A Global War on Piracy? One Can Dream

The threat of African piracy may soon hit a new level. Reports indicate that local Somali Islamist leaders are concerned that currently the pirates are wrongly attacking Muslim-owned ships. If accurate, this may present a far greater challenge to the global community’s anti-piracy efforts.

It’s unusual for Islamists to show such concern for those perceived to be Muslim apostates, yet these local leaders allegedly intend to attack the current pirates and correct this error. This could mean that a new gang of thugs is trying to take over and continue pirating non-Muslim ships or just take over their operation entirely. Since they are very much stronger in military terms than the current pirates, no good can come from this. They will be able to recruit more pirates, given the local glamour of the profession and their coffers will grow to support more terrorist mischief in Africa and beyond.

This could have a dramatic effect on the global economy. The Suez Canal will become less used and traffic will be diverted to longer, more expensive routes. Transport costs will increase, trade will decrease or both. These changes, while beneficial to the shipping industry, are not needed in the presently challenged world economy.

For example, the Danish shipping firm Maersk has already ordered its tankers to go around Africa and is considering a decision on its container fleet. This must be quite a puzzle for them, as the Saudi tanker Sirius Star was hijacked on this route, causing an immediate bubble in oil prices.

Loss of canal revenues in Egypt will have a huge impact on an already wobbly Egyptian economy. Increased fuel costs could make Europe more dependent on Russian oil, a very undesirable result given proven Russian unreliability. Saudi oil, which has been a key element in controlling oil prices in the US, would become more expensive, leaving more of the US market to Venezuela and Russia. This list can go on for many items, but the result is always the same: increased costs and prices in a very troubled world economy.

Pirates do not have a stranglehold on the world economy yet, but the potential is there if they succeed - under new management - to control the Gulf of Aden. Much of the interdependent world economy can be displaced. The reaction of the impacted nations so far has been minimal.

The French sent a ship when a luxury cruise ship was hijacked. Russia sent a ship when it appeared that clandestine shipments of military equipment might be captured. The British sent a ship because it seemed the right thing to do. India sent a ship to protect Indian merchant shipping. Canadians are always around when you need them. The US claims that 5th Fleet ships in the area contribute, but I can’t see how. They are in the Persian Gulf, well away from this area, according to 5th Fleet public information. Some Japanese claim they are anxious to help, but approval for out of area deployments is not expected from parliament for months. NATO is planning to send a ship or two. No steps are public on any intelligence support or overall coordination effort. So the success of the effort will depend upon random confrontations such as with the INS Tabar.

Somali pirates have made much of the fact that they are motivated by unlawful fishing intrusions in their 200-mile economic zone. There is a certain dark justice for capturing fishing intruders, much as the US Coast Guard would do in the US 200-mile zone. The difference is the Coast Guard operates under world maritime law. The pirates do not.

Some have advocated a ground operation to get the pirates. This would be folly. Since the pirates are local heroes, they would just blend away, never to be found. The attacking force would come away empty-handed or defeated. It is much better to get pirates at sea where they can be isolated and intentions made clear by the presence of pirate equipment such as boarding ropes and weapons.

If the piracy threat grows off Somalia, it is quite possible that other criminals will see the profit potential and pursue it. This cannot be allowed to happen.

All countries agree that piracy is unacceptable and international law of the sea codifies that. What is wrong with a Utopian solution of all naval powers working together? Just as American and Russian space activities on the space station have been mutually supportive, why not extend this to anti-piracy work, too?

Can you imagine Indian, Chinese, Pakistani, Japanese, South Korean, NATO and Russian frigates with zones to patrol, coordinated by US and British command ships and supported by US Intelligence, air and logistic power? I find it hard to imagine, but if one threat can bring the whole world together, this is it. Hopefully, the Security Council will seize this opportunity. The next unifying threat might be an asteroid on a collision path with the earth.

In the meantime, cheer for the Indian Navy.