Self-congratulatory proclamations by the West about the successes of the Somali government in controlling piracy are mere wishful thinking
The Tom Hanks movie Captain Phillips focuses attention — again — on piracy off the coast of Somalia. The movie, in which (spoiler alert) the bad guys get caught, unfortunately might lead you to think that this is a problem that has been solved. After all, since the April 2009 seizure of the cargo ship Maersk Alabama, recounted in Captain Phillips, there has been only one hijacking of a US-flagged vessel by Somali pirates — the February 2011 seizure of a US yacht in which the Americans were killed. And Somalia’s other evils — the Al Shabab and its terrorist activities, for example — have taken over news headlines.But a lull in activity does not mean there is a happy ending. The threat of piracy remains, along with its underlying causes, and Somali piracy still carries an important message for the US and for international order.
First, there are the economic costs of these attacks. Although the number of vessels actually hijacked in the Gulf of Aden and the western Indian Ocean has been decreasing, the number at risk is high. It is estimated that 30,000 tankers and cargo vessels transit these waters annually. Since 2008, the area has been declared a “war risk” zone subject to special insurance premiums, sometimes more than $150,000 (Dh551,700) per ship per voyage. A 2010 study estimated that marauders imposed $7 billion to $12 billion in annual losses on the global economy.
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