Pity The Poor Pirates Again

September 8, 2012: Pirate activity declined last year, to 439 incidents compared to 445 in 2010. Africa (mainly off Somalia on the east coast and the Gulf of Guinea on the west coast) accounted for 63 percent of the attacks. But the pirates have been less successful over the last two years. In 2010, the Somali pirates seized 49 ships, compared to 28 last year (a decline of 43 percent). For example, in the last quarter there were 90 attacks off Somalia, with 21 percent of them resulting in ships taken for ransom. In the last quarter of 2011, there were only 31 attacks and only 13 percent of them were successful.

Other areas where there is piracy (mostly stealing portable items, not hijacking ships) are Bangladesh, South China Sea, and Indonesia. In most of these areas pirate activity was also declining because of more active law enforcement and more alert crews on commercial ships. Outside of Somalia, most of the piracy is basically robbing the crew of their valuables and any portable items of worth from the ship (that will fit into the pirates' small boat).

The bad-news-for-pirates trend continues into this year. The first six months of 2012, saw a 33 percent decline in attacks compared to the first half of 2010. In the first six months of 2012, twenty ships were taken for ransom. Only 13 were by Somali pirates, which was a 38 percent decline from last year. In the last two months the Somali pirates have been even less successful.

The Somali pirates are having such a hard time because so many merchant ships are carrying armed guards (who also augment the lookouts and more frequently spot and identify pirates before they get too close). The international anti-piracy patrol off Somalia has dozens of warships and maritime patrol aircraft escorting convoys of merchant ships and (from the air) tracking pirate mother ships (which are usually intercepted and destroyed by warships).

Some of the pirates on the west coast of Africa (mainly the Gulf of Guinea) have become bolder and are hijacking ships (which they mainly take only long enough to steal the cargo). This is not a new trend (it has long been common in Asia) but it is new for West Africa. There are more naval forces active in West Africa and the pirates there will not have years of freedom from retribution like the Somali pirates did. In Asia the police and coastal security forces are aware of the "take the ship, disable navigation beacon, steal cargo" scam and have made it more difficult for pirates to get away with it. China was most successful at this, mainly because most of the culprits were executed.

Despite the recent success of countermeasures, piracy is still an attractive proposition to some criminals. There are still multi-million dollar ransoms to be had for Somali pirates (the only ones on the planet with safe harbors to store their captured ships while the ransom is negotiated). So despite increased difficulty in seizing ships, thousands of Somali pirates are still out there trying.

Counter-Piracy "Big Three" Meet At Sea

Force Commanders of the three international Counter-Piracy task forces, the EU Naval Force Somalia – Operation Atalanta (EU NAVFOR), NATO Operation Ocean Shield (TF-508) and Combined Task Force 151 (CTF-151; operated by the Combined Maritime Forces – CMF) met on board the NATO flagship to exchange experience and coordinate the fight against piracy.

French EU NAVFOR Force Commander Rear Admiral Jean-Baptiste Dupuis and CTF-151 Commander Rear Admiral Anho Chung from the Republic of Korea were welcomed by Dutch NATO Commander Commodore Ben Bekkering aboard the Evertsen.

The Marne supplies the Dutch frigate Evertsen (Ocean Shield - NATO), while the Korean frigate Wang Geon (Combined Task Force 151) also took a parallel route to record the of the "big threes".

The three Counter-Piracy forces communicate and coordinate their operations on a daily basis to ensure maximum effectiveness in the deterrence, disruption and repression of piracy in the area of operation. But even in times of modern communication systems, personal contacts are important. Therefore, cross-deck meetings are organised regularly in addition to electronic forms of communication. However, this was the first simultaneous meeting at sea of the Force Commanders of the three main Counter-Piracy forces.

The three commanders discussed the strategic and tactical situation and the broader evolution of piracy since the end of 2011. The Commanders agreed that the increased pressure on Somali pirates and their business model has seen promising results but needs to be maintained. The situation in Somalia allowing for pirates to operate has not yet changed and the recent spate of successes is still reversible – there is no room for complacency.

The flagships of the three main anti-piracy forces off Somalia in the Gulf of Aden. Right to left: the Korean frigate Wang Geon (Combined Task Force 151), the FS Marne (Atalanta) and the Dutch frigate Evertsen (Ocean Shield - NATO).