Log on – Piracy at sea

In a country hit by poverty, drought and war, which has been without a functioning government for several years, it is not hard to see how the current plight has arisen. With no protection for the country’s fisheries, it is not surprising that fishermen started taking the law into their own hands, and from there it was a short step towards trying to profit from some of the seaborne wealth that passed the coastline. Although the situation might be understandable, that does not of course make it justified. When international, organised crime moves in, attracted by the prospect of multi-million dollar ransoms, it becomes a real international problem, demanding an international solution.

Law-making on the oceans comes largely within the remit of the IMO. But IMO, despite being an arm of the UN, has been largely powerless to act. The duty of protection for shipping in that part of the Indian Ocean has been taken up by individual navies, and a task force led by the EU. Despite the severity, the problem is all-but ignored by the Western world, except for a few instances when yachts have been hijacked. Figures quoted by the International Chamber of Shipping suggest that since 2008, some 3,500 seafarers have been held hostage, and about 60 have been killed. So why are the major powers, or a United Nations peacekeeping force, doing so little? Maybe it is because there has been an insignificant threat so far to US oil supplies and the like.

Patience is running out. The ICS, along with Intertanko, Intercargo and BIMCO, who together represent virtually the entire world fleet, has sent a strongly-worded letter to the UN Secretary-General demanding a UN force of armed military guards that can be deployed on selected merchant ships.

There are, of course, powerful arguments for and against the arming of merchant vessels, and a real danger that violence could escalate. But something has to be done.

There are several non-lethal devices, as we see in this issue, that can be fitted to ships to disable pirate boats and discourage attacks. However, these are somewhat basic in their concept and although likely to have an effect on simple outboard-powered craft would be less useful against more sophisticated, waterjet powered boats for example. In any case, few if any have seen real action, involving real pirate craft, and several experts have reservations about whether they really work.

So although such devices have a value as a deterrent, maybe the ICS is right and the time has come for a much stronger, international deterrent.

Bill Thomson