Piracy Evolving

Photography: Pablo Ferrero

Nowadays it is commonly accepted that we live in a world where not clear periods of war or peace exist, so there are not defined interim periods of peace between them. Nevertheless, the whole modern world, with the menace of new asymmetric threats, seems to be in a state of constant disruption. This new kind of “asymmetrical” war is certain that it is not governed by the doctrines of war theorists, such as Mahan and Clausewitz, who spoke of tactics and strategies in the context of a constitutionalized war of earlier times. Modern foe at sea is now terrorism and illegal activities in the form of pirates, smugglers, fanatic religious groups and all kinds of illegal groups that prove to be particularly dangerous and effective in their incessant activity. The 20th century saw the birth and development of the phenomenon of terrorism, as we perceive it today. The rapid technological progress that has become accessible to most people through international trade and communications has helped to develop this phenomenon. Moreover, piracy, as it is today, constitutes the greatest threat in the seas. Unlike the pirates of the old age, whose sole purpose was material profit, modern pirates, beyond that, have ideological foundations and there is clear evidence that they have a political and religious agenda as well as links with terrorist groups.

Areas of Pirate attacks

South - Central America and the Caribbean

There is a relatively limited number of pirate attacks at the coasts of these areas. Pirates aim at robbery of assets or money from the crew or the passengers. They usually attack when ships are anchored or harness in ports. Countries with the highest proportion of problems on the basis of statistics are Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru and Panama.
In Brazil armed gang members board merchant vessels and yachts usually when in port but also when underway in close distance from coast. High risk areas are the Amazon estuary, the Santos area and Villa do Conte area.
In Venezuela the tankers at anchor are the preferred targets, especially in Puerto la Cruz.
Pirate attacks are also recorded in the Caribbean Sea mainly in the Port Au Prince area. Alike, the pirates aim on money and assets. Given the fact that the area is a pole of attraction for many yachts and sailing boats, pirates seek to seize valuables, electronic devices and / or cash.

Southeast Asia

Since the late of 20th century, piracy has dynamically made its appearance in Asia. In the wider region of Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines, pirate attacks on ships are particularly favored by the geographical factor. It is noted that the island’s clusters of this region are about 17,500 for Indonesia and 7,000 for the Philippines. The Malacca straits, between Malaysia and Indonesia, have become the focus of pirate activity since the 1980s, culminating in 2003. This is the most dangerous point for merchant ships and yachts, a relatively narrow and difficult to navigate sea. It is estimated that each year cross the area 50,000 to 90,000 ships, carrying half of the annual oil production and one third of the goods transported worldwide.

Pirates in the area (mainly fishermen) as a mean use a type of small boat made by bamboo. Bamboos are joined together to create a sort of “bridge” that allows them to climb easily on the target ship as it moves slowly. In 2004 a staggering 40 percent of all pirate attacks took place in Malacca straits. The phenomenon persists, yet less intensive due to naval patrols in the area and close cooperation of coastal countries in intelligence sharing and coordination of naval forces.

Piracy in Southeast Asia is associated with criminal syndicates in China and Japan like the infamous Yakuza. Yet another even more concerning fact is the close ties of modern piracy in the area with Islamic terrorism organizations like the Abu Sayyaf Group. The so called “piracy by terrorism” seems like a new trend worldwide which will have enormous consequences on global trade if not addressed decisively and in a timely manner.

Africa – Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden

On the African continent there is a remarkable pirate activity in the East and the West coast.

Somali pirates have attacked hundreds of vessels in the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean region, especially from 2007 to 2010, though most attacks did not result in a successful hijacking. In 2008, there were 111 attacks which included 42 successful hijackings. The rate of attacks in January and February 2009 was about 10 times higher than during the same period in 2008 and, indicatively, there have been almost daily attacks in March with 79 attacks, 21 successful, by mid-April. Most of these attacks occurred in the Gulf of Aden but subsequently the pirates increased their range and started attacking ships as far south as off the coast of Kenya in the Indian Ocean and as far east as the Gulf of Oman and the coast of Indian subcontinent. The huge ransoms paid by shipowners and the extremely high cost to global trade forced the international community to decide for the formation of an ant-piracy coalition with warships patrolling the area, especially the Gulf of Aden. Before that, the shipping companies decided to hire armed security personnel onboard their vessels for protection purposes. As a result of the above measures piracy incidents started to significantly drop since 2010. In 2017 there is only one hijacking, there are still numerous attempts though not allowing for complacency and underlying the fact that the threat of piracy is still there. It has to be mentioned that, given the situation in Yemen, Somalia, Iraq and Syria is highly likely that now piracy is in some way related to terrorism and vise versa, just like it happens in Southeast Asia. The phenomenon of “piracy by terrorism” is on the rise globally as it seems that terrorist organizations like ISIS and the still relevant Al – Qaida expand their activities in the maritime realm. The recent formation of Al – Qaida Indian Subcontinent is a very warning sign for the region. Yet it is unclear how many of the pirate attacks in the area are associated with terrorism but it is likely that the deterioration of ISIS situation in Syria and Iraq and the decrease of its revenues by oil smuggling, forces the organization to seek other sources of money. In this regard, “piracy by terrorism” is anticipated to increase in the near future in terms of numbers and in new areas of maritime interest.

The West Coast of Africa - Gulf of Guinea particularly - is of great interest for piracy related groups. This is because there is a direct link with the geopolitics of energy. Nigeria and Angola are the two largest oil producing countries in Africa. Together with Gabon, Cameroon, Congo and Equatorial Guinea, surround the Guinea Bay. The pirates in this area do not negotiate for ransom, they are interested in stealing the cargo, usually oil. They are extremely brutal and often kill crewmembers for no reason. Unlike the East African Coast where piracy is in constant decline since 2010, piracy in Gulf of Guinea is on the rise. It is believed that the fearsome Nigeria’s militant Islamist group Boko Haram which recently proclaimed Nigeria a Caliphate, associated with Al Qaida and ISIS, is involved in many of the pirate incidents in the Gulf of Guinea. Again, “piracy by terrorism” is evident here and in essence entirely unchecked due to the lack of proper Coast Guard and Naval forces by the coastal states.

Causes of Piracy

A number of causes are responsible for the existence of piracy, among which could be highlighted the underdevelopment and poverty that plague countries directly or indirectly linked to piracy. The low economic growth in these countries is driving the rise of crime. The reasons for this impoverishment are:
The widening inequality between wealthy developed countries and poor developing countries due to globalization.

Over-exploitation of natural resources.

The degradation of the natural environment of the poor countries, by dropping toxic, nuclear, industrial and even hospital waste from the developed countries. The sea pollution leaves the fishermen without means of survival thus turning them to unlawful acts like piracy.

Moreover, the expanding links between piracy and terrorism, which takes the phenomenon of piracy to a higher level as it ties it to religious issues, is something that has to be under serious consideration by the international community. Piracy by terrorists is not new but after a lull for some years it returns revitalized as can be seen in Asia, East and West Africa and elsewhere. Main cause for this re appearance is the collapse of the Caliphate of ISIS in Syria and Iraq which forces transnational jihadists to flee to other theaters of jihad like Libya, Algeria, Egypt, Mali, Nigeria where they join existing terrorist networks. Even worse, many of the jihadists fleeing from Syria and Iraq try to return to their home countries like France, Germany, the UK and Belgium where they organize new or join existing cells. Moreover, hundreds of fighters are waiting in Turkey to enter Europe. All these battle hardened and experienced fighters will increase the capability for more sophisticated and well planned attacks either by lone wolves or bigger groups. The maritime realm is of much interest to them because vessels and port facilities are “soft” targets as being largely unprotected. A pirated megayacht or cruise ship full of passengers serves the need for revenue and makes the headlines while at the same time a suicide attack against a huge tanker or LNG vessel is quite spectacular as the terrorists “want many to watch, not necessarily many to die”.

Pirate’s course of Action

When a pirate attack occurs, pirates could act as follows:

• Initially, they embark on the ship while it is sailing or anchored.
• They seize money from the ship’s crew and passengers or other valuable items.
• They take hostages and / or kidnap individuals (crew members - passengers) to obtain ransoms.
• In many cases, they commit murders for terrorism and exemplification purposes (West Africa).
• They carry out robberies beyond the above-mentioned, taking ship’s equipment.
• They negotiate with owners for ransom to free the vessel and the crew.
• They steal the ship’s cargo (West Africa). 

As mentioned above, pirates with hostage-taking and kidnapping of crew or passengers are aiming to obtain a ransom. At the negotiation stage, pirates act as follows:

• Their spokesman during negotiations claims that the situation is uncontrolled by him.
• To exert more pressure, they are threatening the captain of the ship or other crew members or passengers.
• They allow crew members to communicate with their relatives, in order to increase pressure and engage the media, aiming on wider influence of the public opinion.
• Under the fear of potential rescue operation and for higher security, they usually move the ship from the attack area.

In case of compromise and until 2008, the ransom was handed over by a neutral authority or mediator. Since 2008 the delivery of the ransom has been done directly by air.
Responding to Piracy by the International Community - Applying International Law - International Cooperation to Address Piracy
As part of the fight against piracy, IMO issues aggregated reports (from those issued by its member states) on piracy and armed robbery against ships, which contain descriptions of incidents, to help the prevention of future incidents. The IMO has also issued the Best Management Practices (BMPs) that ships must follow to prevent and better tackle piracy incidents while its legal department processes various legal issues related to piracy and provides guidance to governments.

In addition, various Naval Forces were deployed in the Gulf of Aden and East coast of Africa to tackle piracy in the region under the EU umbrella like ATALANTA, the Combined Task Force 150 and 151 under NATO and more. The presence of these Naval Forces was key for reducing the piracy incidents in Indian Ocean.

Responding to Piracy by Private Entities

Many shipping companies hire private security companies to protect their vessels by armed security personnel. This has serious legal and political implications.

The use of lethal force to protect a vessel depends on:

• The legal framework of the flag state of the ship.
• The legal framework of the state of which the involved persons are nationals.
• The legal framework of the states the ports of which a ship is approaching.

States have different views among them on the use of force issue. In general, the relevant laws are based on the logic that the use of lethal force is allowed only in cases of self-defense and only if life is directly threatened.

Simple Measures to Combat Piracy

In tackling piracy, prevention has an important role to play, that is practices and measures that should be followed by shipowners, captains and crews during every trip described in Best Management Practices issued by IMO.

Measures to suppress a pirate attack should not be based on and linked to the use of force. In the event that a piracy attempt occurs, since the use of force is not allowed as a course of action, the following are some of the practices:

• Implementation of pre-planned measures against the threat.
• Early alarm signaling and whistle usage.
• Direct reporting and transmitting of emergency signals to any competent authority, other nearby ships and naval forces patrolling the area. It is necessary to accurately provide the name, position and condition of the ship.
• Follow instructions which have been sent by the appropriate authorities to address the situation.
• Take photos, videos to transmit to relevant government agencies (if feasible).
• Use flares and sudden illumination of the suspicious vessel if it is dark.
• Make escape maneuvers, increase speed, and if it is possible cause waves with maneuvers.
• Use of CCTV and special ship control systems.
• Use of water pumps as a means of repelling.

Of course there is a lot more to be done to protect a vessel from piracy incidents. A key factor on all the above is a well-trained crew. A not properly trained crew stands no chances. It has to be mentioned here that the ISPS code which hastily came in force in 2004 in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks can be useful in enhancing the implementation of security measures onboard vessels but still does not provide for proper training and nowadays is seen as a procedural obligation by most of seafarers and the maritime community.

Conclusion

History and serious global geopolitical developments indicate that piracy as a threat in various forms will remain with us for years to come. In this regard all vessels must increase their level of security and self-protection measures. There is a need crews to be prepared and trained to prevent and confront piracy which most likely has evolved nowadays to be associated to terrorism. It is useful to keep in mind that every illegal act against a vessel in the open sea, her cargo, crew and passengers is deemed piracy.

In the face of evolving threats like “piracy by terrorism” there is a need for experienced personnel who can provide their expertise to shipping companies, management companies and owners. Their role among others will be to advise the captains on security issues, supervise and organize the ship’s self-defense, develop physical obstacles to prevent the boarding of potential pirates/terrorists and train the crew on defense methods using non-lethal weapons. Provision of this kind of training will have a positive effect on the crew’s morale by adding an extra level of security, situational awareness and alertness. This increases vessel’s defenses and makes it difficult for pirates or other criminals to embark thus reducing the chances of a successful hijack or other unpleasant situations. 

Moreover, the enhancement of the passive defense capacity of a vessel can be ensured by the smart use of high tech, low cost, crew friendly tools.

In any case, training, technology and situational awareness can efficiently protect a vessel, since it can deter an attack if the general impression to someone who intends to attack is of a well organized crew ready to confront an external threat.

Bibliography – Websites - Articles

1.«Dead men tell no tales», The Economist , December 18th 1999.
2. Eugene Kontorovich, Feb. 2010, «A GUANTÁNAMO ON THE SEA: THE DIFFICULTY OF PROSECUTING PIRATES AND TERRORISTS» California Law Review.
3. «Tanker hijackings on the rise», ICC worldwide, London, 26 June 1998
4. Alexandra Schwartz, 2009, «Corsairs in the Crosshairs: A Strategic Plan to Eliminate Modern Day Piracy» New York University School of Law.
5. «China Piracy : Government Takes Hard Line», BBC World Service, December 22nd 1999
6. Weeks Stanley «Sea Lines of Communication (SLOC) Security and Access», University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation. Weekly Piracy Report.
7. Renwick Neil -Jason Abbot «Piratical Violence and Maritime Security in Southeast Asia», Security Dialogue, Vol. 30, 2. 1999.

8. «Anti-piracy tracking device to be introduced», ICC worldwide, Paris, 5 Feb. 1999.
9. Seo-Hang Lee, «Security of SLOCs in East Asia», University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation.
10. Marine Watch Institute, «Phantom ships: piracy’ s newest twist in Asia»
11. European Union Naval Force. «Website of Greek Coast Guard.»
12. International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers, (ICoC- PSP).
13. M. Murphy. Small Boats, Weak States, Dirty Money: The Challenge of Piracy. New York: Columbia University Press, 2009
14. International Maritime Organization - International Maritime Bureau : Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships : Annual Report 1998, London:1998.