s media was once again drawn to an act of piracy perpetrated by Somalian pirates. In this case the twist was that the Maersk Alabama had an American crew and their captain was eventually rescued by a US Navy Seals who killed three pirates over the course of the final rescue. Two days earlier French forces had also staged a rescue to free the crew and passengers of a yacht which resulted in the death of one hostage.

These were the latest in a string of ship hijackings which first made the news with the capture of a Saudi supertanker and a Ukrainian cargo ship carrying tanks to Kenya. Both these ships were finally released following the payment of large ransoms to the pirates. These bounties represent a huge prize for the pirates who are willing to take the considerable risks involved to reap these rewards.

This highlights the international community’s two proactive strategies for addressing this problem which has been developing for several years. Both of these strategies are an imperfect solution with considerable negatives.

The first, use of force, risks a spiral of bloodshed and increasing violence on the part of the Somali pirates. Thus far the pirates have generally treated both captured hostages and their ships relatively well. The pirates primary interest is in the successful negotiation of a large bounty which could be compromised by violence. If payment of a bounty was less certain and the threat of violence was more commonplace this could lead to a piracy arms race and see pirates less concerned about the well-being of their bargaining chips. The problem might be managed by the use of force but their would inevitably be tragic consequences including the deaths of innocent merchant sailors and passengers.

The second strategy, payment of ransoms has been proven to avoid bloodshed. Unfortunately this provides both the temptation for further attacks, and funds ever more sophisticated equipment with which the pirates can arm themselves. The effect of this has been to increase their confidence to pull off ever more ambitious attacks. This may seem like the less successful strategy in the long term. Unfortunately it is the one favoured by most shipping companies and governments keen to end hijackings quickly, and with the minimum of fuss.

As the number and sophistication of attacks has increased there has been a large increase in the number of naval ships sent to patrol the area, particularly the more confined Gulf of Aden.  Not only does this have the most shipping traffic, but it is also relatively sheltered and has been home to most of the attacks. However, the area does has an advantage in being smaller meaning patrolling vessels have fewer lanes to police meaning smaller numbers can be more effective. The Indian Ocean to the South East of the horn of Africa presents much greater difficulties. There is less shipping traffic but it is spread out over a much wider area. It is not credible to suggest that this area can be patrolled by the limited number of naval ships available.

There is another alternative which is to have commercial shipping grouped together in convoys and escorted by a coordinated international force of naval vessels. This may seem like common sense but the logistics of organising the hundreds of convoys required each week on one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes would be enormous. The convoys would inevitably be limited to travelling as slow as the slowest member which would automatically result in a loss of efficiency and resulting income.

The simple and depressing truth is that these isolated acts of piracy have yet to have a sufficiently damaging economic impact on the muti-billion dollar shipping industry to demand a more radical approach.

The best long term hope for resolving this problem is an effective central government in Somalia managing to impose the rule of law on the coastal areas currently buoyed by the pirate economy. Unfortunately this outcome is at least years away. Somalia is surely the world’s most failed state. The only authority within the country is fundamentalist Islamic militias, warlords and criminal gangs. The pirates are probably sponsored by a combination of the three looking at piracy as one of the few reliable sources of income in an economy ravaged by decades of conflict and anarchy.

The anarchy that has destroyed Somalia has been present for nearly two decades but has been largely ignored by the international community. The etiquette of international diplomacy demands a central government and automatically excludes any country which does not have one. The upsurge of piracy may in fact be a blessing in disguise for the impoverished Somali people as the international community is finally sitting up to take notice.

Unfortunately there are considerable fewer options to deal with the issues on land than there is managing the problem on the water. The recent military interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan have fallen well short of the lofty aims with which they were originally conceived and make the possibility of another large scale intervention logistically difficult and unpalatable.

The traditional tactic of leaning on influential neighbours is undermined as it is in most parts of Africa. In Somalia’s case both Ethiopia and Kenya have more than enough internal problems of there own. Similarly relying on regional powers prompts further difficulties. South Africa have, thus far, been unwilling to become embroiled in the domestic affairs of other African states, Egypt is continuously preoccupied with Israel and Palestine and Saudi Arabia would favour an Islamic government which could eventually cause more problems than piracy.

Whilst the possible solutions seem limited, a long term policy is urgently required. It will take take several years and probably nearer a decade for an effective long term strategy to take hold. It remains to be seen what patience there is for managing the problem as it currently stands.

The current naval resources in the area must be mandated by the UN security council with clear and consistent rules of engagement and preferably coordinated by a central command structure. The criminal organisations that fund and supply piracy in Somalia must be investigated, identified and prosecuted. Finally, the UN security council must engage a number of sponsors in starting a process of supporting the current transitional government (or a viable alternative) and providing it with the aid, infrastructure and ideally a peace keeping force to increase the rule of law accross the country.

Without these actions the current lawlessness will continue with further indivdual tragedies on the seas and the greater collective tragedy taking place in Somalia itself.

What can be done about piracy? Will collective action from the international community make the difference? Let us know what you think about this story.

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