subject: Piracy off the Somali coast has been a threat to international shipping [print this page] Piracy off the Somali coast has been a threat to international shipping
Piracy in Somalia
Piracyoff theSomalicoasthas been a threat tointernational shippingsince thesecond phaseof theSomali Civil Warin the early 21st century.Since 2005, many international organizations, including theInternational Maritime Organizationand the World Food Programme, have expressed concern over the rise in acts of piracy.Piracy has contributed to an increase in shipping costs and impeded the delivery of food aid shipments. Ninety percent of the World Food Programme's shipments arrive by sea, and ships into this area now require a military escort.
AUnited Nationsreport and several news sources have suggested that piracy off the coast of Somalia is caused in part by illegal fishing and the dumping oftoxic wastein Somali waters by foreign vessels that have, according to Somali fishermen, severely constrained the ability of locals to earn a living and forced many to turn to piracy instead.Other articles allege that many coastline villagers say given the choice between foreign-vessel collection of Somali sea life and the actions of the pirates, they support the pirates.Some pirates have suggested that, in the absence of an effective nationalcoastguardfollowing the outbreak of theSomali Civil Warand the subsequent disintegration of theArmed Forces, they became pirates in order to protect their waters. This belief is also reflected in the names taken on by some of the pirate networks, such as theNational Volunteer Coast Guard(NVCG).The UK's Department for International Development (DFID) issued a report in 2005 stating that, between 20032004, Somalia lost about $100 million dollars in revenue due to illegaltunaandshrimpfishing in the country'sexclusive economic zoneby foreign trawlers.
Combined Task Force 150, a multinational coalition task force, took on the role of fighting Somali piracy by establishing aMaritime Security Patrol Area(MSPA) within theGulf of Aden.The increasing threat posed by piracy has also caused concern in India since most of its shipping trade routes pass through the Gulf of Aden. TheIndian Navyresponded to these concerns by deploying a warship in the region on 23 October 2008. In September 2008, Russia announced that it too would join international efforts to combat piracy.Some reports have also accused certain government officials in Somalia of complicity with the pirates,with authorities from the Galmudug administration in the north-central Hobyo district reportedly attempting to use pirate gangs as a bulwark against Islamist insurgents from the nation's southern conflict zones.However, according to UN secretary generalBan Ki Moon, both the former and current administrations of the autonomousPuntlandregion in northeastern Somalia appear to be more actively involved in combating piracy.The latter measures include on-land raids on pirate hideouts,and the construction of a new naval base in conjunction with Saracen International, a UK-based security company.By the first half of 2010, these increased policing efforts by Somali government authorities on land and international naval vessels at sea reportedly contributed to a drop in pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden from 86 a year prior to 33, forcing pirates to shift attention to other areas such as the Somali Basin and the wider Indian Ocean.
