Grant Ehrick - Somalia

Piracy in Somalia: Factors Influencing the Current Trend

In a country which has had little government power since its creation, it is no wonder that anarchy and poverty are the two factors most prevalent in Somalias past. Somalia has gone to war with Ethiopia on several occasions, but most of the damage leading to Somalias utter collapse of government has been from within the country. Warlords, tribes and clans run wild without punishment from a government. With such a chaotic mess also emerges the most recent international conflict between Somalia and the world. Piracy. Since the early 2000s Somalia has been growing into a nation which takes what it can from the sea, whether or not it is theirs. In 2008 alone pirates attacked over 111 commercial ships and by September 2009, an additional 156 more (Dagne 2). Most of the people in Somalia live on less than $130 U.S. dollars per year, making it one of the poorest countries in the world (In Somalia They Die of Thirst). This lack of economic opportunities drives Somalians to become pirates, seeking for a way to make money. As described by reporter Jeffrey Gettleman, who has traveled to Somalia at least a dozen times in the past years, The whole country has become a breeding ground for warlords, pirates, kidnappers, bomb makers, fanatical Islamist insurgents, freelance gunmen, and idle, angry youth with no education and way too many bullets. There is no Green Zone here, by the way--no fortified place of last resort to run to if, God forbid, you get hurt or in

Grant Ehrick - Somalia

trouble. In Somalia, you're on your own. The local hospitals barely have enough gauze to treat all the wounds. In 1960, British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland united to from the Republic of Somalia, a republic which has not seen peace since its creation. The Republic of Somalia came under power of a socialist government led by Mohammed Siad Barre. Though the state had a government in place, it had little control over constant war waged by clans and tribes within. For 20 years, conflict continued between warlords seeking power in a state with little to offer. In essence, it was a kill or be killed war in which everyone must choose a side. By 1981 however, Northern Somalia began to grow tired of the dictatorship led by Barre. The SNM, or Somali National Movement was formed to organize against Barres regime. By the end of 1981 civil war was crumpling Barres regime(Timeline Somalia). However, Barre was not easy to give in. The civil war continued for 10 years until Mogadishu, Somalias capital, was overrun and Barre fled (Robinson). Even with Barre gone however, any attempt of government was futile. Today, even with a temporary government in place, civil war dominates much of Somalia, despite numerous attempts and failures of United Nations and the United States peacekeeping operations. The most recent pirating attacks have puzzled policy makers on what to do. For a poverty stricken country like Somalia, the high risk involved with pirating is well worth the reward. Most citizens of Somalia live on under $130 U.S. dollars per year, while ransom payments to pirates are over $120 million U.S. dollars (Dagne 2). In a

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report by BBC, the pirates are Living the high life. BBC also quotes Abdi Farah Juha of Somalia who says, They have the money; they have the power and they are getting stronger... they are building big houses; they have new car...Piracy in many ways is socially acceptable. They have become fashionable (Hunter). As more and more people see the pirates becoming rich, they are influenced to join them. The pirates come from many backgrounds. Most pirates are 25-30 years old, but they seem to come from similar backgrounds. Some are ex-fishermen, others are ex-militiamen and some are businessmen looking for an easy check (Ho 504). Often times a businessman invest in supplies and gear for the pirates, and gets a certain percentage of the take. In addition, businessmen work from the inside. They can find out which ships are carrying cargo and which ships to target. Ships with valuable cargo such as oil are usually the target, but smaller operations target fishing boats and other smaller income vessels. According to the Korean Journal of Defense Analysis, most groups of pirates can be broken into three groups, (1) the local fishermen, considered the brains of the pirates' operations due to their skill and knowledge of the sea; (2) ex-militiamen who used to fight for the local clan warlords, used as the muscle; and (3) technical experts, who operate high-tech equipment such as the GPS systems (504).

Grant Ehrick - Somalia

Though some argue that the pirates are unorganized, several factors point to the contrary. The pirates organize and launch from a larger boat a ways out at sea, due to the limited range of the attack vessels. The larger boat, or mother ship, can be valuable in organizing the attack and carrying fuel to stay at sea for several days. Smaller boats, with powerful engines are used to actually confront the victims, as they are faster and more maneuverable (Ho 504). Though money is a driving factor behind piracy in Somalia, another factor may be involved. Toxic waste dumped into the oceans of Somalia has reportedly caused the fishing economy to fall through. From a report by the United Nations Environment Program, theres uranium radioactive waste, theres lead, theres heavy metals like cadmium and mercury, theres industrial waste, and theres hospital wastes, chemical wastes, you name it. It is not however just Somalia dumping waste into the oceans. Many countries use the oceans of Somalia to dump their waste due to cost. In Europe it cost $250 per ton to dump waste in the oceans. In Somalia it is $2.50 (Dagne 8). For a major company with a lot of waste, the cost savings can add up quick. Many countries have been involved in trying to fix the piracy problem in Somalia. At the cost of millions, warships have attempted to control pirates, but with such vast amounts of space, not all ships can be protected. In 2008 attacks rose higher than previous years even with five NATO warships patrolling the waters (Ho 506). At the end of 2008 the European Union launched six warships and three surveillance planes into the area, all while the number of hijackings and pirated

Grant Ehrick - Somalia

vessels climbed in 2009 (Ho 507). Besides the show of force in the Somalian oceans, the United Nations passed a bill in 2008 in an attempt to discourage piracy. The bill states, UN Security Council Resolution 1618 uses Chapter VII powers to authorize foreign military and law-enforcement action in the Somalian territorial sea to repress piracy and armed robbery at sea over an initial six-month period (Guilfoyle 690-691). In other words, any foreign country is allowed to use force to stop piracy. With more than $120 million dollars paid in ransoms to pirates, the problem is causing a large financial casualty. However, according the Korean Journal of Defense, certain businesses are profiting from the increase in piracy. Insurance companies offer policies for protection incase of a ship becoming hijacked. One insurance company charges $15,000 per trip in waters around Somalia, and other companies offer security guards ranging in price from $20,000 to $40,000 per trip (Ho 505). These prices may seem expensive, but many companies are willing to pay the extra cost to ensure safe passage of their expensive cargo. In addition to onboard security guards and insurance policies a company by the name of International Maritime Security Network is offering their equipment and services. IMSN offers other more permanent solutions to pirates, which the onboard crew can use with little training. IMSN can install several detterents on the ship such as high pressure water cannons and their new state of the art water pump system which sprays water mixed with pepper oil off of the deck, down the sides of the ship. So far, IMSN has only installed one of these systems on a ship, but many orders are on the way (International Maritime Security Network, LLC Triton Shield Promotion).

Grant Ehrick - Somalia

In addition, IMSN has several new technologies on the way, including a net system that is released when pirates are sighted, and prevents pirates from nearing the ship (Anti Piracy Net Demo). All of these possible solutions and insurance policies aimed at protection from pirates are only temporary unfortunately. According to a worker for ISMN, the pirates are always improving their tactics and constantly changing to avoid detterents. Most of the technologies, warships and policies are only short time solutions. Eventually, the problem will have to solved from the inside, not simply by trying to prevent the effects of piracy. Somalia has been without an authoritative government since 1991, and even before 1991 the government had little control (Timeline Somalia). As previously stated, the United Nations and United States both attempted to intervene in a situation following the ousting of Barre. These attempts had little effect on stopping the mass genocide, famine and civil war. 42 U.S. troops died during the confrontation with war torn rebels, along with many United Nations peacekeeping troops (Stewart 26). Genocide, civil war, famine and lack of water contributed to over 350,000 Somalian deaths and millions of people displaced from their homes right after the U.N. and U.S. interventions in 1993 (Robinson). Both attempts by the U.N. and U.S. were deemed unsuccessful and the pullout of troops left a country by itself to die by its own hand. Without government, piracy was able to grow rampant until todays current situation. In order to stop the current piracy, an end needs to come to the civil war. This may not sound easy, but without a stop of the violence, piracy is allowed to

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continue. And judging from past attempts to stop the violence, the only way to stop the civil war will be through a strong change of power to a government, a government with the ability to punish war mongering groups and take control of the country. This is easier said than done however. Many problems prevent this from happening, but the most obvious would be monetary funds. In 2008 the United States provided $318 million to aid Somalia relief programs (Dagne 6). But even these numbers are small compared to what a government needs to succeed. Through a world wide effort, troops will have to be sent in to retake the government. Only after a successful campaign will power be able be passed onto a trained and able government. Obviously with current conditions in Iraq and Afghanistan, many people would be weary of this approach, but their are certain incentives that may aid in the decision to intervene. Somalia has oil. With current oil conditions and constant scares of rising prices another oil producing territory available for the U.S. and allies is a good idea. Secondly, terrorism. Since the 1990s Al Qaeda groups have been reportedly using Somalia as a training area and recruiting the Islamist population. In the 1990s Osama Bin Laden was rumored to have provided weapons to shoot down U.N. and U.S. helicopters proving aid (Timeline Somalia). Unlike Iraq and Afghanistan however, the U.S. should intervene before terrorist securely establish themselves, preventing a possible future problem. Action needs to be taken by the U.N., the U.S. and the international community to correct many problems Somalia is faced with. Recently, Somalias

Grant Ehrick - Somalia

downfalls were mostly within the country, but as the increase in piracy has shown, Somalias problems are beginning to effect many other countrys. As of today, April 5th, 2010, pirates seized a South Korean oil tanker carrying a payload of up to $170 million dollars worth of oil (Pirates Seize South Korean Tanker). This hijacking is just one of many in the past several years, and the result will likely be another ransom payment to the growing economy of piracy. In order to stop this problem now, those effected must step in, secure Somalia, and initiate a powerful government which can bring an end to terrorism on the ocean.

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Works Cited Anti Piracy Maritime Security Solutions - Anti Piracy Net Demo. 2009. Youtube.com. Web. 15 Mar. 2010. Dagne, Ted. Somalia: Current Conditions and Prospects for Lasting Peace. Congressional Research Service. (2009): Web. 15 Mar. 2010. <http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/RL33911_20091021.pdf>

Gettleman, Jeffrey. "Most Dangerous Place in the World." Foreign Policy. (2009): Web. 16 Mar. 2010. <http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/02/16/ the_most_dangerous_place_in_the_world?page=full> Guilfoyle, Douglas. Piracy off Somalia: A UN Security Council Resoloution 1816 and IMO Regional Counter-Piracy Efforts. The International and Comparative Law Quarterly 57.3 (2008): Web. 14 Mar. 2010 Ho, Joshua. "Piracy around the Horn of Africa." Korean Journal of Defense Analysis 21.4 (2009): Web.16 Mar. 2010 < http://www.informaworld.com/

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10.1080/10163270903298967> Hunter, Robyn. Somali Pirates Living The High Life. BBC News (2008): Web. 20 Mar. 2010. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7650415.stm> In Somalia They Die of Thirst. International Rescue Committee (2007): Web. 23 Mar. 2010. <http://www.theirc.org/photo-essays/somalia-they-die-thirst> International Maritime Security Network, LLC Triton Shield Promotion. 2009. Youtube.com. Web. 20 Mar. 2010.

Pirates Seize South Korean Tanker. CNN WORLD (2010): Web. 5 April 2010. <http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/04/05/somalia.tanker.hijacked/ index.html?iref=allsearch> Timeline Somalia. Timelines of History (2009): Web. 23 Mar. 2010. <http://timelines.ws/countries/SOMALIA.HTML>