24 Mar 2009: ISS Today: Skiffs Versus Supertankers in Somalia

24 March 2009: ISS Today: Skiffs Versus Supertankers in Somalia

 

We knew them as mythical figures from the past in The Pirates of Penzance or The Pirates of the Caribbean. Who would have thought they would come alive in the 21st century to dominate headlines and political policy debates? Yet here they are back in the form of young Somalis in skiffs - their small open boats - preying on the rich and the powerful, embodied by giant commercial ships and oil tankers. And, admittedly, they do bring to mind the story of David and Goliath or the lone demonstrator standing in front of a row of tanks in Beijing in the summer of 1989. How does one explain the boarding and dragging to a remote coastal village in Somalia of one of the largest supertankers in the world by a group of armed young pirates operating hundreds of kilometers off the coast of Kenya?

 

After the initial shock and awe, some are starting to ask probing questions: there must be someone behind this, maybe shady business groups in the Gulf? Perhaps Al Qaeda? Perhaps, as some continue to believe, even the all-powerful United States? Surely the pirates have access to information, sophisticated GPS equipment, a mother ship here and there from which to launch their attacks, and plenty of weapons? This would indicate would it not, that there was more to piracy than Somalia and Somalis? The jury is probably still out on who might be behind them, but there can be no doubt that the pirates are operating from Somali shores and in almost all cases originate from there.

 

It should not be forgotten that Somalia is a country that has people knowledgeable in matters relating to the sea. The country has an important fishing industry and a nascent navy and coast guard. For hundreds of years, dhows sailed the seas between Arabia, Somalia and other destinations in East Africa. It should come as no surprise that people know the sea and the movement of ships and have upgraded their knowledge to master the new and relatively inexpensive technology to assist in locating productive targets for piracy.

 

With the knowledge in place, access to small boats and collaborating floating bases - called mother ships - that act much like aircraft carriers and access to arms of light and heavy caliber; one would expect some can’t resist the temptation to make a quick buck and to thumb a nose at the high and mighty at the same time.

 

After all, there are clear economic reasons to engage in piracy when faced with a life of dead ends in all directions. Somalia is not the only country where unemployment is unacceptably high, where educational advancement is rare and the future is bleak. But with the absence of a State for almost two decades, the freezing of development in much of the center and the south of the country, together with the rise of extremism, the challenges are greater in Somalia than elsewhere. Faced with the absence of any opportunity to improve ones life, how can you resist engaging in what has so far proved to be a relatively low risk venture that has the possibility to rake in large sums of money? This kind of money one could never even think of making in a lifetime of hard work!

 

No longer would you only be dreaming about building a better home for your mother and helping family members get by, you would actually do all this and have a lot more left over for yourself. You could be set for life: a man with financial resources and definitely popular. After all, who raised a finger when, for more than a decade, Somali waters were used as a dumping ground of God-knows-what (perhaps even nuclear waste) by the high and mighty and powerful? Didn’t fishing vessels from East and West net a major part of Somalia’s fish resources, in some cases dynamiting the fish out of the water? This has ceased since – probably out of fear of the Somali pirates who have had the effect of acting as an unofficial coast guard.

 

The arguments against piracy are clear and they have been made. It has made maritime trading in the region a risky business. It has driven up prices and insurance premiums. It is no panacea to the ills that the Horn of Africa faces. In fact, the development of piracy has added another argument to those who claim that there is no point in working to change the region for the better – the difficulties are just too many and a new problem has just appeared.

 

On the other hand, the piracy phenomenon could be a real wake-up call to the rest of the world to recognize that it can only be resolved by working to address its causes. Its causes are not on the sea they are on land. You can try to deal with the effects of the on-shore crisis – piracy – through the international naval deployment currently in place off the north-east African coast. But it would be wrong to stop there. The essence of the wake up call is to engage with Somalia and the wider region, supporting peace where it exists by assisting in the building of institutions, infrastructure, promoting employment creation schemes and investing in health, education, agriculture and manufacturing, thereby reducing and eventually eliminating the space for violent conflict in the Horn.

 

Hiruy Amanuel – ISS, ICPAT Programme, Addis Ababa

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