BLACKFIVE: Modern-day Piracy

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Modern-day Piracy

Posted By Blackfive

[B5 Note: There is a request for expertise at the end of the post]

Two days ago, in the Indian Ocean, hostages held at gun point aboard a fishing vessel...

Pirates holding the crew of the Chinese fishing vessel FV Tian Yu 8 guard their hostages Monday, Nov. 17, 2008, as the ship passes through the Indian Ocean. The ship was attacked, Nov. 16, in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility and forced to proceed to an anchorage off the Somali coast. Photographer: Petty Officer 2nd Class Jason R. Zalasky, Navy Visual News Service.

Piracy is on the rise, via Jane's:

International Shipping Weekly Comments on Somali Piracy

London (18th November 2008) -- UK-based International shipping weekly Fairplay warned last month that Somali pirates would spread their criminal wings beyond their conventional operating zone. Which means there was an element of predictability about the piracy attack on the very large crude carrier Sirius Star.

Jim Wilson, Middle East Correspondent for Fairplay commented “This attack marks a significant step up in the confidence and capability of Somali pirates to attack shipping. It may also mark the effect of increased anti-pirate naval activity in the Gulf of Aden.”

In an interview, UK Royal Navy Commodore Keith Winstanley, deputy commander of the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) in the Middle East, told Fairplay: "It’s inconceivable that the Coalition can be everywhere. The pirates will go somewhere we are not. If we patrol the Gulf of Aden then they will go to Mogadishu. If we go to Mogadishu, they will go to the Gulf of Aden.”

The Sirius Star was attacked in the Arabian Sea, more than 450 n-miles southeast of Kenya’s Mombasa port, well outside the normal theatre for Somali piracy.

CMF data analysis shows that the combination of both military and civilian involvement in the Gulf of Aden reduced the percentage of successful piracy attacks from 53% in August to 31% in October.

"Our presence in the region is helping deter and disrupt criminal attacks off the Somali coast, but the situation with the Sirius Star clearly indicates the pirates' ability to adapt their tactics and methods of attack" says Vice Adm. Bill Gortney, CMF Commander.

So where can you help? I received a request for some military expertise on modern day piracy from Kenneth Anderson (Law of War lawyer) of Opinio Juris:

...There are many legal questions here, of course. But I had a conversation with a US Navy officer, not a lawyer, but someone with operational duties, who suggested that the best military course of action would be to equip some number of civilian vessels as decoys - heavily armed and carrying marines. The best thing, he said, would be for Somali pirates to attack, and then be aggressively counterattacked, in a battle, not the serving of an arrest warrant - sink their vessel and kill as many pirates as possible. It would send a message to pirates that they could not know which apparently civilian vessels might instead instead counterattack...

There are some interesting ideas over there (and in potentially making recommendations to a new Obama administration...). If you have some expertise, please share it in the comments of Opinio Juris (not here please).

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November 19, 2008 • Permalink
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[B5 Note: There is a request for expertise at the end of the post]

Two days ago, in the Indian Ocean, hostages held at gun point aboard a fishing vessel...

Piracy is on the rise, via Jane's:

International Shipping Weekly Comments on Somali Piracy

London (18th November 2008) -- UK-based International shipping weekly Fairplay warned last month that Somali pirates would spread their criminal wings beyond their conventional operating zone. Which means there was an element of predictability about the piracy attack on the very large crude carrier Sirius Star.

Jim Wilson, Middle East Correspondent for Fairplay commented “This attack marks a significant step up in the confidence and capability of Somali pirates to attack shipping. It may also mark the effect of increased anti-pirate naval activity in the Gulf of Aden.”

In an interview, UK Royal Navy Commodore Keith Winstanley, deputy commander of the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) in the Middle East, told Fairplay: "It’s inconceivable that the Coalition can be everywhere. The pirates will go somewhere we are not. If we patrol the Gulf of Aden then they will go to Mogadishu. If we go to Mogadishu, they will go to the Gulf of Aden.”

The Sirius Star was attacked in the Arabian Sea, more than 450 n-miles southeast of Kenya’s Mombasa port, well outside the normal theatre for Somali piracy.

CMF data analysis shows that the combination of both military and civilian involvement in the Gulf of Aden reduced the percentage of successful piracy attacks from 53% in August to 31% in October.

"Our presence in the region is helping deter and disrupt criminal attacks off the Somali coast, but the situation with the Sirius Star clearly indicates the pirates' ability to adapt their tactics and methods of attack" says Vice Adm. Bill Gortney, CMF Commander.

So where can you help? I received a request for some military expertise on modern day piracy from Kenneth Anderson (Law of War lawyer) of Opinio Juris:

...There are many legal questions here, of course. But I had a conversation with a US Navy officer, not a lawyer, but someone with operational duties, who suggested that the best military course of action would be to equip some number of civilian vessels as decoys - heavily armed and carrying marines. The best thing, he said, would be for Somali pirates to attack, and then be aggressively counterattacked, in a battle, not the serving of an arrest warrant - sink their vessel and kill as many pirates as possible. It would send a message to pirates that they could not know which apparently civilian vessels might instead instead counterattack...

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