von Patricia Heinz
26 October 2010
www.shipping.nato.int/CounterPir
www.icc-ccs.org
www.mschoa.org
After the seasonal pause due to strong monsoon winds (locally known as Kusi), piracy off the Tanzanian coast resumed with a bang at the end of September. Between Sept 25 - 28 a total of 4 ships were attacked, one of which was hijacked - a success rate of 25%. After a brief respite the next attack occurred on October 10. On the same day another pirate group hijacked a ship some 40 nautical miles off Malindi, Kenya. Two more pirate attacks took place on October 21: one off Lindi in southern Tanzania and one off Mombasa, Kenya. Two days later a pirate group successfully hijacked a LPG Tanker 100 nm off Mombasa and on Oct. 26 one pirate skiff aborted an attack on a merchant vessel some 85 nm northeast of Mtwara while another attacked a LPG Tanker approx. 58 nm off southern Mafia Island.
Ships are sailing closer and closer to the coast looking for security. This in turn results in an increasing number of pirate attacks within Tanzanian territorial and economical waters (EEZ). One attack was only 15 nautical miles north of Mtwara, one a mere 13 nm off southern Zanzibar and one took place just 8 nm off the coast in Lindi area. Southern Tanzanian waters between Mafia Island and Mtwara have become a high risk area. The pirates obviously do not feel in any way discouraged by the naval patrols and actions taken so far to protect commercial shipping in Tanzanian waters. Quite the contrary, they seem to be concentrating their efforts. While the first two attacks in the area involved only one pirate skiff, the one closest to Lindi was attempted by two skiffs.
How long will it be before the pirates look for targets on land, before isolated luxury beach hotels and island resorts are attacked? Have the pirates already set up base camps on some of the remote shores or islands or are they receiving land based support from the Tanzanian coast?
Piracy within Tanzanian waters needs to be addressed now and it needs to be dealt with efficiently before it grows even more and gets completely out of hand! Tanzania, and inland neighbouring countries, rely heavily on maritime trade, on goods arriving and leaving by sea through Tanzanian ports. Just imagine if the supply of oil and petrol were interrupted! Tanzania and these neighbouring countries would come to a stand still.
Can Tanzania learn from the Seychelles. This small country in the middle of the western Indian Ocean whose livelihood depends almost exclusively on tourism (incl. cruise ships and yacht charters), commercial shipping and a highly professional fishing industry had to close its ports at one point because its waters were so infested with pirates. Seychelles had only one option: immediate and complete eradication of piracy in the area. And this they obviously managed. Soon the ports were open to commercial and fishing vessels again and by May even the highly vulnerable sailing yachts were permitted to leave in a southerly direction for Madagascar. So far, there has not been a single reported pirate attack in Seychelles waters since the end of March 2010.
The example of the Seychelles shows that it is possible to combat piracy efficiently. They will, however, need to remain vigilant and make sure their message to the pirates is clear: stay away from our waters!
And human rights? How about the human rights of the almost 400 innocent crew members of hijacked ships who are currently suffering in Somalia, including the elderly English yachting couple who has now been held in captivity for over a year? How about the human rights of those crew members who were injured or even killed during their ordeal? How many human rights must one allow the pirates, these criminals who don't hesitate to shoot if they encounter resistance from the ship they attack? Most recently two members of the Tanzanian Naval Forces who were assisting an attacked vessel were injured by pirate gun shots. They could just as easily have been killed!
Of course, one could offer the pirates a last chance and give them, say, 24 hours to disappear. That would be sufficient time for them to get at least 200 nautical miles off shore and leave Tanzanian economical waters. After that, any suspicious vessel or boat found within Tanzanian waters should be sunk.
But even if coastal shipping does become safe again, what about the vast expanse of international waters beyond the 200 nautical mile zone? Although there has been some improvement in the Gulf of Aden the increased presence of international forces in the area has resulted in piracy spreading more and more into the western Indian Ocean. Attacks have occurred almost as far east as India and the Maledives and as far south as the Comores and northern Madagascar. One can only hope that the international community which is currently hampered by its human rights complex will come to understand reality. The mandate of the joint naval forces deployed to protect the shipping lanes and combat piracy must be adapted to deal with piracy accordingly.
Somali piracy can no longer be seen as the acts of some individual errant fishermen but has become a proper business venture. Today's pirates are well equipped, well organized and they carry highly efficient assault weapons which they do not hesitate to use. Somali pirates have declared war on international shipping and are clearly terrorising the maritime trade routes in the western Indian Ocean. Somali piracy poses a serious threat not only to international trade but also to the economies and livelihoods of all nations in the region.
There is but one solution to Somali piracy: immediate and efficient action. Individual pirate skiffs, PAGs (Pirate Action Groups) and suspected pirate mother ships need to be actively searched, pursued and taken out of business! This is the only language that these people understand.