Weekly Piracy Review: Costs & Sentencing

As reported here, in October pirates off the coast of Somalia fired at a small boat deployed from the HNLMS Rotterdam as part of its routine patrolling operations. After the ensuing fire-fight and rescue operation, the fishing boat’s captain revealed that he and his crew, along with their ship, had been hijacked off the coast of Oman several weeks earlier. The captain identified six of the people rescued from the water after the fishing boat caught fire as the pirates who took them hostage. Four of those men are now set to be prosecuted for their acts of piracy in Dutch court, as the marines they fired at from the Rotterdam were from the Netherlands. The two remaining suspected pirates were released, as they are minors. Two pirates and six of the original crew-members from the hijacked boat were wounded in this altercation, and one crew-member was killed. Two of the crew from the fishing boat are reportedly missing at this time.

Fifteen pirates were sentenced in the Republic of Seychelles on November 5 after being convicted for acts of piracy in attacking a merchant ship and abducting thirteen Iranian fishermen. The US praised Seychelles for their leadership in prosecuting those suspected of piracy, and reported that there have now been 631 convictions against pirates worldwide, with 98 of those coming from Seychelles. Additionally, 440 suspected pirates are currently facing justice in 21 countries.

After being held by Somali pirates since they were captured last November, two Seychelles fishermen were released early this week. The office of the President in Seychelles confirmed that after extensive effort and negotiations the two hostages had been released. A Somali pirate allegedly reported that a $3 million ransom was paid for their release, but this has not been confirmed. Since February 2009, pirates have hijacked five Seychelles boats, and eleven hostages have been kidnapped and subsequently released.

The Australian Navy sent its newly constructed warship on a 12,000 mile detour around Africa in order to avoid the possibility of being attacked by pirates while travelling through the dangerous waters in the Gulf of Aden. Though it likely would have taken about two weeks and $2 million less for the ship to make its journey from Spain to Australia through the Suez canal, the danger of encountering pirates on that route outweighed concerns regarding the time and expense of moving the ship to Australia. Other options were considered to thwart the possibility of pirate attacks, including sending a Navy frigate alongside the other ship and placing armed mercenaries onboard, but it was decided that the most effective method would simply be to take a safer route. That these measures were considered necessary is a clear indication that the cost of piracy is quite high.

Thursday marked the opening of a two-day Maritime and Coastal Security Africa conference in Cape Town, South Africa. A primary goal of this conference is to discuss better approaches to enhancing cooperation among different nations in the counter-piracy efforts being carried out. This concern arises due to the fact that nearly all African countries are major exporters of oil, and as such there are a large number of merchant vessels carrying valuable cargo all around Africa. These ships are attractive targets for pirates seeking to commandeer the cargo or hijack these ships and their crew for ransom, so the need to police these waters is ever-present.

According to the International Maritime Bureau, as of October 27, there have been 252 attacks and 26 hijackings so far in 2012. There have been 71 incidents, 31 successful hijackings, and 212 hostages taken by Somali pirates. Currently, Somali pirates are reportedly holding nine vessels and 154 hostages.