Piracy Somalia

[rip]

The problem with the "follow the money" approach to stopping piracy is simple. In Somalia the money flows to too many people and not to just a few big men like in a classical crime organizations. They form investor pools for God’s sack and sell shares like in a corporation to all comers, sometimes just for each individual pirate ship, crew, and cruse, it is like buying a lottery ticket only except with a better chance of a payoff. It works usually on a shared percentage basses for investors, brokers, and pirate crew and they are not very secrete in going about it.

The only way to attack the money trail is to make it illegal to pay the ransoms and the only way to enforce that ban, the one on paying ransoms, would be to no longer allow any of the ships owned by the people who have paid the ransoms, to then dock any of their ships at any friendly ports. Not very likely is it?

 

[John Sansom]

The problem with the "follow the money" approach to stopping piracy is simple. In Somalia the money flows to too many people and not to just a few big men like in a classical crime organizations. They form investor pools for God’s sack and sell shares like in a corporation to all comers, sometimes just for each individual pirate ship, crew, and cruse, it is like buying a lottery ticket only except with a better chance of a payoff. It works usually on a shared percentage basses for investors, brokers, and pirate crew and they are not very secrete in going about it.

The only way to attack the money trail is to make it illegal to pay the ransoms and the only way to enforce that ban, the one on paying ransoms, would be to no longer allow any of the ships owned by the people who have paid the ransoms, to then dock any of their ships at any friendly ports. Not very likely is it?

Hi, rip....and I'm not sure that making ransom payments illegal will have any effect whatsoever....other than being viewed as a "punish the victim" move. So thanks for making the quick clarification before I could enter a second-gasp configration.

Yes, there are a lot of people involved on the money management end of all this. However, that's no reason not to go after them......and create a living hell of nervous anticipation for them. Sudden explosive raids and "hits" might provide encouragement to desist.:smash

 

[rip]

Hi, rip....and I'm not sure that making ransom payments illegal will have any effect whatsoever....other than being viewed as a "punish the victim" move. So thanks for making the quick clarification before I could enter a second-gasp configration.

Yes, there are a lot of people involved on the money management end of all this. However, that's no reason not to go after them......and create a living hell of nervous anticipation for them. Sudden explosive raids and "hits" might provide encouragement to desist.:smash

I agree the "follow the money" approach will not work. For the follow the money approach to ever have a chance to work you have to go to the source of where the money comes from, under the theory that if you remove the biggest incentive for piracy then it would stop but even if you could do that, which we both agree we can’t, there are still enough other incentives.

Precluding a legitimate, successful, and responsible government coming into being in Somali which we know will not happen anytime soon, the only approach that has any possibility to work is punitive military action upon the pirate basses. This approach is not politically possible at the present time due to the general lack of spine in most of the world’s governments that have the capacity to successfully conduct such an operation.

My prediction is this: everything will only get worse no matter what additional patrol and preventive actions are taken. The pirates will just adapt and evolve to counter them whatever they are. That is until some major incident happens that ether involves the very large loss of life or a drastic ecologic disaster like the loss of a large oil tanker set afire burning and spilling several million gallons of oil all over the Indian Ocean that ends up washing up upon someone's beaches. Then someone will finally find a spine. Until then we will have to just wait and watch waiting for the inevitable to happen.

 

[John Sansom]

I agree the "follow the money" approach will not work. For the follow the money approach to ever have a chance to work you have to go to the source of where the money comes from, under the theory that if you remove the biggest incentive for piracy then it would stop but even if you could do that, which we both agree we can’t, there are still enough other incentives.

Precluding a legitimate, successful, and responsible government coming into being in Somali which we know will not happen anytime soon, the only approach that has any possibility to work is punitive military action upon the pirate basses. This approach is not politically possible at the present time due to the general lack of spine in most of the world’s governments that have the capacity to successfully conduct such an operation.

My prediction is this: everything will only get worse no matter what additional patrol and preventive actions are taken. The pirates will just adapt and evolve to counter them whatever they are. That is until some major incident happens that ether involves the very large loss of life or a drastic ecologic disaster like the loss of a large oil tanker set afire burning and spilling several million gallons of oil all over the Indian Ocean that ends up washing up upon someone's beaches. Then someone will finally find a spine. Until then we will have to just wait and watch waiting for the inevitable to happen.

I kinda suspect that everything truly is getting worse, what with the pending Libya bloodbath and the pullout of American troops from the Pesch in Afghanistan for insta nce. And I am wondering if a search for a spine has even been initiated....or ever will be.

Perhaps the answer in that respect lies with the private sector; that is. the corporate entities that own, and/orcharter, and conduct merchant:sniper:sniper vessels through the waters of peril.

What! Am I recommending armed merchantmen crewed by men and women of serious intent? Yep.

I am also recommending Q ships; a matter that has appeared in these posts before.

 

[OPSSG]

Sat Apr 30, 2011 - MT Gemini - A Singapore-registered chemical tanker (carrying palm oil) has been hijacked 120 n. miles off the coast of Dar es Salaam (the largest city of Tanzania) while on the way to Mombasa, Kenya. Crew consist of 13 Indonesians, five Chinese, four South Koreans and three Myanmar citizens.

This is yet another case of a Singapore flagged ship being captured by pirates. Singapore is either the 5th or 6th largest ship registry in the world, so it is inevitable that this will happen. Hopefully, Singapore's RADM Harris Chan, his command team at CTF 151 (operating from the US Navy destroyer USS Mason) and our Fokker-50 Maritime Patrol Aircraft (that is deployed in Djibouti for counter piracy operations) will be able to render some help to Glory Ship Managment (the ship's manager) in tracking MT Gemini.

 

[Sandhi Yudha]

Indonesia should be proud of hostage rescue mission: TNI
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sun, 05/01/2011 9:43 PM | National


Indonesian military (TNI) spokesperson Rear Adm. Iskandar Sitompul said Sunday that the nation should be proud of the government's work in rescuing the crew of the Sinar Kudus.

"No other nation has succeeded in saving men held hostage at sea in less than 150 days. We managed to do it in 46 days," Iskandar said at a press conference.

He said that as early as March 18 the President had led a Cabinet meeting to discuss rescue options, and that by March 23 navy soldiers had been sent to monitor the ship’s situation.

"We sent three ships, one aircraft and one helicopter," he said.

However, Iskandar said that the government chose not to take military action as it would put the safety of the hostages in danger.

"The Association of Trade Ship Captains and the families of the men preferred to negotiate," he said.

He said, "We recommended Samudera Indonesia carry out the negotiations with the pirates.”

Iskandar said the military helped to escort the ship to the nearest port after the pirates deserted it following the ransom payment by the company.(awd)

Link:Indonesia should be proud of hostage rescue mission: TNI | The Jakarta Post

So it looks like the Indonesian Navy have shot dead 4 pirates after an amount of ransom money has been paid to the pirates.

See also these articles in Indonesian language:
Kronologi Satgas TNI di Perairan Somalia - KOMPAS.com
TNI Tembak Mati 4 Perompak Somalia - KOMPAS.com

 

[Sandhi Yudha]

Sat Apr 30, 2011 - MT Gemini - A Singapore-registered chemical tanker (carrying palm oil) has been hijacked 120 n. miles off the coast of Dar es Salaam (the largest city of Tanzania) while on the way to Mombasa, Kenya. Crew consist of 13 Indonesians, five Chinese, four South Koreans and three Myanmar citizens.

This is yet another case of a Singapore flagged ship being captured by pirates. Singapore is either the 5th or 6th largest ship registry in the world, so it is inevitable that this will happen. Hopefully, Singapore's RADM Harris Chan, his command team at CTF 151 (operating from the US Navy destroyer USS Mason) and our Fokker-50 Maritime Patrol Aircraft (that is deployed in Djibouti for counter piracy operations) will be able to render some help to Glory Ship Managment (the ship's manager) in tracking MT Gemini.

It looks like that Indonesia and Singapore will cooperate in rescuing the hostages, news article in Indonesian language:

Indonesia-Singapura akan Kerjasama Bebaskan 13 ABK Gemini Asal Indonesia
Muhammad Taufiqqurahman - detikNews

http://www.detiknews.com/read/2011/05/02/114026/1630186/10/indonesia-singapura-akan-kerjasama-bebaskan-13-abk-gemini-asal-indonesia?n991102605

Inserted below the translation from Bahasa Indonesia using Google Translate:

Jakarta - Indonesia will cooperate with Singapore to free the cargo ship in Singapore, MT Gemini carrying 25 crew, including 13 citizens of Indonesia. "In the past too, Singapore is not at all. We will cooperate with Singapore to overcome this," said Transportation Minister Freddy Numberi.

This was said after opening a National Coordination Meeting at the Hotel Mercury BMKG Ancol, North Jakarta, on Monday (05/02/2011). Sayanganya, Freddy does not mention the release of these detailed plans, whether to release the hostage with ransom negotiations path or using military means.

"If each country separately and not together it's so difficult. We went into Somalia have violated the sovereignty of the country," he explained. As is known, MT Gemini tanker carrying over 28 thousand crude palm oil from Indonesia to Mombasa, Kenya, the attacker was hijacked on Saturday morning in the waters of Kenya. In addition to containing the captain and 3 crew from South Korea and 13 Indonesians, the ship also contained three Myanmar nationals and 5 Chinese citizens. Currently leading the ship to Somalia.

 

[chkyr6]

absolutely arm them! This epidemic is out of control. You would think with this ongoing problem that the shipping industry would create security teams to be deployed on their vessels. Im sure it would be much cheaper than loosing a ship, its cargo, and certainly its crew.

 

[Ananda]

The problem with the "follow the money" approach to stopping piracy is simple. In Somalia the money flows to too many people and not to just a few big men like in a classical crime organizations. They form investor pools for God’s sack and sell shares like in a corporation to all comers, sometimes just for each individual pirate ship, crew, and cruse, it is like buying a lottery ticket only except with a better chance of a payoff. It works usually on a shared percentage basses for investors, brokers, and pirate crew and they are not very secrete in going about it.

The only way to attack the money trail is to make it illegal to pay the ransoms and the only way to enforce that ban, the one on paying ransoms, would be to no longer allow any of the ships owned by the people who have paid the ransoms, to then dock any of their ships at any friendly ports. Not very likely is it?

@rip, I think 'follow the money' concept can apply even for Somali's Pirates case. Many people fixiated about Somalia and the ineefective or lack of government there. But one aspects seems largely out of radar. The things is the main backers and the money (from hijacking ransom) ussualy end up and washed in Tanzania. Some reports even suggests it already made significant contributions for some coastal cities in Tanzania like Dar es Salam. That' made Tanzanian government turn a blind eyes to those 'privateers'.

You can't do anything on that ransom money, if you can't used them. In sense eventyhough they belong tolarge splinters group and not large organised crimes bosses..they money launderer do tend to be centralised in certain area or Somalia's neighbouring countries. We (mean International community) can't deal with anyone in Somalia, but we can pressures Somali's neighbours to closed the flow of money traficked in and out of Somalia.

Sorry for late comment though

 

[rip]

@rip, I think 'follow the money' concept can apply even for Somali's Pirates case. Many people fixiated about Somalia and the ineefective or lack of government there. But one aspects seems largely out of radar. The things is the main backers and the money (from hijacking ransom) ussualy end up and washed in Tanzania. Some reports even suggests it already made significant contributions for some coastal cities in Tanzania like Dar es Salam. That' made Tanzanian government turn a blind eyes to those 'privateers'.

You can't do anything on that ransom money, if you can't used them. In sense eventyhough they belong tolarge splinters group and not large organised crimes bosses..they money launderer do tend to be centralised in certain area or Somalia's neighbouring countries. We (mean International community) can't deal with anyone in Somalia, but we can pressures Somali's neighbours to closed the flow of money traficked in and out of Somalia.

Sorry for late comment though

Assuming that you are correct about the “Tanzanian government turn a blind eyes to those 'privateers” and I Have no idea if it is true or not, they will always be another third world country willing to turn a blind eye and then deny that it is doing so or that they can even stop it. I have been to Tanzania, and as far as east African countries go it is not that bad. It is a much better place than Kenya in my opinion.

But assuming that the money trail could be stopped in Tanzania how about it just moving to an even more outlaw county like Myanmar? They have been killing thousands of their own people year after year and getting away with it. To them piracy money laundering would just be just another income stream to the generals.

 

[My2Cents]

The problem with the "follow the money" approach to stopping piracy is simple. In Somalia the money flows to too many people and not to just a few big men like in a classical crime organizations. They form investor pools for God’s sack and sell shares like in a corporation to all comers, sometimes just for each individual pirate ship, crew, and cruse, it is like buying a lottery ticket only except with a better chance of a payoff. It works usually on a shared percentage basses for investors, brokers, and pirate crew and they are not very secrete in going about it.

The only way to attack the money trail is to make it illegal to pay the ransoms and the only way to enforce that ban, the one on paying ransoms, would be to no longer allow any of the ships owned by the people who have paid the ransoms, to then dock any of their ships at any friendly ports. Not very likely is it?

Piracy is a business, and therefore driven by economics. Currently it is seen as low risk with a high return, this must be changed. Risk to individual pirates of being captured and/or killed will not be enough as long as successful pirates can get immediate and substantial status in their community by bring in huge rewards. At each stage up the chain the income stream from piracy allows the individual or group to buy increasing strength, status, and respect. This should be the target.

Behind each pirate operation is a warlord.
Behind each warlord is a tribe.
Behind each tribe is a clan.

Determine the connections. If a clan has more than one tribe involved in piracy, target the clan. Otherwise the initial target should be the tribe, but expand to the clan if they respond in support of the tribe. The target should be the tribes holdings outside the major cities.

Identify the tribe’s or clan’s enemies and select one. Repeat the process used in Afghanistan, have special forces make contact and offer a temporary alliance. Some money and weapons will be involved, but the main item should be fire support via aircraft. The ally attacks to draw out the targets defenders and the special forces smash them with airstrikes. Then ally then overruns the targets villages, etc., then on to the next target and repeat. Refugees will fall back on the rest of the tribe ahead of the ally advance depleting the tribal financial reserves while the allied (enemy) tribe takes control of any stationary wealth. The end result is the pirate tribe becomes more and more impoverished instead of wealthy.

A note on hostages, the conditions for stopping the attack on a tribe will include the return of all hostages or producing an alternative if a hostage dies for any reason. The alternative is 10 heads of tribal officials selected by us per dead hostage. These heads will not be accepted as long as the bodies are attached, and will not be returned but disposed of at sea. Forcing them to kill and mutilate their own leaders will eliminate any possibility of their later claiming that they were not defeated.

The end game here is to force the clans and tribes to take action ot prevent their own people from engaging in piracy, because the alternative is their destruction. :sniper

 

[rip]

Piracy is a business, and therefore driven by economics. Currently it is seen as low risk with a high return, this must be changed. Risk to individual pirates of being captured and/or killed will not be enough as long as successful pirates can get immediate and substantial status in their community by bring in huge rewards. At each stage up the chain the income stream from piracy allows the individual or group to buy increasing strength, status, and respect. This should be the target.

Behind each pirate operation is a warlord.
Behind each warlord is a tribe.
Behind each tribe is a clan.

Determine the connections. If a clan has more than one tribe involved in piracy, target the clan. Otherwise the initial target should be the tribe, but expand to the clan if they respond in support of the tribe. The target should be the tribes holdings outside the major cities.

Identify the tribe’s or clan’s enemies and select one. Repeat the process used in Afghanistan, have special forces make contact and offer a temporary alliance. Some money and weapons will be involved, but the main item should be fire support via aircraft. The ally attacks to draw out the targets defenders and the special forces smash them with airstrikes. Then ally then overruns the targets villages, etc., then on to the next target and repeat. Refugees will fall back on the rest of the tribe ahead of the ally advance depleting the tribal financial reserves while the allied (enemy) tribe takes control of any stationary wealth. The end result is the pirate tribe becomes more and more impoverished instead of wealthy.

A note on hostages, the conditions for stopping the attack on a tribe will include the return of all hostages or producing an alternative if a hostage dies for any reason. The alternative is 10 heads of tribal officials selected by us per dead hostage. These heads will not be accepted as long as the bodies are attached, and will not be returned but disposed of at sea. Forcing them to kill and mutilate their own leaders will eliminate any possibility of their later claiming that they were not defeated.

The end game here is to force the clans and tribes to take action ot prevent their own people from engaging in piracy, because the alternative is their destruction. :sniper

Though you approach is interesting and somewhat blood thirsty I have a better one. The way that piracy was destroyed in the 17th and 18th century was that you destroyed their bases. Without bases they cannot exist. The communities that pirates need to support all phases of their activities and are in effect their partners. These people come from the fishing villages and they use those facilities. They use them to rest, spend their money, repair their boats, hold hostages, anchor captured ships, and to negotiate with the outside world.

Since piracy is in fact a community exercise, a community business in affect, you must punish the entire community. After that the community will stop all further pricy because it no longer pays.

I am not a fan of engaging in or promoting tribal warfare. Once started it is very hard to stop. But coming in with a large landing force, then burning all the boats in the harbor, destroying the docks, peers, and all other boat building and repairing facilities. Then do the same to the heart of the community the market places and warehouse but only killing those people that try to stop you with force. (There will always be some stupid ones no matter how overwhelming the force you have and how futile it would be to resist)

After that the community will rightly decide since they do not want to lose everything they have once again to police piracy on their own because it no longer pays and few people would in the end have to die.

 

[rip]

Piracy is a business, and therefore driven by economics. Currently it is seen as low risk with a high return, this must be changed. Risk to individual pirates of being captured and/or killed will not be enough as long as successful pirates can get immediate and substantial status in their community by bring in huge rewards. At each stage up the chain the income stream from piracy allows the individual or group to buy increasing strength, status, and respect. This should be the target.

Behind each pirate operation is a warlord.
Behind each warlord is a tribe.
Behind each tribe is a clan.

Determine the connections. If a clan has more than one tribe involved in piracy, target the clan. Otherwise the initial target should be the tribe, but expand to the clan if they respond in support of the tribe. The target should be the tribes holdings outside the major cities.

Identify the tribe’s or clan’s enemies and select one. Repeat the process used in Afghanistan, have special forces make contact and offer a temporary alliance. Some money and weapons will be involved, but the main item should be fire support via aircraft. The ally attacks to draw out the targets defenders and the special forces smash them with airstrikes. Then ally then overruns the targets villages, etc., then on to the next target and repeat. Refugees will fall back on the rest of the tribe ahead of the ally advance depleting the tribal financial reserves while the allied (enemy) tribe takes control of any stationary wealth. The end result is the pirate tribe becomes more and more impoverished instead of wealthy.

A note on hostages, the conditions for stopping the attack on a tribe will include the return of all hostages or producing an alternative if a hostage dies for any reason. The alternative is 10 heads of tribal officials selected by us per dead hostage. These heads will not be accepted as long as the bodies are attached, and will not be returned but disposed of at sea. Forcing them to kill and mutilate their own leaders will eliminate any possibility of their later claiming that they were not defeated.

The end game here is to force the clans and tribes to take action ot prevent their own people from engaging in piracy, because the alternative is their destruction. :sniper

Though you approach is interesting and somewhat blood thirsty I have a better one. The way that piracy was destroyed in the 17th and 18th century was that you destroyed their bases. Without bases they cannot exist. The communities that pirates need to support all phases of their activities and are in effect their partners. These people come from the fishing villages and they use those facilities. They use them to rest, spend their money, repair their boats, hold hostages, anchor captured ships, and to negotiate with the outside world.

Since piracy is in fact a community exercise, a community business in effect, you must punish the entire community. After that the community will stop all further pricy because it no longer pays.

I am not a fan of engaging in or promoting tribal warfare. Once started it is very hard to stop. But coming in with a large landing force, then burning all the boats in the harbor, destroying the docks, peers, and all other boat building and repairing facilities. Then do the same to the heart of the community, the market places and warehouses but only killing those people that try to stop you with force. (There will always be some stupid ones no matter how overwhelming the force you have and how futile it would be to resist)

After that the community will rightly decide since they do not want to lose everything they have again, to police piracy on their own because it no longer pays and few people would in the end have to die.

 

[My2Cents]

India nuckles under to Somali pirates

India not to arrest any more pirates - The Times of India

Due to the pirate decision to hold Indian sailors hostage, India will no longer be arrest pirates. They are now going to use 'catch and release' where they just remove their ‘piracy triggers’, i.e. items such as rope, ladder, arms and ammunition, and then urge them to leave Indian waters.

The pirates are probably celebrating tonight as they reduce another power greater than themselves to a whimpering coward rich for the plucking without personnel risk. :flaming

 

[Twinblade]

India not to arrest any more pirates - The Times of India

Due to the pirate decision to hold Indian sailors hostage, India will no longer be arrest pirates. They are now going to use 'catch and release' where they just remove their ‘piracy triggers’, i.e. items such as rope, ladder, arms and ammunition, and then urge them to leave Indian waters.

The pirates are probably celebrating tonight as they reduce another power greater than themselves to a whimpering coward rich for the plucking without personnel risk. :flaming

I wish they mean no arrests will be made as they did when dealing with Mumbai underworld ( See : [ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumbai_Encounter_Squad"]Mumbai Encounter Squad - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame])
Besides disarming them is way cheaper than putting them up in Indian jails for years.

 

[My2Cents]

This guy sounds like the real deal. He is a friendly pirate that steals back stolen ships for insurance companies. :gun

Pirate hunter guns for Somali raiders - Telegraph

Be interesting to see if he is allowed to proceed, it could be very embarrassing if he succeeds.

 

[swerve]

His business is based on working in an area he knows intimately, having learned about it from years working the region aboard ship before he began extractions. His methods use that knowledge & experience.

He's proposing doing something he has no experience in, in a place he has no knowledge of, & without any apparent means of rescuing the crews.

 

[Firn]

Two Indians shot dead, mistaken as pirates, from an Italian cargo ship.

Italian fucilieri of the Regiment San Marco opened fire on the fishermen.

Mercoledì la Marina militare italiana ha reso noto che a bordo della Lexie erano imbarcati i fucilieri del Battaglione San Marco come nucleo di protezione militare sui mercantili italiani in navigazione in zone a rischio. «Al momento - spiega una nota la Marina - si può dire che l'atteggiamento del peschereccio era stato giudicato chiaramente ostile, tipico dei pirati. Le modalità di avvicinamento erano le stesse già seguite in operazione di abbordaggio, caratteristiche di quei mari. Un esempio su tutti: non hanno risposto ai segnali di avvertimento».

Quite a sad story. We still don't have all the facts but it should be very hard to defend the shooting at the vessel.

 

[My2Cents]

Two Indians shot dead, mistaken as pirates, from an Italian cargo ship.

Italian fucilieri of the Regiment San Marco opened fire on the fishermen.

Quite a sad story. We still don't have all the facts but it should be very hard to defend the shooting at the vessel.

The insurance companies should insist that the armed guards also have video cameras to document their engagements. The Italian vessel insists they fired warning shots, the Indian vessel seems to indicate that they did not (everyone except the 2 that were shot was asleep?). A video of the encounter could resolve the difference quickly.
:sniper

 

[the concerned]

As has been mentioned most private companies employ proffesional soldiers. In the carribean when the royal navy is on narcotics patrols isn't it usually easier to take the engine out and less messy in courts and papers. No engine no pirate's. surely governments can oversee the training that these companies provide and inspect the weapons they employ because i think 2 guys with decent sniper rifles and something like an mp-7or p-90 for backup is all thats needed