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The
history of piracy suggests that pirates do not simply
create instability. They also thrive on it, in absence
of a centralised or at least co-ordinated authority.
So the recent sudden and dramatic increase in incidents
of modern piracy, especially off the coast of Somalia,
may be one more straw in the wind indicating that globally,
we are entering a period of not just economic but also
geo-political upheaval.
The term “pirates” comes from the Latin term “pirata”
and ultimately from the Greek root “peira”, which broadly
means “the attempt to find luck on sea”. Of course it
currently refers not to luck, but to a more determined
attempt at violence, detention, or depredation for private
ends against the crew, passengers and goods on a ship
(or more recently aircraft).
Piracy has a long history, indeed probably as long as
that of human seafaring itself. There are documented
instances of piracy from as far back as the 13th century
B.C. There have been some communities, usually small
homogenous groups living by the sea, such as Thracians
in the epoch of classical Greece and Vikings in medieval
Europe, who became famous for specialising in this activity.
In more recent times there has also been a romantic
association, typically resulting from films such as
“Pirates of the Caribbean” and other cultural representations
of pirates as dashing and swashbuckling rebels against
the confines of conventional life. But the lives of
most pirates have probably been nasty, brutish and short,
unlike the idealised versions of popular imagination.
What is clearly evident is how the incidence of piracy
has increased whenever there has been broader political
and economic uncertainty and turmoil. During the Middle
Ages in Europe, piracy was rampant as the lack of a
clear central power and territorial conflicts opened
up spaces for their effective operation. Similarly,
it flourished in the seas around peninsular India during
the 16th and 17th centuries, when the Bahmani Sultanate
and the Vijayanagar empire fought over control over
the Deccan. In 19th century East Asia, when the control
of the Qing dynasty in China over the far-flung regions
was weakening, the Wukou pirates of Japan grew increasingly
powerful. The famous Caribbean piracy of the 17th century
both emerged from and reflected the European colonial
conflicts over territory in the western hemisphere.
More recently, pirate attacks have tended to be concentrated
in the seas and straits around developing countries
with heavy sea trade and smaller armies. Thus, in the
1980s, the coasts around Indonesia and Somalia were
the most pirated areas of the world. The evidence on
pirate attacks since 1995 (from data maintained by the
International Maritime Bureau or IMB) suggests that
hostage-taking for ransom has become the favoured form
of pirate activity.
Piracy declined in the 1990s, and also the period 2004-06
was one of relatively few pirate attacks. Only 239 incidents
were reported to the IMB in 2006, compared to 329 in
2004 and 276 in 2005. But there was a significant increase
in the number of reported attacks in 2007, by more than
20 per cent. It is true that only some part of all pirate
attacks are actually reported (so as not to increase
insurance premia on shipping) and the proportion that
is reported is estimated to be anywhere between 10 and
50 per cent.
The current year has witnessed an extraordinary increase
in the number of pirate attacks, although some say that
the proportion of successful attacks has declined. Most
of the more striking attacks have taken place in the
Gulf of Aden and off the Somalian coast. In April 2008
a French luxury yacht with 30 crew members was seized
for ransom, which was eventually paid. In October an
Ukrainian ship, the MV Faina, that was carrying a consignment
of arms meant for Kenya, was seized by pirates. This
marked a departure for Somali pirates, who had otherwise
tended to concentrate on ransom piracy or taking over
ships carrying food grain that they could plunder.
In November there has been an exponential increase in
piracy in this area and much of it has become widely
publicised. Several of these have involved India-bound
ships or Indian crew being taken as hostages. Some of
the incidents described in just this region in the Weekly
Piracy Report of the IMB, for the period 10-15 November,
are as follows:
On the 10th of November 2008:
-
East of Mogadishu, Somalia - two speedboats approached
a refrigerated cargo ship underway and pirates armed
with guns and RPGs started to open fire on the ship.
The ship managed to create waves by evasive manoeuvres,
which prevented the pirate speedboats from getting
closer and eventually the pirates abandoned the
attempt, although the sustained damages from gunfire.
-
Gulf
of Aden - Pirates armed with RPG and guns boarded
a chemical tanker underway and hijacked it. They
are still holding 23 crewmembers as hostage onboard
and have sailed the tanker to an undisclosed location
in Somalia.
On
the 11th of November:
On
the 12th of November:
- Gulf
of Aden - Armed pirates attacked and hijacked a chemical
tanker underway.
On
the 13th of November:
-
Gulf
of Aden - Six pirates in a fast speedboat approached
a bulk carrier underway. The Master raised an alarm,
took evasive manoeuvres and managed to call a coalition
warship that responded by coming to the location
and chasing away the pirate boat, which had meanwhile
fired upon the ship with two rocket propelled grenades
and automatic weapons.
-
Somalia - Pirates armed with automatic weapons and
RPG chased and fired upon a container ship underway.
Because of the firing, fire broke out in the third
officers’ cabin. The vessel increased speed and
made evasive manoeuvres. The pirate boat came alongside
on port side. Pirates tried to embark on board but
were unsuccessful and later they aborted. The vessel
continued to her destination port.
-
Gulf of Aden - Armed pirates in two speedboats chased
a tanker underway. The tanker took evasive manoeuvres
and escaped from the pirates.
On
the 14th of November:
-
Off southern Somalia - Pirates heavily armed with
automatic weapons and RPG in two speedboats chased
and fired upon a container ship underway. The Master
increased speed, took evasive manoeuvres and the
crew activated fire hoses. Eventually the pirates
aborted the attempted attack but the ship sustained
damages due to gunshots and RPG fire.
-
Gulf of Aden - Pirates armed with automatic weapons
in three small speedboats approached a chemical
tanker underway. The Master contacted a coalition
warship and took evasive manoeuvres. The speedboats
spread out and approached the vessel at high speed,
but ultimately the pirates failed in their attempt
to board the vessel.
On
the 15th of November:
-
Gulf of Aden - Armed pirates attacked and hijacked
a chemical tanker underway. The current status of
the ship and crew is unknown.
-
South
east of Mogadishu - Armed pirates attacked and hijacked
a tanker underway.
As
if all this were not action enough, on 17 November the
Sirius Star, a Saudi super tanker carrying an estimated
2 million barrels of oil (or around one-quarter of Saudi
Arabia’s daily oil output) was seized by pirates just
southeast of the Kenyan port of Mombasa. The ship and
the crew have apparently been taken to a location in
Somalia while ransom demands are negotiated. This particular
capture took place further into the sea and away from
the coast, marking a significant change in the nature
of pirates’ operations in the region.
And there has been more excitement – the seizure of
a Hong Kong cargo ship laden with wheat bound for Iran;
the chase, battle and sinking of a pirate boat by an
Indian navy ship; the pirates’ seizure of a Greek bulk
carrier – all in the space of a few days.
So piracy now seems to be ruling the seas, or at least
some seas. While this is at least a change from the
financial piracy that has ruled the world in the recent
past, it does point to the growing risk and uncertainty
that now characterise all international economic transactions.
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