Possible Solutions

In order to find the proper solution to a problem, it is necessary to first learn about the cause of the problem. The reason why piracy is such a large problem in Somalia is because the country is completely unstable. There is no national government to police its citizens. Somalians live in anarchy and are trying to do everything possible to survive. They see piracy as an opportunity to make lots of money and they are willing to take the risk. The long term solution to piracy is to help the Somalians form some sort of stable government. If this happens, then the Somalians will be able to police themselves and outside force won't be necessary. The short term solution is to monitor the area such as what CTF 151 is doing now. This won't eradicate piracy but it may control it. Another possible short term solution would be to go after the pirates. This would mean possibly bombing their port cities. However, this solution would also lead to civilian deaths that no one wants. Another possible short term solution is to arm commercial ships with non-lethal weapons rather than with guns. These non-lethal weapons would emit intense loud sounds or they might emit rays that burn the skin in order to turn back the pirates. The U.S. government has decided the best course is to patrol pirate waters while it continues to pursue a better long term solution. The best possible solution is to create stability in Somalia by forming a capable government. In the meantime, the maritime industry is preparing its crews to combat pirate attacks. Check it out:

Here in another video where Secretary Clinton talks about solutions that the State Department is considering: http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1911416296?bctid=19834412001. What many shipping companies have decided to do is to continue to sail through dangerous waters. If their ships are hijacked by pirates, the company just pays the ransom. This cannot happen if the world wants to stop piracy. Along with other measures, companies who own captured ships must not pay the ransom because this only emboldens pirates. If the pirates cannot get the money they want, then they may eventually give up. Younger Somalians will see that being a pirate does not pay off and will be less likely to become one.

Piracy Facts and Statistics

Check out these piracy facts and statistics:

• 111 pirate attacks in 2008


• 79 pirate attacks in 2009


• 42 hijackings in 2008


• 19 hijackings in 2009


• $150 million paid in ransom money in 2008


• 20,000+ number of ships that pass through the Gulf each year


• 260,000 tons of food shipped by the World Food Program to Somalia last year, most of it passing through the danger zone


• 3.5 million Somalies are fed by the World Food Program donations


• $16 billion is the estimated cost of piracy


• There are three types of pirate attacks:

1. Pirates rob only the crew
2. Pirates rob the crew and steal cargo
3. Pirates steal everything including the ship itself

• Only 10% of piracy incidents are reported

Government Involvement and Impact

Since piracy is an international issue, it is up to the federal government to solve this problem. Within the federal government, there three main organizations involved: the Department of Defense, the State Department, and Congress. Currently, the Department of Defense is using the U.S. Navy to patrol waters frequented by pirates while the State Department is busy working with other nations to find the best solution. Meanwhile, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation have held hearings to find out what legislation is needed to help stop piracy. Watch the Senate hearing here: http://commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.LiveStream&Hearing_id=93dfe074-a312-490e-9c8e-3490dd16efc8. While President Obama is ultimately in charge, he must also rely on the help of his Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is another key political figure because he is in charge of CTF 151 and he must coordinate with Secretary Clinton. The Senators and Representatives on the two committees listed are important because any type of legislation dealing with piracy must go through them. The decisions of these governmental leaders affects many U.S. citizens including those in the military who must patrol the waters off the coast of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden. People in the shipping and maritime trade industry are also impacted because they must follow the laws passed by Congress. If the U.S. government decides to halt aid to East Africa because it is too dangerous, then many people in Africa could starve to death. Our government impacts both U.S. citizens and people around the world. Right now, our government has taken a relatively passive approach to piracy. The government is taking time to evaluate the situation in order to make the best choice possible. Working with out allies to stop piracy is advantageous because it requires fewer of our resources and by working together the U.S. and the international community are stronger and more effective. However, the downside to the U.S. government's current approach is that it will take a long time to control piracy. Despite that, I think this is the best approach considering the situation. Working with our partners and being ready to confront piracy situations is the best solution.

Why is Piracy a Major Problem?

Some U.S. citizens, myself included, may question why we should care about piracy. Who cares about what happens off the coast of Somalia, right? Wrong. When the ship Maersk Alabama was hijacked by pirates and Captain Richard Phillips was taken hostage, it was the duty of the U.S. government to get him back safe and sound. The Maersk Alabama was a ship flying the American colors and therefore is protected by the U.S. government. Not only do these pirate attacks endanger U.S. citizens, they also have some other negative impacts. In a report published by the research corporation RAND, the think tank cited numerous issues associated with piracy. This report was presented to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Feb. 4, 2009 and can be found here: http://www.rand.org/pubs/testimonies/2009/RAND_CT317.pdf. One reason they gave was

"piracy also has a direct economic impact in terms of fraud, stolen cargos and
delayed trips and could undermine a maritime state’s trading ability."

Estimates of the cost of piracy range from $1 billion to $16 billion to the maritime industry. Another reason listed was

"Politically, piracy can play a pivotal role in undermining and weakening
governing legitimacy by encouraging corruption among elected officials and
bureaucrats."

One example of this is Indonesia, a major piracy "hot spot" where corruption is relatively widespread. Here is a list countries and their corruption rankings as published by the organization, Transparency International. Notice that Indonesia is ranked T-143 and Somalia is ranked last at T-179. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0781359.html. The last reason given was that piracy could have a negative environmental impact. The scenario was if pirates left an oil tanker adrift in a heavily trafficked water-way, another ship might collide with it, resulting in a catastrophic oil spill. This would be extremely damaging to nearby nations, especially if those nations relied on the ocean for food. There have also been instances of piracy in the Caribbean and if the problem in Somalia isn't curbed, pirates in the Caribbean may be emboldened and we may see an increase in pirate attacks in the region. If this were to happen, a cruise to the Caribbean may not seem like such a great vacation anymore. Piracy also threatens the food aid from the U.S. bound for impoverished people in Africa as well as important equipment shipments to our troops in the region. As the world becomes more globally connected, it is important that we as citizens care about international issues because these issues always find a way of impacting us.

What is the Government Doing?

The United States government is currently working on a solution to this growing problem of piracy. After the rescue of Captain Richard Phillips, President Obama addressed the issue of piracy. Here is a clip of his speech: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7997067.stmi/world/americas/7997067.stm. Although he did not offer a solution to the problem, Obama did say that he is

"resolved to halt the rise of piracy"

by

"working with partners to prevent future attacks,"

by

"being prepared to confront them [pirate attacks] when they arise",

and to

"ensure those that commit piracy are held accountable."

One way the government is dealing with piracy is by sending Combined Task Force 151. This task force includes U.S. Navy ships and aircraft that are working jointly with several other countries to patrol the waters where piracy is most common. Here is a link to a website about CTF 151: http://www.navy.mil/local/ctf-151/. It has pictures and news articles about what CTF 151 is doing.

Where is Piracy Happening?

There a few main areas where piracy is most prevalent. These pirate "hot spots" are located in the Gulf of Aden, the East African coast, Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, and the West African coast: mainly Nigeria and Ghana. Until recently, most pirate attacks occured in Southeast Asia, mostly around Indonesia. Now the majority of pirate attacks are happening off the coast of East Africa with the focus being the Somalian coast. Here is a look at an interactive map of pirate attacks for the year 2009: http://www.icc-ccs.org/index.php?option=com_fabrik&view=visualization&controller=visualization.googlemap&Itemid=219

What is Piracy?

According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, piracy is

"an act of robbery esp. on the high seas; specifically : an illegal act of
violence, detention, or plunder committed for private ends by crew or passengers
of a private ship or aircraft against another ship or aircraft on the high seas
or in a place outside the jurisdiction of any state."

While centuries ago, pirates would attack ships in order to rob ships of their cargo, modern pirates are taking a slightly different approach. Although some pirates may still rob ships of their cargo, their main objective is to capture the ship itself and hold it for ransom. So far this method has paid off as was evident in the incident of the oil tanker Sirius Star where the pirates were paid $3 million for the release of the ship. Ships may also be robbed while still in port.

The Piracy Predicament

What comes to mind when you here the word piracy? If you're very tech savvy, you might think of the illegal downloading and copying of films and music. Others might think of Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean but how many people think of Somalis in small fishing boats armed with AK-47s? Until recently, I am sure no one did. Over the past couple of months, modern piracy has become a growing issue. That is why I have decided to investigate the problem of piracy so that ignorant people like myself know what is going on and what our government is doing about piracy.