Friday, July 26, 2013
Frustrated by a string of failed hijacking attempts, Somali pirates
have turned to a new business model: providing "security" for ships
illegally plundering Somalia's fish stocks — the same scourge that
launched the Horn of Africa's piracy era eight years ago.Somali
piracy was recently a fearsome trend that saw dozens of ships and
hundreds of hostages taken yearly, but the success rate of the maritime
hijackers has fallen dramatically over the last year thanks to increased
security on ships and more effective international naval patrols.
Somali
pirate gangs in search of new revenue are now providing armed
protection for ships illegally fishing Somali waters. Erstwhile pirates
are also trafficking in arms, drugs and humans, according to a report
published this month by the U.N. Monitoring Group on Somalia and
Eritrea.
The security services for fishermen bring piracy full
circle. Somali pirate attacks were originally a defensive response to
illegal fishing and toxic waste dumping off Somalia's cost. Attacks
later evolved into a clan-based, ransom-driven business.
Up to 180
illegal Iranian and 300 illegal Yemeni vessels are fishing Puntland
waters, as well as a small number of Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean and
European-owned vessels, according to estimates by officials in the
northern Somali region of Puntland. International naval officials
corroborate the prevalence of Iranian and Yemeni vessels, the U.N.
report said.
Fishermen in Puntland "have confirmed that the
private security teams on board such vessels are normally provided from
pools of demobilized Somali pirates and coordinated by a ring of pirate
leaders and associated businessmen operating in Puntland, Somaliland,
the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, Yemen and Iran," the report said.
The
"security" teams help vessels cast nets and open fire on Somali
fishermen in order to drive away competition. "The prize is often
lucrative and includes large reef and open water catch, notably tuna,"
the report says.
The nearly 500-page U.N. report also accuses
Somalia's government of wide-ranging corruption. In response, Somalia's
presidential spokesman said that the report contains "numerous
inaccuracies, contradictions and factual gaps."
"We are pleased to
see the huge reduction in piracy, and yet equally concerned by the
reports of increased criminality. We have much work to do to create
legitimate livelihoods and deter Somalis from crime," said presidential
spokesman Abdirahman Omar Osman.
Somali piracy has been lucrative.
The hijackings of 149 ships between April 2005 and the end of 2012
netted an estimated $315 million to $385 million in ransom payments,
according to an April World Bank report.
But fishermen who have
participated in piracy might argue that the attacks were merely bringing
back money stolen from Somalis. A 2005 British government report
estimated that Somalia lost $100 million in 2003-04 alone due to illegal
tuna and shrimp fishing in Somali waters.
In Somalia, pirates sometimes refer to themselves as "saviors of the sea."
A
piracy expert at the International Maritime Bureau, said the protection
racket makes for a "potentially dangerous situation at sea."
"I
guess the region has always been rich in this kind of organized crime,"
said Cyrus Mody. "I think that probably the positive side of all this is
it's being highlighted which would hopefully give the government in
place now enough movement to try and do something about it with the help
of the EU and U.N."
Piracy peaked in 2009 and 2010, when 46 and
47 vessels were hijacked respectively, according to the European Union
Naval Force. Hijackings dropped to 25 in 2011, five in 2012 and zero so
far this year. Still, Somali pirates netted an estimated $32 million in
ransoms last year, the U.N. report said.
One current pirate said
he did not know about pirates providing protection to foreign fishing
vessels, but he said some pirates are using Yemeni fishermen to smuggle
weapons into Puntland.
"That's our current money-making business
because ship hijackings have failed," a pirate commander who goes by the
name Bile Hussein said by phone from Garacad, a pirate lair in central
Somalia. "If you drop one business, you get an idea for another."
Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/07/25/5028402/somali-pirates-now-protect-illegal.html#storylink=cpy