Showing posts with label Piracy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Piracy. Show all posts

Friday, November 21, 2008

Piraterie...

Picture credit: NATO

Piraterie: des rançons trop "faciles"? (original in green, with ed. translation)

Les pirates qui multiplient les attaques de bateaux au large des côtes somaliennes et dans le golfe d'Aden auraient obtenu quelque 150 millions de dollars de rançons au cours des douze derniers mois, selon le ministre kenyan des Affaires étrangères.


The pirates that are multiplying their attacks on ships off the Somali coast and in the Gulf of Aden have obtained some 150 millions of dollars in ransom over the course of the last twelve months, according to the Kenyan foreign minister.

Selon ce responsable, ces gains encouragent les pirates à continuer leurs activités dans une zone essentielle pour le trafic maritime international. Des hommes armés somaliens détiennent actuellement un superpétrolier saoudien, le Sirius Star, renfermant dans ses cales 300'000 tonnes de pétrole, et réclament 25 millions de dollars.

According to this minister, these gains are encouraging the pirates to continue their activities in this zone that is essential to international maritime traffic. Armed Somali men currently hold a Saudi tanker, the Sirius Star which holds 300,000 tons of oil in its hold, and are demanding 25 million dollars.

...

Selon le Bureau maritime international (BMI), 94 bateaux ont été attaqués par des pirates somaliens depuis janvier. Trente-huit navires ont été détournés, dont 17 sont toujours aux mains des pirates avec 250 membres d'équipage.

According to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), 94 ships have been attackedby the Somali pirates since January. Thirty-eight ships have been seized, of which 17 are still in the pirates' hands along with 250 crew members.

Plusieurs pays ont déjà dépêché des navires de guerre au large de la Somalie pour lutter contre les bandits des mers mais ces derniers, s'appuyant notamment sur leur rapidité d'action, ont multiplié leurs prises avec une facilité déconcertante.

Many countries have already sent naval vessels off the coast of Somalia to fight the these sea-bandits, but they have multiplied their seizures with a deconcerting ease by relying on their rapidity of action.

Par ailleurs, les Etats-Unis ont fait circuler jeudi soir au Conseil de sécurité de l'ONU un projet de résolution visant à renforcer à nouveau l'action internationale contre les pirates somaliens. Ce texte élargira le champ d'autorité de la résolution 1816.

On Thursday the United States circulated a proposed resolution at the United Nations Security Council seeking to reinforce new international action against the Somali pirates. The text of the resolution enlarges the field of authority of resolution 1816.

La résolution 1816, adoptée en juin, invite les Etats en mesure de le faire et possédant des navires de guerre dans la zone maritime du golfe d'Aden à agir contre les pirates en haute mer et les autorise même à pénétrer dans les eaux territoriales somaliennes avec l'accord du gouvernement somalien pour poursuivre des pirates.

Resolution 1816, adopted in June, invites states capable of and posessing naval vessels in the maritime zone of the Gulf of Aden to act against the pirates on the high seas, and authorizes them to penetrate Somali territorial waters (with permission) to pursue the pirates.

Update:

The Freakonomics blog's 'Spreading the pirate booty around' reports this year's haul as only USD 30 million....

Blowback?


Somali piracy is of long date, save for a gap during the second half of 2006. This was when the Islamic Courts Union had restored a semblance of normalcy to the country. However they were overthrown by Ethiopia with the support of the United States....

E-mail update...

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Piracy RIP (resources in place)


Hmm, this blogger earlier suggested that the Somali piracy issue was a perfect chance for the U.S. to do some naval training exercises... Beyond the naval opportunity, the U.S. has several assets in the immediate neighborhood - air bases in Thumrait and Masirah in Oman, a SIGINT (?) station on the island of Socotra (Yemen), a base in Djibouti, etc. that should be able to assist in any anti-piracy endeavor...

Practice runs

Picture credit: Spiegel Online

"... It is generally thought that from sighting pirates to being boarded takes approximately fifteen minutes. Such a short space of time helps to explain why even with international patrols in the area ships are still captured ..." In the Gulf of Aden pirates, mostly originating from Somalia, ply small motor boats with men armed with AK-47s and RPGs and are harassing vessels traveling that important maritime route.

Over a hundred attacks have happened this year and a number of ships have been seized for ransom (35-40?). Insurance rates for the greater than 16,000 ships that transit that area every year have gone up. Additionally, some shipping lines are considering switching routes from 'Suez Canal - Gulf of Aden' to going around the Cape of Good Hope, thus adding an extra 12-15 days to the journey at USD 20-30 thousand per day. Now that's some amazing leverage!!

Beyond all the strategic and geopolitical issues raised by this situation (see the Chatham House report linked below), this seems to offer an opportunity. Very hard to track, small, lightly-armed motorboats attacking suddenly, and sometimes using swarming attacks?? Great training opportunity for the U.S. Navy, which in the future might face this from the Iranians in the Straits of Hormuz....

Pirates of the Gulf
The pirates of Somalia
Why not storm the ships?
Oil tanker waylaid by pirates
Photo Gallery: Danger on the High Seas
Photo Gallery: The Rise of Somali Pirates
Piracy in Somalia: Threatening Global Trade, Feeding Local Wars