Tackling a Crisis Situation

Piracy off the Coast of Somalia

The Gulf of Aden was only labeled a piracy hotspot a few short years ago, but the situation surrounding the Somali pirates has gotten steadily worse throughout 2008 and 2009. Despite the presence of a multinational, multi-billion dollar naval fleet in the Gulf of Aden, the intensity and volume of pirate attacks surrounding Somalia continue to increase. The area affected by Somali pirates has expanded to a swath of sea that includes the entire Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf and down the eastern coast of Africa into the larger Indian Ocean.

This dramatic expansion stems from the pirates' current low-risk, high-reward model. Ransoms have reached millions of dollars and continue to increase. In 2003, the Penwriter, a fully laden oil tanker, was ransomed for $52,000; in January 2010 the Saudi owned tanker Sirus Star was ransomed for $3 million. If piracy were an extremely risky venture, large ransoms might not be enough to entice pirates to sea, but currently captured Somali pirates have a better chance of being sent back home than serving any punishment. One of the great difficulties facing naval patrols is the limit in legal options for detaining and, eventually, bringing suspected pirates to prosecution. This has given way to a ‘catch and release’ policy which implicitly acknowledges that it is easier for naval captains to simply let the pirates go.

Merchant seafarers and naval patrols alike are understandably frustrated by this state of affairs. Calls for direct military engagement into Somali pirate ports appear more frequently. This would be extremely risky and costly, and would make a bad situation worse. The world needs to develop a more effective piracy response now, before a larger disaster or greater conflict erupts. Alternatives to using military forces in pirate harbors do exist and are safer, cheaper, and potentially far more effective.

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