Foisting the Jolly Roger

What with the ship currently in the hands of Pirates off the coast of Somalia (you know, the one with RPGs and T-72s) modern day maritime piracy is the topic de jure. Anyway, I’ve been fascinated in the topic for years, and even wrote a paper on it for my Terrorism Law class back in 2005. Mind you the media will move on from this topic any day now and you won’t hear any more about it, but it’s kind of scary when it gets down to it. Anyway, some portions of my paper.

The Seabourn Spirit is a cruise ship measuring 439 feet in length, and 63 feet across the beam. It displaces 10,000 tons, and the 208 guests are treated to “savor bistro-style fare at the Veranda Cafe, or lunch al fresco at the Sky Bar grill” made by celebrity chef Charlie Parker. Complimentary “wines, spirits, and French champagne from the House of Heidsieck” can be enjoyed with each of your meals as you travel around the Mediterranean and Horn of Africa in the lap of luxury. And there is no additional charge for the added excitement of being attacked by Pirates.

Enroute from Alexandria, Egypt to the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa, the Seabourne Spirit became yet another statistic in the burgeoning field of Maritime Terrorism in early November of 2005. Armed with automatic rifles and rocket propelled grenades, the pirates attacked in at least 2 speedboats. “My daughter saw the pirates out our window,” said one passenger of the vessel. “There were at least three RPG that hit the ship, one in a stateroom four doors down from our cabin,” she said. The Pirates were frustrated in their attempt by the actions of the captain and the crew, with a resultant of only one injury aboard the luxury liner.

No longer consigned to swashbuckling adventures of the 17th and 18th century, piracy is making a comeback. Since the International Maritime Organization began compiling statistics on piracy and maritime terrorism in 1995, 3,922 such attacks have occurred in nearly every ocean and sea. Terrorist organizations seeking means of financing their land-based operations have turned to piracy as a money raising venture. Terrorists in the past have attacked cruise liners (like the Achille Lauro) and attacked naval vessels like the Yemen attack on the USS Cole, but it is the use of hijacked vessels as “guided torpedoes” which poses perhaps the greatest threat to our National Security. Some have even called for a maritime NORAD to be established.

Addressing the problem may lie in advancements in technology. The IMO and the International Maritime Bureau, a division on the International Chamber of Commerce, have begun efforts to encourage commercial vessels to equip themselves with Ship Security Alert Systems. These systems, which operate using Global Positioning Satellites and communications equipment, allow ship owners and local authorities to track the ships and have a “panic button” to alert these authorities in case of attack.

Legal, Political and Military advancements are necessary to capitalize on the technology. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea sets forth a definition of piracy which is woefully deficient. Article 101 requires that in order to qualify as piracy, attacks must occur “on the high seas” and be committed for “private gain.” The vast majority of attacks occur in territorial waters, and the attacks we are most concerned with are done with political goals in mind. Whether through international efforts, like joint naval patrolling or use of the International Criminal Court, or through unilateral action, like using Sea Marshals or Bounty Hunters, piracy is an issue which must be addressed.

[…]

Arising from the definitional and jurisdictional limitations comes the enforcement limitations. And because of these, “the question of how one maintains tighter security measures without interfering in the efficient flow of international trade could present numerous problems unless the states work together. Therefore, it is necessary to set forth the security measures, both old and new, that were set forth in order to protect the safe passage of maritime transport.”

Even should the act occur on the high seas as dictated by Article 101 [of the applicable international treaty of the sea], enforcement problems exist. Under international maritime law, ships at sea have the protection of the state under the flag which they are flying. And it is common practice for owners to register their vessels in “convenience states” which often do not have the military capability and wherewithal to respond to a pirate attack even if it occurred. “Combined with the reluctance of navies to interfere and the general confusion since countries have begun extending their territorial waters to 200 nautical miles, this has left the seas wide open. ‘Piracy is going to get worse, because it’s so easy,’ says Commercial Crime Services executive director Eric Ellen.”

For it’s part, the IMO has released a circular addressing “Recommendations to Governments for preventing and suppressing piracy and armed robbery against ships.” These recommendations, however, are largely limited to overall goals, and only minimally address the proper methods of accomplishing this. For instance, it is advised that “[t]he Coastal State/Port State should develop Action Plans detailing how to prevent an attack in the first place and actions to take in case of an attack.” Additional recommendations include such lofty statements as “[a]ll national agencies involved in preventing and suppressing piracy and armed robbery against ships should take appropriate measures for the purpose of maximizing efficiency and effectiveness and, at the same time, minimizing any relevant adversity.”

While the recommendations could rightly be characterized as milquetoast, they are at the least a positive first step.

[Anyway, if anyone has really bad insomnia and would like a copy of this paper for some inexplicable reason, happy to send it along in megabyte form.]

Category: Politics