SOMALIAN PIRACY - A GLOBAL SCOURGE

Violent acts of piracy off the coast of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden have spiraled out of control into the Arabian Sea and the entire Indian Ocean. Never in history has such a vast sea area been ceded to armed criminality. Urgent multi-lateral action is required by all governments to take necessary steps to stamp out this unlawful scourge. 

The threat to the flow of world trade is unprecedented, throttling the Suez Canal routes as well as oil flows out of the Middle-East Gulf  ( 40 percent of ship borne oil passes through this area). Ship owners are continuously reassessing their options. Recent reports indicate that piracy is already costing the global economy a astounding    $7-12 billion annually.

Presently, more than 35 ships are being held captive for ransom with a shocking total of almost 800 seafarers held hostage. The human cost to the captive seafarers held in appallingly stressful conditions - including physical torture and psychological harm - cannot be adequately calculated. The stark figures do not include the much greater number of seafarers facing gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades as they skillfully evade capture in the face of increasingly determined and aggressive attacks. Loss of life has already occurred and more is inevitable. 

A significant number of warships and other military assets have been deployed to the region. These efforts are deeply appreciated but, in the face of the current escalation of piratical activity, and particularly with the escalating use of captured merchant vessels as mother ships to extend the pirates’ reach and capability, these naval forces are simply insufficient in the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean. There is an urgent need to return law and order to one of the most vital intersections of trading routes in the world. The world economy is threatened and human lives are at risk.

I am reaching out to the global governments to take necessary steps for elimination of piracy at sea and shore by:

o    Reducing the effectiveness of the easily-identifiable mother ships

o    Authorizing naval forces to hold pirates and deliver them for prosecution and punishment

o    Fully criminalizing all acts of piracy and intent to commit piracy under national laws, in accordance with their mandatory duty to co-operate to suppress piracy under international conventions

o    Authorizing naval forces to take action against pirates and their equipment ashore

o    Increasing naval assets available in the Indian Ocean

o    Providing greater protection and support for seafarers

o    Tracing and criminalizing the organizers and financiers behind the criminal networks

Let us hope for the brightest of outcomes.

Tehsin Shah