Naval security forces from
several nations are stepping up efforts to combat pirates attacking and often
highjacking cargo ships and other vessels off the coast of Somalia. The patrols
have had some success in fighting off the raiders, but policing an area roughly
three times the size of France has proved a challenge and ships are still being
seized. If the pirates are to be stopped and security restored to one of the
world's important shipping routes, stronger and better-coordinated action must
be taken.
The United Nations Security Council has adopted a series of resolutions
approving increasingly aggressive operations in both Somali and international
waters. Most recently, the Security Council approved a measure authorizing
countries cooperating with the Somali Transition Federal Government to use all
means necessary on land as well as the sea to bring the pirates to account, as
well as develop effective judicial means to try them for their crimes. A
spokesman for Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf said his government welcomes the move.
Naval forces from India, Russia, the United States and the European Union now
operate along the Somali coast in anti-piracy patrols. As a measure of the
growing international concern over the attacks and highjackings, China is
planning to send ships to the region as well. Somali pirates this year have
attacked about 120 ships in a region, as well as the Gulf of Aden, a transit
point for traffic through the Suez Canal. It is an enormous area, stretching
from Kenya to the Horn of Africa, and even with air observation, patrolling it
is a daunting task. The pirates, equipped with global positioning systems and
satellite telephones and armed with rocket grenade launchers, hit their prey
quickly in high-powered speedboats. They can attack and board a ship in as
little as 20 minutes, and if a naval escort isn't nearby little can be done to
aid the crew or prevent a highjacking. About 40 ships are currently being held,
including a Ukrainian freighter with 30 Soviet-era battle tanks and a Saudi
tanker carrying 2 million barrels of oil.
The hijacked Saudi-owned oil tanker MV Sirius Star is at anchor off the coast of Somalia, 19 Nov 2008
Piracy currently pays, said U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. But
worse, pirates pay few costs for their criminality.
Pursuing the raiders to bases on shore if necessary may not end the attacks,
but knowing they have no refuge on land could make them think twice before they
act. It will also send a strong message to the insurgent groups fighting the
Somali government and who are believed to be in league with the pirates and
sharing in the ransom money collected in releasing a highjacked ship. Stronger
action must be taken, for the good of the Somali people, the region and all who
rely on goods shipped through those waters in world trade.