PIRACY IN SOMALIA

What is piracy and armed robbery in ocean waters? The answer to this question is rather not simple and yet not very complicated . Piracy is a term used to describe acts of armed robbery and other malicious acts against ships in international waters.They are carried out with the intent of stealing valuables on borad the ship/and or extorting money from shipowners or other third party interests by holding the ship or the crew for ransom . The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) defines piracy as the act of boarding a vessel with an intent to commit theft or any other crime, and with an intent or capacity to use forces in furtherence of the act. Since this defination reflects the popular understanding of the word piracy and furthermore piracy in Somalia and Gulf of Aden, so we will see some statistics down below to have a fair knowledge about this subject .

Armed attacks on merchant vessels transiting from Gulf of Aden, and other waters near Horn of Africa have increased considerably in the past few years. Such acts have usually been conducted with the use of threat of violence. This can be particularly traumatic for those directly involved in this actual scenario as well as the family members of these seafarers sitting miles away and praying for their loved ones.

A study has been  released  by a political and economic intelligence consultancy firm for the delegates ahead  of an International Piracy Conference that began in Dubai in mid of 2011 is one of the first efforts to chart the economics behind piracy. The figures revealed focus on the extent of the problems with the piracy attacks and hint at record level attacks and huge monetary compensations set to swell the rank of pirates by 2015. The efforts by vigilante Somali fishermen in the mid 1990s to protect the coastal waters around Somalia mainly by fishing have rapidly advanced to piracy and now outspreads to some 2.5 million square nautical miles off Somalia’s coastline. Somali piracy is valued at $238 million until 2010 and is now set to rise to $400 million by 2015. The cost of piracy prevention could essentially double in the same period from $8.3 billion in 2010 to about $15 billion in 2015. The sustained growth of piracy powered by organized and armed gangs using “motherships” to enable them to attack further afield, could see the number of pirates rising considerably around this region. The study predicts  that these piracy incidents will expand substantially beyond Somali waters  since they are a part of a complicated piracy value chain ranging from financial backers to accountants and arms dealers. A UN source concurred that research of this nature is vital and a comprehensive study is required so as to have a united approach to eradicate this issue  by the joint  patrolling authorities based on shared intelligence .

Special Note: Specially contributed by Mr. Souvik Chatterjee. The author is a Naval Officer in Merchant Navy who is serving this line of trade for the last 15 years.