Somali pirate attacks successful only 15% of time

Somali pirates are #1. Anyone in the t-shirt trade might want to print those up. According to the IMB Piracy Reporting Center, the Gulf of Aden or the Indian Ocean accounted for nearly 60 percent of worldwide piracy in the first quarter of 2009. There were 61 attacks off the Somali Coast from in the first quarter of this year.

But only nine of the attacked ships were actually hijacked, a 15% success rate for Somalia's pirates.

Nigeria and Peru were the location of the next highest number of attacks: seven each - though the region of Southeast Asia boasts the second highest number of pirate attacks after Africa.

The fireworks are increasing too. Guns were used in 59 attacks in the first quarter of 2009, compared with 13 in 2008 and 10 in 2007.

Some good graphics from the Journal of Commerce.

Missing Somali pirate treasure

That's what the current spate of pirate stories needs: a mystery surrounding missing pirate treasure.

Apparently no one can find the $30,000 the pirates who captured the Maersk Alabama stole from the ship. The crew members and the SEALs involved in the high-profile rescue are being questioned.

Investigators are apparently on the look-out for a faded parchment with dotted lines, a skull and crossbones motif, and a big "X".

They're financial pirates, eh! Or eh?

The Canadian Defense (or Defence, if you're part of the Commonwealth) Minister Peter MacKay recently called the Somali pirates "financial terrorists." He then said: "piracy is not unlike acts of terrorism that we see in other parts of the world, whether it be kidnappings, whether it be issues related to fanaticism and extremism in places like Afghanistan."

Since when has Canada thrown caution and thoughtful engagement to the wind, and transformed into the "Bush of the Great White North"?

McKay was apparently pointing to the terrorism pretext to justify Canada's decision to move away from its policy of "catch and release", ie. releasing pirates they've captured because they can't (or don't want to be bothered with) prosecuting them.

What a cheap and stupid invocation of "terrorism". If you have a political agenda to push, the temptation just seems too great for politicians to dress it up like a terrorism issue. In this case, "financial terrorism" doesn't walk like a duck or talk like a duck.

1. The pirates aren't terrorists. They're just poor villagers who are taking advantage of one of the few economic opportunities available to them. Despite some very tenuous ties to local political groups, these pirates have no political agenda - a sine qua non for terrorism.

2. Don't make this something that it's not. The main dangers today are in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, and N. Korea. Somali piracy is a problem, but transforming it into another front on the war on terror is just a stupid dissipation of resources and energy.

Some good insights from the National Post on this too.

Pirates demand ransom greater than Tuvalu's GDP

Somali pirates are holding 12 sailors from the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu and are demanding US$15m to release them. Talk about picking on the weak guy. Tuvalu has almost no economy to speak of, relying predominantly on foreign aid and some local fishing. The ransom demand is actually more than the country's est. US$12.2m GDP (based on latest est. in 2002).

That's right. Tuvalu. It's a tiny island nation (the fourth smallest in the world) whose claim to fame is that for some reason neither the French nor Americans chose it as a site to test nuclear weapons. It's also the fourth smallest country in the world.

Maybe the pirates can just exchange the hostages for the country of Tuvalu and move there - two problems solved in one fell swoop.

Obama at US Navy commencement: new world on water too

In President Obama's commencement speech today at the Naval Academy (where, among other things, he shook the hand of Sen. John McCain's son, a graduate of the academy this year), he focused on the unorthodox missions that the Navy needs to face these days.

So much print has focused on the buzz words of a new era - asymmetric war, counterinsurgency, etc. - in the arena of land warfare. The Navy, with its enormous aircraft carriers and submarines, seem far behind when viewed from that prism.

The pirate problems in Somalia have been a great wake-up call to the Navy that they are going to need to adapt as much as their land-bound military cousins have. In some ways, the situation in Somalia is an ideal way for the US Navy to cut its teeth in fighting an unorthodox foe who, while dangerous, doesn't represent the kind of challenge al Qaeda does.

The Barbary Wars had a similar role for America back in the early 1800s as well. The U.S. saw that war as an opportunity to train its navy for the war everyone knew was going to happen against Great Britain.

Let's hope the U.S. Navy is looking at Somalia as an opportunity and not just a fight.

The Smiling Pirate arraigned in NY today

We'll see whether Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse, the teenage Somali who was the sole survivor of the foiled hijacking of the Maersk Alabama last month, will be smiling when he's arraigned today in New York.

He could get life imprisonment if convicted. The question is, will a life behind bars in the US beat life in battered Somalia?

End of the pirate world as we know it ...

Malaysian authorities think that can stamp out piracy for good in the Malacca Straits, the poster child for pirate infested waters before the Somali pirates burst onto the scene.

Abdul Rahim Hussein, undersecretary of maritime security policy, said cooperation between the neighboring states of Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore is now 'at a new peak'.

It's hard to argue with success. There have been no incidents in the strait this year, a big drop from 2004 when there were 38 (recorded) pirate attacks. The Malacca Straits is a critical pipeline for global commerce, carrying a quarter of the world's traded goods.

Unfortunately, there aren't many lessons for dealing with the Somali pirates. East African states cannot muster either the resources or the will to fight the pirates in the way the Southeast Asian nations around the Malacca Straits can. Solutions in Somalia need to take into account the realities on the ground.

New ship simulator - good for pirate preparation

A new API for Google Earth called "Ships" was just released. It allows you to take the helm on various types of ships - barge, container ship, cruise liner - and then take them anywhere. I've been playing with it a little, and it really is pretty cool for what it is.

Someone at the IMO (International Maritime Organization) take note: this would be a great tool to use for pirate simulations to help train sea captains. Need to create a few pirate boats and scenarios, then get underway.

Try it out. Very impressive, and free.

Video: US arrests suspected pirates

Coming to a navy recruiting booth near you.

President Arrr!bama

(Pete Souza/The White House)
Ah, looks like Obama is finally taking the pirate situation seriously. What's missing is an audio overlay of Cartman, aka Fatbeard, singing "Somalian Pirates We!"

From White House photos slideshow in Time.

Iran sending 2 warships to combat pirates

Could this be a sign that Iran wants to engage with the international community?

Iran's ambassor to the U.N., Mohammad Khazaei, sent a letter he sent to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday stipulating Iran's new commitment of sending two warships to the Somali coast, according to a report cited in the Jerusalem Post.

Iran's ships will leave within the next two days for a five-month assignment. They'll be joining a flotilla of vessels from the U.S., Denmark, Italy, Russia, China and other countries. That must make the most polyglot force ever assembled.

Iran may be trying to show the world that it can be "civic minded" and helpful. It'll be interesting to see how the ships operate and if they come into contact with any US ships in the area.

Kenya is go-to place for prosecuting pirates

Kenya is taking the lead in prosecuting pirates - or becoming a dumping ground for navies who don't know what to do with the pirates they've captured.

Spain recently joined the ranks by handing over 13 suspected pirates to Kenyan authorities. The French handed over 11 Somalis accused of piracy last month. Germany handed over nine more the month before that. Since November 2008, at least 64 suspected Somali pirates have been charged in Kenya after being handed over by European and U.S. naval forces in line with an agreement.

Ten others serving a seven-year sentence at the Shimo La Tewa prison have appealed against the sentence.

Kenya's the most logical choice, though the French and Americans have tried their hands at prosecuting pirates. Kenya borders Somalia, so it's a convenient place for ships thousands of miles from home waters to take pirates for prosecution. Some question whether Kenya's legal system can support the pressure to prosecute suspected pirates fairly while Human Rights Watch has questioned Kenya's treatment of pirates (their assurances have apparently satisfied the Brits and the French).

In addition, Kenyan law requires witnesses to be present in person at the trial so ships’ captains, leaders of boarding parties and pilots to be available for the trials. That will require cooperation from the shipping industry, which will be a significant burden.

However imperfect this option may be, however, Kenya's legal system is light years ahead of what its neighbors can provide.

For more details on legal options for prosecuting pirates, check out Pirates and How to Deal with Them by Chatham House's Roger Middleton.

Somalia pirates - global crime syndicate?

Move over Nigeria; here come the Somali pirates.

The recent coverage that Somali pirates have moles in London's insurance and shipbroking industries has created waves. Part of the reason is that many observers look on the pirates as rank amateurs incapable of this sophistication (throw in a dollop of racism to boot).

For the basis of an international crime ring, Somali is pretty well placed actually. With a significant Somali diaspora living in various places around the globe, the pirates are in a position to gather some useful intelligence on the shipping that runs past their coast.

The latest wrinkle in the pirate story comes thanks to a European military intelligence report leaked to Spain's Cadena SER radio station yesterday.

The report indicated that the hijacking of at least three vessels, including the Karagöl, the Greek cargo ship Titan and Spanish tuna trawler Felipe Ruano, followed tipoffs from the London-based network of informers. The informers are quaintly called "consultants" in the report.

I wonder if they ship powerpoint decks filled with gantt charts, waterfall charts, pie charts topped with succinct messages in bullet point? Powerpoint pirates unite!

Islam in Somalia: pirating bad, but suicide bombings?

Interesting piece from NYT about how forces of Islam in Somalia are turning communities against pirates. The piece doesn't address a question on the evils that Islam decides to focus on: are local Islamic clerics saying pirating is bad but suicide bombings and executions are OK?

Pirate chronicles>

Pirates kill 1, wound another - India doesn't negotiate

India is playing tough with the pirates.

According to the Mumbai-based Directorate of Shipping, Somali pirates have killed one Indian and injured another when no ransom was paid for a captured ship. Details are still vague but apparently Mr. Sudhir Suman was shot and killed, then dumped in the ocean on Apr. 26. His ship, the MT Sea Princess II, is now safely in port in Port Aden, Yemen.

You can't accuse India of coddling pirates. An Indian frigate sunk a Thai trawler that had been captured by pirates back on Nov. 19, 2008 - killing a Thai sailor in the process. Their navy also captured 23 pirates on Dec. 13 that year.

The message to pirates: don't mess with India. They're not going to negotiate, and they will attack.