More deterrents needed to fight piracy
The rise in sea piracy off Somalia coast has brought into sharp focus a pertinent question: are the deterrents already in place enough? A vigilant multinational naval force, also including Indian naval vessels, is patrolling the sea near the Gulf of Aden.
The force has prevented some attack attempts on ships and, on November 11, two ships were rescued by an Indian frigate. But the fact that the pirates continue to dominate the area only confirms that the existing deterrents are not enough.
Earlier, China Sea and Malacca Straits were notorious for piracy but not any more, thanks to the measures taken by the countries in the area. Of late, the Somali coast has become far more risk-prone than other areas in the world. The problem is so grave that as many as five vessels were reportedly hijacked off the coast of Somalia in a single week, including the Saudi-owned super tanker Sirius Star, which was seized on November 15.
It is estimated that at least 85 ships have been attacked since January 2008, and 34 of them hijacked, and at present 12 vessels and more than 200 crew are in the custody of the Somali pirates.
Security measures
“It may be necessary to spread the international naval fleets down the coastline instead of concentrating in the Gulf of Aden,” says Capt Varghese Kuruvilla, former Deputy Conservator of Cochin Port Trust, who served as UN Consultant during 1993-95 and as Harbour Master and Full Tonnage Pilot in Port of Mogadishu, Somalia.
“It may also be worthwhile to depute small groups of security personnel with sufficient deterrents on board while the ships are plying through waters close to Somalia coast,” Capt Kuruvilla told Business Line.
An estimated 20,000 merchant ships transit every year through Suez Canal and the Gulf of Aden bordering Somalia coast. This is one of the busiest shipping routes of the world. Another point is that the Somali pirates do not target either the ships or their cargoes. The recent incidents suggest that they are interested only in collecting a huge ransom from the ship-owner to release the ship and crew. Somalia has a long coastline of about 2,000 kms, largest among all African countries.
For a long time, a large number of foreign fishing trawlers were encroaching into Somalia’s coastal waters for unlawful fishing of prawns and tuna. Local fishermen got together to stop the foreign trawlers.
Subsequently, they began to take custody of some of the trawlers and released them on receiving ransom from the trawler owners. This is how it all began. Then, the Somalis set their eyes on larger ships and started collecting a huge ransom.
Co-operation framework
It is encouraging that India is initiating a regional maritime cooperation plan in the wake of piracy in the Gulf of Aden. In January, India hosted an exercise that drew naval participation from Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. The biennial event took place at Andaman and Nicobar islands.
India and the US, in a joint statement in 2006, reaffirmed their commitment to protect the free flow of commerce and the safety of navigation, and agreed to a Maritime Cooperation Framework.
This is intended to enhance maritime security, prevent piracy and other crimes at sea, carry out search-and-rescue operations, fight marine pollution, respond to natural disasters, address emergent threats and improve cooperative capabilities, including through logistics support.
Source : blonnet
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