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Analysis: The weather, not the warships, kept Somali pirates at bay
Guardian Unlimited
April 09, 2009

Hijacking of US-flagged Alabama shows gangs have weathered the storm and changed tactics to outwit international community

After a quiet few months, Somalia`s pirates are again terrorising cargo ships, tankers and yachts far out to sea, this time taking 21 Americans hostage on the Danish-owned, US-operated ship Alabama. Their new range of hunting grounds shows just how difficult the gangs will be to stop.

The pirates focused last year on the busy Gulf of Aden corridor, off Somalia`s northern coast, launching 111 hijack attempts, treble the 2007 figures. Global concern about the effect on the shipping industry led to the deployment of about 20 warships including vessels from the US, EU and NATO forces.

The deterrent seemed to have worked. In January and February, just two ships were hijacked in the Gulf. Warships foiled at least 10 further attacks, with more than 100 gunmen detained. However, the pirates` lack of success was also down to another factor: the weather.

The winter monsoon makes it difficult for pirates to operate effectively in small speedboats. In March, when the waters began to calm, attacks rose significantly.

The warships` presence encouraged the pirates to turn to the Indian Ocean, where they had some success last year, capturing the Faina, a Ukrainian cargo ship carrying battle tanks, and the Saudi-owned oil tanker, the Sirius Star.

But the spate of recent successful Indian Ocean hijackings - six ships have been captured over the last fortnight, including the US-flagged Alabama - shows how the main pirate gangs based in towns such as Kismayo, Harardhere and Eyl are focusing almost all their efforts in the largely unpatrolled waters off Africa`s east coast.

In an alert to mariners on Tuesday, the US Navy warned that merchant vessels were largely on their own in the Indian Ocean, with the nearest warship up to several days` sailing away.

Using captured "mother ships" from which to launch their speedboats, the pirates are comfortable in hijacking ships 500 nautical miles off the coast, an area previously deemed out of reach.

"Distance is no longer a limiting factor to the pirates," said Graeme Gibbon-Brooks, the managing director of Dryad Maritime, in Southampton, Hampshire. "Now that the weather has changed they again have the advantage over the warships because their hunting ground is so large."

Gibbon-Brooks said some of the gangs were focusing on a busy shipping route near the Seychelles, at the top of the Mozambique Channel, which runs between the southern African coastline and Madagascar.

© Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2009. All rights reserved

For young Somalis, piracy offers power, prosperity
By ANITA POWELL
Associated Press Newswires
April 08, 2009

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - For young Somalis, piracy offers a life of adventure and money: At sea, they are armed with automatic weapons, rockets and grenades. On land, they are a cross between a town official and a gangster rapper -- with grand houses, luxury cars and beautiful wives.

Piracy is a lucrative business in Somalia, a country with no central government, no banks and few merit-based opportunities because of an entrenched clan system.

For Somali men such as those who hijacked an American cargo ship, banditry at sea offers power and potential prosperity in a land so bleak that life expectancy is just 46 years and a quarter of children die before they reach 5.

Pirates are attracted by Somalia`s lawlessness and its strategic location. The Gulf of Aden is one of the world`s busiest waterways, with 20,000 merchant ships passing through yearly on their way to and from the Suez Canal. Countless fishing boats drop anchor in search of tuna, snapper and barracuda, which are plentiful in Somali waters.

"Years ago, our life depended on fishing, but now we have a lot of money. We have luxury cars, beautiful houses and everything we want in our coastal village," said Salah Haji Bahdon, who identified himself as a pirate in a phone interview with The Associated Press from the community of Eyl in a region where many hijacked ships are anchored while pirates negotiate ransoms.

Bahdon added, "It is like a small paradise where people are oblivious of the problems going on in the other corners of Somalia."

In 2008, pirates seized 42 vessels off the country`s 1,900-mile (3,000-kilometer) coastline, the longest in Africa.

Since January, pirates have staged 66 attacks, and they are still holding 14 ships and 260 crew members as hostages, according to the International Maritime Bureau, a watchdog group based in Kuala Lumpur.

Foreign governments have condemned the seafaring robbers, but Somalis say they are grateful for the growth pirates bring to port towns.

Piracy has improved the economy somewhat around Eyl, in the northern Puntland region. Commerce has increased because the pirates bring cash to spend. The pirates have promised to build new schools and better roads, but they have yet to deliver on those projects.

The AP called villagers in Eyl who had provided reliable information in the past, and they independently verified that Bahdon and two other men were pirates. The villagers also put an AP reporter in touch with the men.

One of the men insisted his pirate gang was not merely a band of ruffians, but a well-organized, business-minded group that also had philanthropic concerns.

"We have leaders, investors, young people who go to the sea for hunting ships and also negotiators in many areas," said the man, who identified himself only as Madobe and said he was in his 20s.

He said pirates also have "very reliable support from the people on the ground." And, he added, the pirates give a share of their ransom money to local elders, militia commanders and politicians to curb any threats.

Last year, pirates made off with up to $80 million in ransom money, said Roger Middleton, a piracy expert at the London-based think-tank Chatham House. Those hauls included payment for a Saudi oil tanker and a Ukrainian ship loaded with military tanks, both of which were later released.

Pirates typically wear fatigues and operate from speedboats equipped with satellite phones and GPS equipment. They are often armed with automatic weapons, anti-tank rockets and various types of grenades.

But the heavy armaments have not spared them from failure.

One attempted attack last year fell short when the pirates` ladder was not long enough to scale the side of a frigate they were trying to board.

In March, pirates mistook a German military supply ship for a commercial ship and launched an attack. They were chased down and seven pirates were captured by international forces.

There are several known pirate groups in Somalia. One is based in the southern port town of Kismayo, which is controlled by Islamic insurgents.

Another prominent group is based in the northern Puntland region, and their ties to the insurgency are thought to be tenuous.

Middleton said the main relationship between pirates and the insurgency is financial, and they see their hostages as only one thing: a source of cash.

Associated Press Writer Mohamed Olad Hassan in Mogadishu contributed to this report.

© 2009. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.