Support grows for international response to African piracy threat

Two years ago, US-based research centre, Oceans Beyond Piracy put the cost of piracy worldwide at somewhere between US$7bn and $12bn a year. A year later and the cost of piracy off Somalia alone was set at almost $7bn. Costs are about far more than paying the ransom. These costs include everything from ships having to increase speed and burn more fuel to dodge pirates, military costs, security services, re-routing, insurance, labour, ransoms, prosecution and imprisonment, and counter piracy organisations. So it is no wonder that increasing attention is being focused on global hotspots, with two African regions at the top of the list—the Gulf of Aden and the Gulf of Guinea. According to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), there have been 252 pirate attacks in the world so far this year. These include 71 incidents off the coast of Somalia, a total of 13 hijackings and more than 200 hostages taken. Currently Somali pirates hold nine vessels and 154 hostages. The figures also include 34 incidents in the Gulf of Guinea. On the west coast, the most recent attack came on October 15, when the French-owned Bourbon Liberty 249 was taken off the coast of Nigeria. Nine of the crew were freed immediately, however six Russians and one Estonian were held for almost two weeks. After the event, Bourbon, the shipping and offshore group, issued a statement thanking a list of organisations which worked to free the hostages. But it added that: “For reasons of confidentiality and in order to preserve the privacy of the families, no information will be given about the demands, the context, the released crewmembers and their families. Bourbon will not make any comment.” Its silence comes as no surprise. The pirates off both shores are said to monitor the internet and media reports closely and certainly the Somali pirates have been demanding ever-increasing ransoms as they hear of other large figures being bandied about.hideThe UN agenda With both the human and economic costs rising, it is no surprise that the problem is gaining global attention and politicians are beginning to act. The latest news comes from the United Nations (UN) Security Council, which is expected to hold an open debate this month ‘on piracy as a threat to international peace and security’. The UN says it will be the first time it has attempted to address piracy as a global threat by taking an integrated look at the situation across regions. In the past, the Council has addressed piracy off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Guinea as separate issues. The UN first discussed piracy off the coast of Somalia as a regional threat in 2008. On 2 June it adopted Resolution 1816, that authorised states cooperating with Somali authorities for a period of six months to enter the territorial waters of Somalia and use all necessary means ‘for the purpose of repressing acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea, in a manner consistent with such action permitted on the high seas with respect to piracy under relevant international law’. These provisions were later expanded to allow action on land and have been renewed annually. Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea—home to major oil producers (Nigeria, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Ghana)—was first discussed in August 2011, when then-Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe briefed the Council on the issue during his monthly ‘horizon scanning’ briefing. That year, piracy attacks in the Gulf of Guinea had increased exponentially. The Council held open debates on the issue in October and unanimously adopted Resolution 2018, which condemned acts of piracy and armed robbery in the region and encouraged enhanced regional counter-piracy cooperation. In January 2012, an assessment mission concluded the growing incidence of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea ‘constituted a major threat to security in the region and warned the consequences of inaction could be catastrophic’. It also called for the development of a regional strategy. A key issue for the Council is how to strengthen the international response to piracy as a global threat to international peace and security. Another issue is what lessons can be learned from the experiences gained so far at the regional level that may be applied universally. These include effective coordination and cooperation, preventive measures taken by the shipping industry (which include the use of privately contracted armed security personnel on ships), strengthening legal frameworks to ensure accountability for acts of piracy, capacity-building for states in the affected regions and addressing the root causes of piracy. The UN said: “There is general support for stronger action against piracy although in the past there have been some differences on certain issues, such as the best strategy for strengthening prosecution.” An industry perspective The cessation of piracy is a real challenge for business. Both the east and west coast pirates originally claim political reasons for their actions. On the east coast the Somalis allege they took action because fishermen were losing their livelihoods, while on the west coast the action allegedly is in response to the oil giants’ behaviour in Nigeria.Shipping companies are all concerned and are working with various agencies to stem the tide of attacks. The adoption of best management practices in the Indian Ocean and the widespread use of armed security guards has reduced the numbers of attacks significantly. So far, no ship with armed guards on board has been successfully hijacked, despite original fears that having weapons on board might merely escalate the violence. However it is hard for individual shipping companies to make much of a comment, particularly on what procedures they take to protect their ships, the crew and the cargos. The World Shipping Council (WSC), which represents many owners, says it is ‘playing an active role in the development and revision of the industry Best Management Practices (BMPs) for ships to prevent and respond to pirate attacks’. Specifically, the BMPs call on vessels to communicate their intentions to transit the piracy high risk area to Naval Forces in the region and to employ vessel self-protection measures based on a vessel-specific risk assessment. The BMPs also provide ships with important steps to take if boarded by pirates. To help address the piracy issue, the IMO Maritime Safety Committee recently approved interim guidance to ship owners/operators for the use of private armed guards on ships that operate in high risk areas, and draft interim recommendations to flag states on the use of private armed guards. Maritime shipping associations and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) have initiated the ‘Save Our Seafarers’ campaign, lobbying governments for practical support. The WSC says these measures, targeted for the Gulf of Aden, include the following objectives: Reduce the effectiveness of the easily identifiable pirate mother ships. Authorise naval forces to detain pirates and deliver them for prosecution and punishment. Fully criminalise all acts of piracy and the intent to commit piracy under national laws in accordance with their mandatory duty to cooperate to suppress piracy under international conventions. Increase naval assets available in the area. Provide greater protection and support for seafarers. Trace and criminalise the organisers and financiers behind the criminal networks. Save our seafarers The Save our Seafarers (SoS) aims to put a human face on the campaign. It says that although the Somalis have recently released some hostages, ‘this story is not a happy ending as it masks a hidden tragedy that is often untold and ignored not just by the world at large but even by employers of crews kidnapped’. It points to the recently released crew of MV Orna that was captured in December 2010. After nearly two years in captivity the ship owner negotiated a ransom for the ship, which was released in November but with only 13 of the crew on board. The other six (Syria and Sri Lanka nationals) had been taken ashore by pirate groups to extract further ransom as the amount paid by the owner was insufficient.There are 29 hostages currently held by pirate groups where the ship has already been ransomed or sunk. SoS says the incentive for ship owners is often low in these cases and in one instance the ship owner has gone bust and is out of business. As a result, the ransom negotiations were left to families, friends and well-wishers. Capt. Kuba Szymanski, Secretary-General of shipping association Intermanager, summed up the issues. “Ship owners and managers have been waiting for governments, the UN and the International Maritime Organisation to help us. Unfortunately we haven’t received that help. “Now we are managing the situation—that is what we do, we manage our businesses—but we are not solving the problem. We highly appreciate what Navfor and the navies have been doing in the Gulf of Aden but that is not tackling the problem either. “When Libya erupted, the UN took seven days to react. We have been dealing with pirates for five to six years now and they are still not acting. It is a disgrace,” he said. A look round the African coast The International Maritime Bureau has summed up the latest pirate issues around the whole of Africa, as summarised below: Lagos (Nigeria): Pirates/robbers are often violent and have attacked, hijacked and robbed vessels and kidnapped crews along the coast, rivers, anchorages, ports and surrounding waters. Attacks have been reported up to 120nm from coast. In some incidents, pirates hijacked the vessels for several days and stole part of the cargo, usually gas oil. Generally all waters in Nigeria remain risky. Cotonou (Benin): Although the number of attacks has dropped significantly, the area remains risky. Past attacks showed that the pirates/robbers are well armed and violent. A number of crew members have been injured in the past. Lome (Togo): Attacks are increasing. Pirates in the area are well armed, violent and dangerous. Attacks can occur at anchorages and off the coast and usually at night. Some attacks resulted in the vessel being hijacked for several days and ransacked. Abidjan (Ivory Coast): First hijacking occurred at Abidjan anchorage recently with pirates sailing the tanker off to Nigeria to steal the cargo, indicating the Gulf of Guinea pirates that usually attacked vessels at Nigeria/Benin/Togo have spread to the Ivory Coast. Gulf of Aden/Red Sea: The attacks have dropped significantly. This drop is likely because of the increased military action on suspected skiffs, military land-based anti piracy operations, preventive measures used by the merchant vessels including the use of citadels and employment of privately contracted armed security personnel (PCASP) as well as the SW monsoon. The IMB is monitoring the situation and continues to warn ships to remain vigilant and adhere to the latest BMP recommendations. The threat is still present. Somalia: Attacks have dropped significantly. In this quarter only one attack was reported. This drop is likely due to the monsoon season, increased/active military action on suspected skiffs, military land-based anti-piracy operations and an increase in armed guards onboard ships. Usual modus operandi of the Somali pirates is to attack ships all along the coast of Somalia. But past attacks have reached up to off the coasts of Kenya, Tanzania, Seychelles, Madagascar, Mozambique and in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea. In 2012, there were 70 Somali attacks compared with 199 for the corresponding period in 2011.

Support grows for international response to African piracy threat

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